Cathecismo romano, traducido en castellano, y mexicano

Author: Manuel Pérez

Year: 1723

Publisher: Francisco de Rivera Calderon

Place: Mexico City

Description:

[28], 248 pages. Quarto (8 1/4" x 6") bound in contemporary vellum. (Medina, Mexico 2719 ("interesante"); Palau 219407; Pilling 2957; Sabin 60912) First edition.

A lesser-known work by the author of Farol Indiana, offering a translation of the Roman catechism into both Spanish and Nahuatl.

In his "Nahuatl translation", Manuel Pérez often demonstrates that some words are difficult to translate, or even that there is no equivalent at hand at all. Translating the Spanish words for 'the angels, mankind, the heavens, and the elements', he breaks off to explain that 'there is no word for elements.' In reflection on the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, he notes in the middle of his Nahuatl text that 'the Spanish equivalent of the Latin verb 'impello' should not be translated into Nahuatl where the original is used, since they may think that he died involuntarily.

As this example demonstrates, Pérez attempts to avoid any possible ambiguous interpretation and he makes an important step, seen from the point of translation studies in general. He does not concentrate here on the 'Eurocentric perspective' of the original word in Latin but he shifts from his own perspective to that of the recipient who may interpret the word erroneously."(Zwartjes, Missionary Linguistics V, Translation theories and practices, p. 34); Estudios de cultura Nahuatl, 55.)

Condition: 

Moderate wear; wastepaper pastedowns not pasted down, preliminaries coming loose, moderate damp staining to early leaves, moderate worming; early inscription on flyleaf else good. .