Diverging into the Untranslatable. George Steiner, Paul Ricœur and François Jullien

Abstract

Abstract George Steiner famously declared that, after Babel, all understanding is translating. Poetry and philosophy turn out to pose the challenge of untranslatability. In my paper, I map out the complex intertwining of translation and hermeneutics, including the interplay of interpretation. Moving from Steiner’s fidelity cycle to Ricœurs linguistic hospitality, a shift of accent from the concepts of difference, identity and universality towards distance and encounter can be observed. With regard to translation as metaphor, understanding metaphor, the necessity of reflecting upon one’s own language is taken into account. To challenge untranslatabilities and rethink the ‘living’ aspect of translation Jullien’s divergence into the possible polarity of reliability and sincerity proposes an opening.