Stereotypes in the era of globalization: Egyptian literature translated into Spanish

Abstract

Studying Orientalism and Imperialism, both E. Said and R. Kabbani shed a light on the existing relation between the concept of power and the exotic images of the Orient; a link that influences the choice of what to translate. The exotic images are of academic interest, if nothing else, as they have always found their way into literature. The most relevant case remains undoubtedly The Thousand and One Nights. Pursuing the translation’s stream of Arabic literature into European languages, Kabbani affirms that the choice of the Arabic novels in this respect depends on the impact of the social conditions they describe or criticize. The main purpose of this paper is to examine the case of the Egyptian literature translated into Spanish during the era of globalization. Therefore, it aims to analyze the principal social and cultural characteristics of some modern and contemporary Egyptian narrative translated into Spanish to determine to which extent the choice of the translated works depends on breaking the traditional idea about the Egyptian society and its component s. The method followed is descriptive; therefore this paper traces the trend in the publishing industry in dealing with literature translated from oriental societies, namely Egyptian literature translated into Spanish. A thorough investigation of the above elements will allow weighing the impact of globalization, with its wide perspective of intercultural communication and understanding: does this high level of communication clear the way for more conscience and concern towards the other, or does it lead to more isolation?