Louis Wolfson et la traduction plurilinguistique, ou comment se mettre à l’abri dans l’espace rhizomique

This article examines Louis Wolfson’s theory of plurilingual translation in Le Schizo et les langues (1970) and his experience of practicing his theory as described in Ma mère, musicienne… (1984). Diagnosed as schizophrenic, Wolfson developed a deep hatred for his mother tongue, English, and a strong mistrust toward others and the world in general. In order to protect himself, he learned French, Russian, German, and Hebrew, languages which he then uses to translate his anglophone environment. Taking a cue from Caroline Rabourdin’s writings that show how the logic of Euclidian space forms and informs our linguistic identity – what she calls incarnated bilingualism – we understand how Wolfson’s space is organized by a different logic, non-binary and structured according to his plurilingual translations. For Deleuze and Guattari, Wolfson’s system follows lines of flight and functions based on a reformulation of space similar to the rhizome: non- hierarchical and non-signifying. With Wolfson, the nomad replaces the flaneur, and word play and polysemy replace signification, creating a constantly translated space, one that is finally, but temporarily, livable.