An Interpreter by the Side of a Conquistador

Marzena Chrobak’s book Między światami. Tłumacz ustny oraz komunikacja międzykulturowa w literaturze odkrycia i konkwisty Ameryki is an interesting and bold attempt of reconstructing fi gures of interpreters who – willingly or not – accompanied conquistadors and explorers of the Americas. The book consists of three parts. In the first one the author presents practices of translating and interpreting in the antiquity and in the Middle Ages. Then, thanks to a detailed analysis of various sources, she manages to recreate several portraits of interpreters who worked for conquerors and their successors. Eventually, she examines fi gures of interpreters who appear in literary works of different times. Chrobak’s book is one of very few works in Poland discussing history of translation. The author reveals her erudition, recalling numerous data and details. However, this abundance of facts and information makes reading diffi cult, especially for a reader who is not an expert on the history of the discovery and the conquest of the Americas.

An Interpreter by the Side of a Conquistador

Marzena Chrobak’s book Między światami. Tłumacz ustny oraz komunikacja międzykulturowa w literaturze odkrycia i konkwisty Ameryki is an interesting and bold attempt of reconstructing fi gures of interpreters who – willingly or not – accompanied conquistadors and explorers of the Americas. The book consists of three parts. In the first one the author presents practices of translating and interpreting in the antiquity and in the Middle Ages. Then, thanks to a detailed analysis of various sources, she manages to recreate several portraits of interpreters who worked for conquerors and their successors. Eventually, she examines fi gures of interpreters who appear in literary works of different times. Chrobak’s book is one of very few works in Poland discussing history of translation. The author reveals her erudition, recalling numerous data and details. However, this abundance of facts and information makes reading diffi cult, especially for a reader who is not an expert on the history of the discovery and the conquest of the Americas.