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Dictionary of Untranslatables: A Philosophical Lexicon
This is an encyclopedic dictionary of close to 400 important philosophical, literary, and political terms and concepts that defy easy--or any--translation from one language and culture to another. Drawn from more than a dozen languages, terms such as "Dasein" (German), "pravda" (Russian), "saudade" (Portuguese), and "stato" (Italian) are thoroughly examined in all their cross-linguistic and cross-cultural complexities. Spanning the classical, medieval, early modern, modern, and contemporary periods, these are terms that influence thinking across the humanities. The entries, written by more than 150 distinguished scholars, describe the origins and meanings of each term, the history and context of its usage, its translations into other languages, and its use in notable texts. The dictionary also includes essays on the special characteristics of particular languages--English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
Originally published in French, this one-of-a-kind reference work is now available in English for the first time, with new contributions from Judith Butler, Daniel Heller-Roazen, Ben Kafka, Kevin McLaughlin, Kenneth Reinhard, Stella Sandford, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Jane Tylus, Anthony Vidler, Susan Wolfson, Robert J. C. Young, and many more.The result is an invaluable reference for students, scholars, and general readers interested in the multilingual lives of some of our most influential words and ideas.Covers close to 400 important philosophical, literary, and political terms that defy easy translation between languages and culturesIncludes terms from more than a dozen languagesEntries written by more than 150 distinguished thinkersAvailable in English for the first time, with new contributions by Judith Butler, Daniel Heller-Roazen, Ben Kafka, Kevin McLaughlin, Kenneth Reinhard, Stella Sandford, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Jane Tylus, Anthony Vidler, Susan Wolfson, Robert J. C. Young, and many moreContains extensive cross-references and bibliographiesAn invaluable resource for students and scholars across the humanities
Originally published in French, this one-of-a-kind reference work is now available in English for the first time, with new contributions from Judith Butler, Daniel Heller-Roazen, Ben Kafka, Kevin McLaughlin, Kenneth Reinhard, Stella Sandford, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Jane Tylus, Anthony Vidler, Susan Wolfson, Robert J. C. Young, and many more.The result is an invaluable reference for students, scholars, and general readers interested in the multilingual lives of some of our most influential words and ideas.Covers close to 400 important philosophical, literary, and political terms that defy easy translation between languages and culturesIncludes terms from more than a dozen languagesEntries written by more than 150 distinguished thinkersAvailable in English for the first time, with new contributions by Judith Butler, Daniel Heller-Roazen, Ben Kafka, Kevin McLaughlin, Kenneth Reinhard, Stella Sandford, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Jane Tylus, Anthony Vidler, Susan Wolfson, Robert J. C. Young, and many moreContains extensive cross-references and bibliographiesAn invaluable resource for students and scholars across the humanities
1344 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2004
About the author
Barbara Cassin
59 books29 followersBarbara Cassin is a French philologist and philosopher. She was elected to the Académie française on 4 May 2018. Cassin is the recipient of the Grand Prize of Philosophy of the Académie française. She is an emeritus Research Director at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris. Cassin is a program Director at the International College of Philosophy and the director of its Scientific Council and member of its board of directors. She was a director of Collège international de philosophie established by Jacques Derrida.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 23, 2014
This is a book for people who love words and books immoderately. You can't read it per se; you can only dip into it and savor a page or two, before moving on to another. Where else can you get a couple of pages on the phrase "Matter (or matters) of fact," and how to translate it into French? And how it compares to "fact of the matter?" Delicious, if you're word-besotted like I am. Otherwise, this book will just be a big useless red brick to you. Be warned -- either way.
August 10, 2014
I'm marking this book as "read" even though it's impossible to read completely. It's a book so heavy it would break your spine if you tried to read it in bed.
As Nick's review says, this is an encyclopedia made for deep browsing, for readers who love literature and the clashing idiom of ideas. I was recently reading Erich Auerbach's classic essay Figura (a masterpiece in itself), and I turned to the Untranslatables' entry on Eidôlon, which starts with the Greek concept of imagery, its relation to truth, then through the technical vocabulary of medieval optics and on to mental images, to conclude with a summary of "Imago in psychoanalysis" (Freud, Jung, Lacan). "As an immediate object of vision, the image has always been and not been the thing. Even though our sciences and our techniques attempt to reduce it to its objective character of faithful reproduction, it has retained its symbolic equivocality through this existential ambivalence." Yes, that's how I see it.
Too bad the book is so big and the print is so tiny. When publishers finally figure out how to craft beautiful ebooks (exception and tip of the hat, again, to Touch Press), it will have found its proper form.
