This article presents a microhistory of Puerto Rico that investigates the role of translation and language policy during the transition from Spanish to U.S. colonial rule. Two specific periods, namely the transitional military government from 1898 to 1900 and the first civilian government from 1900 to 1917, provide the framework within which the study is conducted. Analyses of official language and translation policies, as well as historical documents from governmental and educational contexts, illustrate the multiple, conflicting agendas employed by the new colonial power to Americanize the island. Results also demonstrate how codified policies do not fully account for the linguistic and cultural landscape in colonial contexts, thereby requiring closer examination of translation practices and beliefs and their interplay with translation policy.

中文翻译：

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波多黎各作为殖民地最弱者

本文介绍了波多黎各的微观历史，调查了从西班牙殖民统治向美国殖民统治过渡期间翻译和语言政策的作用。两个具体时期，即1898年至1900年的过渡军事政府和1900年至1917年的第一届民政政府，为开展研究提供了框架。对官方语言和翻译政策的分析，以及来自政府和教育背景的历史文件，都说明了新殖民主义力量对该岛进行美化的多重，相互冲突的议程。结果还表明，在殖民地语境中，编纂的政策无法充分说明语言和文化景观，因此需要对翻译实践和信仰及其与翻译政策的相互作用进行仔细研究。