Specific (cultural) translation practices for the circulation of ideas: Raymond Williams in Spanish-language periodicals

Drawing on a compilation of Spanish translations of Raymond Williams’ cultural theory and criticism published in Spanish-language periodicals, this paper demonstrates that there are particular features of periodical translation that are distinct from those of book translation and that promote the circulation of ideas. It showcases three periodical-specific practices: translation of book excerpts, openly collaborative and compilative translations, and interlingual interviews. Although these practices – along with all the other partly intertwined mediation activities performed in periodicals – can be framed as ‘cultural translation’, this paper argues for using classical Descriptive Translation Studies concepts that offer more analytical potential – specifically, manifest translation, concealed translation and translation event – to identify the specificities of these practices and how they interact with other activities. These concepts can be used to trace the contribution of interlingual translation work in periodicals for the circulation of ideas as a distinct socio-cultural phenomenon and its inherent cultural force.