As Nick's review says, this is an encyclopedia made for deep browsing, for readers who love literature and the clashing idiom of ideas. I was recently reading Erich Auerbach's classic essay Figura (a masterpiece in itself), and I turned to the Untranslatables' entry on Eidôlon, which starts with the Greek concept of imagery, its relation to truth, then through the technical vocabulary of medieval optics and on to mental images, to conclude with a summary of "Imago in psychoanalysis" (Freud, Jung, Lacan). "As an immediate object of vision, the image has always been and not been the thing. Even though our sciences and our techniques attempt to reduce it to its objective character of faithful reproduction, it has retained its symbolic equivocality through this existential ambivalence." Yes, that's how I see it.
Too bad the book is so big and the print is so tiny. When publishers finally figure out how to craft beautiful ebooks (exception and tip of the hat, again, to Touch Press), it will have found its proper form.
October 24, 2023
I have obviously not read the whole thing (it's a dictionary, after all), but I'm rating it because it is one of the best scholarly tools I've ever used. Wonderful to dip in and out of. Truly all the secrets to the great questions lie hidden in Proto-Indo-European etymology, in the originary sense of words that we have forgotten. For a taste, read the entry on "Eleutheria," the Greek term for freedom, and see how its meaning was fundamentally transformed by being rendered into Latin as "liberum arbitrium." The conflict between freedom and nature will be resolved like cutting a Gordian knot.
January 24, 2017
See my blog: https://annemichael.wordpress.com/201...
I'm going to tag this book as "read" but it is really more of an encyclopedia/reference work that will stay within my reach often.
I'm going to tag this book as "read" but it is really more of an encyclopedia/reference work that will stay within my reach often.
September 12, 2014
The title is misleading. This one is neither Dictionary nor Of Untranslatables. What precisely the 1000 plus pages might be I do not know. Some Experimental Study perhaps? At a stretch, one might call it a glossary.
First, not even (or, as annotated, "close to") 400 words (less, if derivatives be discounted) are too few for a dictionary, it`s more like a primary school vocabulary. Besides, a dictionary is, first and foremost, a reference book, with words/terms either translated or explained in few.
Second, most of the words presented are perfectly translatable. Or, to be more precise, nearly every word in nearly every language is "an untranslatable", as most words contain shades and tints of meaning and sense (or both, again) making them "not translatable". So why but some of them but not all? Well, that`s understandable: as Douglas Adams would explain, "in normal book form, one would require several inconveniently large buildings to carry it around in"... Still, true untranslatables do exist, and it should be those one might expect to find in a Dictionary of Untranslatables. Which, in this particular case, is not quite the case.
Not to be unfair, I must admit the book offers lots of interesting and even useful data. Philosophy, history, and more. But it cannot be viewed as a treatise on any of the subjects, either. Too many subjects, too little consistency... But one is likely to find parts of it, or even the whole of it, worth reading and enlightening.
As long, that is to say, as one does not expect one could use it for a dictionary.
Because if you are a translator, this particular dictionary is likely to complicate and confuse your work, rather than make it easier.
First, not even (or, as annotated, "close to") 400 words (less, if derivatives be discounted) are too few for a dictionary, it`s more like a primary school vocabulary. Besides, a dictionary is, first and foremost, a reference book, with words/terms either translated or explained in few.
Second, most of the words presented are perfectly translatable. Or, to be more precise, nearly every word in nearly every language is "an untranslatable", as most words contain shades and tints of meaning and sense (or both, again) making them "not translatable". So why but some of them but not all? Well, that`s understandable: as Douglas Adams would explain, "in normal book form, one would require several inconveniently large buildings to carry it around in"... Still, true untranslatables do exist, and it should be those one might expect to find in a Dictionary of Untranslatables. Which, in this particular case, is not quite the case.
Not to be unfair, I must admit the book offers lots of interesting and even useful data. Philosophy, history, and more. But it cannot be viewed as a treatise on any of the subjects, either. Too many subjects, too little consistency... But one is likely to find parts of it, or even the whole of it, worth reading and enlightening.
As long, that is to say, as one does not expect one could use it for a dictionary.
Because if you are a translator, this particular dictionary is likely to complicate and confuse your work, rather than make it easier.
July 7, 2015
Niet direct iets om aan te bevelen. Ik heb hier een jaar over gedaan! Vooral omdat je een "woordenboek" nu eenmaal niet in een keer uitleest. Er staat veel interessants in, soms is het gewoon langdradig en ver gezocht. Maar vooral op taalgebied staan er een flink aantal interessante onderwerpen in.
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March 26, 2016Winner of the 2015 Outstanding Reference Sources Award.
For a complete list of winners, please visit http://www.ala.org/rusa/awards/outsta...
For a complete list of winners, please visit http://www.ala.org/rusa/awards/outsta...
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September 19, 2014103 V8723 2014
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews