LAUSR

“Tupy, or not tupy that is the question,” proclaimed Oswald de Andrade in his seminal 1928 “Manifesto Antropófago.” Over fifty years later, Leslie Bary reproduced this aphorism word for word, with only a slight orthographic difference by employing the modern spelling of Tupi, in his 1991 translation of the Brazilian modernist text as the “Cannibalist Manifesto.” To render the original Portuguese text into English, Bary had to consider how to transform verbal signs from one language into another. In the case of this aphorism, however, the words were originally written in English as a parody of the famous Shakespearean quote, “To be or not to be, that is the question.” Oswald substituted the infinitive “to be” with Tupi, the generic name for the indigenous peoples of Brazil and their language, in his manifesto that advocates for cultural cannibalism. He proclaimed that, rather than simply mimic external influences or reject them entirely, Brazilian artists should digest foreign materials and incorporate what is useful in order to produce their own cultural products. With this allusion to Brazil’s indigenous past and to Hamlet, Oswald invoked the history of colonialism, cannibalism, and cultural imperialism in Brazil. Although this aphorism may seem straightforward in translation into English since the language remains the same, the historical and cultural context of this phrase and its resulting humor pose a challenge to the translator. By conveying the significance of the word Tupi in a footnote, Bary’s translation maintains the manifesto’s telegraphic style and also compensates for the more limited familiarity of English-language readers with Brazilian history and culture. Humor, like this parodic aphorism in the manifesto, often depends upon specific historical contexts, cultural references, and shared sensibilities or experiences. It creates a particular difficulty for translators who must recognize its presence, meaning, and relative importance in the text of the source language before deciding how to proceed with the translation. They must grapple with how to maintain, compensate, or acceptably lose humor in translation. These questions are especially relevant to the translation of the manifestos, poems, and prose of Brazilian modernism from the 1920s and 1930s, most notably the writings of its two iconic figures Mário de Andrade (1893–1945) and Oswald de Andrade (1890–1954). An irreverent, humorous tone often characterizes these avantgarde writings, as apparent in Mário de Andrade’s 1928 novel Macunaíma and the aforementioned “Manifesto Antropófago.” These works satirize Brazilian society, its traditions and customs, and its educated elites, a class to which both of these modernist writers belonged. A Brazilian reading public likely feels in on the humor, as they recognize that the manifestos, short stories, and novels should not be interpreted at a literal level. This