Abstract:
The "untranslatable" from one language to another. The question of the 'untranslatable' concerns the encounter with our impossibility of 'saying everything'; an encounter which makes us all foreigners in our own language. The untranslatable is linked to the condition of the speaking being, to something that functions as a structure for the subject in his relationship to the social bond. Such an encounter can therefore engender creativity, however, if it is not recognized as a vehicle of otherness it can have violent effects on the subject. What happens to our relationship with the untranslatable in today's globalized world, dominated by Orwellian newspeak, where the borders between different languages have become a hot political issue? What happens to subjects who suffer in their so-called mother tongue to such an extent that they are forced to change their language? This text explores the question of the untranslatable through the prism of linguistic wounds and totalitarianism. We will also look at the effects of speech and invention on transference.
Keywords:
The untranslatable; mother tongue; totalitarian language; bilingualism; speech; creativity.