Info-promotional material discourse and its translation: The case of the Asturian tourist board texts

Abstract

Tourism became the world’s first industry in the last decades of the 20th century. In this paper we examine the features of Spanish info-promotional materials, i.e. the official tourist brochures whose aim is to attract visitors and provide them with adequate information, as well as their English versions. We will assess four texts published by the Tourist Board of the Autonomous Government of the Principality of Asturias, in Northern Spain. The paper will examine the features (situational, interpersonal, ideational and textual) of the Spanish texts from a functional perspective, in an attempt to explore whether the information included is relevant for the communicative purposes of the texts. The next section will discuss the English translations, with particular reference to grammatical conventions, proper names and lexical choices. In the final discussion, we present some of the shortcomings of the texts and the problems deriving from certain cultural assumptions and linguistic choices. The paper concludes with some remarks about the need to involve specialists from various fields in the production of this type of materials.