Translators’ Notes

Abstract

The words ‘sens’ and ‘langue’ are fundamental respectively to the work of phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty and linguist Ferdinand de Saussure. This chapter looks at the difficulties encountered by translators in translating the words ‘sens’ and ‘langue’ from French into English, calling by the same token for a comparative understanding of the terms. Donald A. Landes cites the non-systematic translation of the word ‘sens’ in Colin Smith’s first translation of Phenomenologie de la perception as one of his motivations for the new translation, and explains the importance of retaining the polysemy of the word ‘sens’ which means ‘direction,’ ‘meaning’ and ‘sense’ (or bodily sensation). Roy Harris in his introduction to Course in General Linguistics explains how ‘langue’ can be translated as ‘a language’ but does not adhere to this translation throughout, preferring instead to use ‘linguistic system’ in places, hence losing the direct connotative relationship which exists between the words ‘langue’ and ‘langage’ as well as the instrumental dimension of langue as a body part (tongue). Based on translators’ notes, the chapter insists on the importance of acknowledging the polysemy of the words langue and sens in understanding multilingualism as an embodied practice.