Translation between minority languages: Sicialian and Asturian. Contrastive analysis of the verbal periphrases and tanslatological proposal

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to make a contrastive analysis between two Romance languages, both at a translational level and from a linguistic point of view, especially in relation to verbal periphrasis. This study has been a real challenge, since there were no previous contrastive studies comparing minority languages of Italy and Spain. Being aware of this condition, we know that there is no contrastive study between Sicilian and Asturian language. Although it is not difficult to find studies that compare a majority and a minority language (Spanish and Asturian or Italian and Sicilian would be just two examples), contrastive studies of minority languages are not so common. We could say in this way that a study like this, focused on the contrastive analysis of two minority languages belonging to Eastern and Western Romania, has no previous references.

In the first place, a comparison will be made between the Sicilian and Asturian periphrastic systems, from a theoretical but also a practical point of view. So, at first, the meanings and structures of the various periphrases will be analyzed theoretically, to later elaborate a translation that shows the difficulties and problems that translation presents between minority languages, especially in an aspect such as verbal periphrases. Finally, a commentary on the translation of these periphrases will be presented, explaining the decisions and the reasons that lead to them.