Untranslatability and the Challenge of World Literature: A South African Example

Attridge, Derek

Book Section

Derek Attridge

Untranslatability and the Challenge of World Literature

A South African Example

In: The Work of World Literature, ed. by Francesco Giusti and Benjamin Lewis Robinson, Cultural Inquiry, 19 (Berlin: ICI Berlin Press, 2021), pp. 25–56

Open Access

What are called ‘natural languages’ are artificial, often politically instituted and regulated, phenomena; a more accurate picture of speech practices around the globe is of a multidimensional continuum. This essay asks what the implications of this understanding of language are for translation, and focuses on the variety of Afrikaans known as Kaaps, which has traditionally been treated as a dialect rather than a language in its own right. An analysis of a poem in Kaaps by Nathan Trantraal reveals the challenges such a use of language constitutes for translation. A revised understanding of translation is proposed, relying less on the notion of transfer of meaning from one language to another and more on an active engagement with the experience of the reader.

Part of The Work of World Literature Containing:
The Work of World Literature / Francesco Giusti, Benjamin Lewis Robinson
Untranslatability and the Challenge of World Literature
World Literature and the Problem of Postcolonialism / Lorna Burns
Transcontextual Gestures / Francesco Giusti
The World after Fiction / Benjamin Lewis Robinson
Extracting Indigeneity / Rashmi Varma
Being Taught Something World-Sized / Dirk Wiemann
Working Conditions / Jarad Zimbler
Afterword / Emily Apter

Title	Untranslatability and the Challenge of World Literature
Subtitle	A South African Example
Author(s)	Derek Attridge
Identifier	https://doi.org/10.37050/ci-19_02
DOI Target	https://press.ici-berlin.org/doi/10.37050/ci-19/attridge_untranslatability.html
HTML Page	https://press.ici-berlin.org/doi/10.37050/ci-19/attridge_untranslatability.html
Description	What are called ‘natural languages’ are artificial, often politically instituted and regulated, phenomena; a more accurate picture of speech practices around the globe is of a multidimensional continuum. This essay asks what the implications of this understanding of language are for translation, and focuses on the variety of Afrikaans known as Kaaps, which has traditionally been treated as a dialect rather than a language in its own right. An analysis of a poem in Kaaps by Nathan Trantraal reveals the challenges such a use of language constitutes for translation. A revised understanding of translation is proposed, relying less on the notion of transfer of meaning from one language to another and more on an active engagement with the experience of the reader.
Is Part Of	The Work of World Literature
Place	Berlin
Publisher	ICI Berlin Press
Date	2021
Subject	Language dialect translation untranslatability Afrikaans Kaaps world literature
Rights	© by the author(s) This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Harvested	yes
Language	en-GB
short title	Untranslatability
page start	25
page end	56
Source	The Work of World Literature, ed. by Francesco Giusti and Benjamin Lewis Robinson, Cultural Inquiry, 19 (Berlin: ICI Berlin Press, 2021), pp. 25–56
Bibliographic Citation	Derek Attridge, ‘Untranslatability and the Challenge of World Literature: A South African Example’, in The Work of World Literature, ed. by Francesco Giusti and Benjamin Lewis Robinson, Cultural Inquiry, 19 (Berlin: ICI Berlin Press, 2021), pp. 25–56 <https://doi.org/10.37050/ci-19_02>
Format	application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf