On Translating Mayi Pelot’s 'Biharko oroitzapenak' into English
Summary
Mayi Pelot’s work and the various initiatives in her memory have been essential in the recent movement promoting the publication and reading of Basque-language science fiction as a genre. The English translation of her work Biharko oroitzapenak was part of this movement. The article looks into this work, and particularly into Pelot’s use of Basque (style and vocabulary) to imagine and create her worlds, accompanied by my translation decisions. Tracing parallels between Pelot’s and my own relationship with Basque, and mentioning the dissent around the concept of «euskaldun berri», I argue that Pelot created a flexible, original language through which to imagine possible futures in Basque.