Equivalent Renderings of the Georgian Lexeme margaliṭi in Two Spanish Translations of Rustaveli’s The Knight in the Panther’s Skin: A Corpus-based Translation Study

Abstract

This article presents a corpus-based literary translation study examining how the recurrent Georgian lexeme margaliṭi (“pearl”) is rendered in two Spanish translations of Shota Rustaveli’s medieval epic The Knight in the Panther’s Skin. Drawing on forty textual occurrences retrieved from the multilingual parallel corpus Rustaveli Goes Digital, the study utilizes a dual methodology that combines quantitative coding with qualitative close reading. The analyzed tokens are classified according to three primary functions within the source text: autosemantic reference to physical pearls or treasures, compressed metaphorical descriptions, and explicit or implicit comparisons. The analysis evaluates the lexical specificity of the Spanish equivalents alongside shifts in figurative and syntactic structure. The empirical findings reveal two distinct translational profiles. Gustavo de la Torre consistently selects perla, prioritizing denotative equivalence, source-oriented structural proximity, and global motif continuity. In contrast, María Elvira Roca Barea adopts a highly interpretive, target-oriented strategy; she frequently substitutes the core lexeme with contextual alternatives like joya, piedra preciosa, or diamante, and regularly unpacks compressed metaphors into explicit comparisons to enhance readability and visual brilliance. Ultimately, the study demonstrates that the divergence between the two versions is not a binary conflict between literal and free translation but a structural trade-off between local stylistic optimization and global lexical cohesion. Methodologically, the paper underscores the utility of single-lexeme tracking within digital parallel corpora to uncover systematic translational patterns across extensive literary works.