Le Petit Prince has been translated into 294 languages and dialects. After its publication in 1943 the first translation was made in 1951 into Spanish by Bonifacio Del Carril, an Argentinian writer. Del Carril is one of the many translators that have translated Le Petit Prince into Spanish. His version has been reprinted many time since its first publication and is one of the most common Spanish versions used.
In this paper I will be comparing a reprint of Bonifacio Del Carril’s translation and a new 2015 translation printed by e-Kitap Projesi. Both of these translations are very similar except for some small difference. One of these difference is the sentence structure used. The way that sentences are organized in e-Kitap Pojesi’s makes for a choppier feel when reading through the book. This can be seen in the way that the first sentence is organized. The e-Kitap version reads “Cuando yo tenía seis años vi en un libro sobre la selva virgen que se titulaba ‘Historias vividas’, una magnifica lamina.” When compared to Del Carril’s version, this translation does not flow as easily. I think that this sentence structure can break the rhythm for the reader and thus make this version harder and less enjoyable to read. This is especially true when thinking of the intended age group for the book. I think that rhythm and musicality is especially important for younger audiences and I wonder if the original has a certain rhythm to it that is being broken in this translation.
Another aspect of these translations that I found very interesting was the choice of Bonifacio Del Carril to leave certain words in the original French. The first sentence of chapter two in the Del Carril version reads “Viví así, solo, sin nadie con quien hablar verdaderamente, hasta que tuve una panne en el desierto de Sahara.” On the other hand the e-Kitap version changes “panne” to “una averia.” I think that it is better to change the word rather than leaving it in the original. When thinking of the intended audience I do not think that a younger reader would take the time to look up with this word means in the dictionary and this is actually a key point of the story. I do not think that “panne” is a well-known French word in the Spanish language for it to be left in French with no explanation. I do, however, have to keep into consideration that Del Carril was Argentinian and this word may actually be known in Argentina but not in Mexico. Either way, however, I do not think that this work should have been left in French since it risks having a young audience miss a major plot point.
Overall I enjoy the version by Bonifacio Del Carril since I think that the sentence structure makes his translation easier to read. I think when analyzing these translations it is important to keep the intended audience in mind and I think that for the most part Del Carril was successful in this. Although there are some choices in his version that I do not agree with, I can see why his version is the most popular Spanish version thus far.