The translation of the imperfect indicative meaning conditional in the Italian translations of O Cortiço, by Aluísio Azevedo, and of A Bagagem do Viajante, by José Saramago

Abstract

This article aims to examine how the imperfect indicative meaning conditional which is found in Portuguese is translated in Brazilian and Portuguese literary works. These works are O Cortiço, by Aluísio Azevedo (1997), and A Bagagem do viajante, by José Saramago (1996). Thus, we will show the phenomenon of conditionality in its process of evolution from Latin, the alternatives to express conditionality in Portuguese and in Italian, including the use of the imperfect indicative. In the Portuguese texts we will find the occurrences of the imperfect indicative meaning conditional based on and morphological and semantic analysis, verifying in each case how the translators have interpreted and translated these occurrences. Our hypothesis that they are transformed in actual conditionals in the Italian text is confirmed at the end of the article.