Publications

Publication details [#16413]

Stratford, Madeleine. 2008. Au tour de Babel! Les défis multiples du multilinguisme [To the tower of Babel! The many challenges of multilingualism]. Meta 53 (3) : 457–470.
Publication type
Article in jnl/bk
Publication language
French

Abstract

According to the traditional view of translation, the translator’s task consists in hiding Babel by correcting, adapting, and standardizing discourses to facilitate communication between different cultures. However, more and more bilingual or multilingual writers now celebrate Babel by producing texts where two or more languages come into contact. What happens when the two worlds collide, and when the translator decides to take on the challenge of translating a multilingual text? This paper first situates multilingualism in the history of literature, then summarizes its various manifestations and functions, and finally stresses the importance for translators and translation scholars to develop new strategies to let Babel shine.
Source : Abstract in journal