The ethical Turn of Translation in Exile: the Case of Rosa Chacel and Walmir Ayala

Abstract

This study proposes a reconceptualization of translation in the context of exile, understanding it not merely as a functional, communicative activity or economic means of survival, but as a fundamentally ethical act. It suggests rethinking translation as a core responsibility within reception processes for those experiencing exile or forced displacement. This reconceptualization develops in two phases: first, through establishing a global ethical framework that explores the inherent responsibilities in the intersubjective relationship between host and exiled or displaced person; and second, through incorporating translation as a concrete manifestation of this responsibility within the previously outlined global ethical framework. To illustrate this ethical turn in translation, a case study is presented that examines, in the first phase, the global framework of ethical responsibilities in the relationship between exiled Spanish writer Rosa Chacel and Brazilian writer Walmir Ayala; subsequently, in a second phase, it analyzes translation as one of the fundamental intersubjective responsibilities within this ethical framework.