Papers by caroline disler
Before Babel
Babel, Apr 19, 2011
The biblical story of Babel has long served as a powerful image for translators in western civili... more The biblical story of Babel has long served as a powerful image for translators in western civilization, stimulating much productive discourse about translation history, mythology, theory and practice. It is therefore interesting to note that the biblical story itself, despite its apparent antiquity and remarkable brevity, has been strongly influenced by even earlier sources stemming from societies antedating its ancient Israelite authors. This article examines some of the most interesting examples of cross-cultural and intertextual references from ancient proverbs and writings including well-known works such as the <i>Gilgamesh</i> epic and the Babylonian creation epic, <i>Enûma Eliš</i>. The delightfully subtle translingual wordplay in the name ‘Babel’ is also clarified. The biblical Tower of Babel reveals a startling complexity resulting from the wealth of intercultural and multilingual contacts that constitute the distant foundation of western tradition.
Oxyrhynchus 1381
Target-international Journal of Translation Studies, Dec 31, 2012
The Hellenistic Greek papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1381 contains a translator’s prologue that has been ove... more The Hellenistic Greek papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1381 contains a translator’s prologue that has been overlooked by translation historians despite its significance as evidence for a far more creative view of religious translation outside the confines of the Judaeo-Christian tradition. This important text is described in its historical context and compared to contemporaneous Pagan and early contending Judaeo-Christian developments in sacred translation as well as to classical secular translation practices. This will provide some valuable insights into the many factors informing the ancient origins and evolution of modern expectations and concerns in the western translation community such as translatability issues, preoccupations with fidelity, rigid adherence to the source text, the translator’s invisibility and lack of creative freedom.
Josephus and Justus of Tiberias
Target, 2013
The Hellenistic Greek papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1381 contains a translator’s prologue that has been ove... more The Hellenistic Greek papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1381 contains a translator’s prologue that has been overlooked by translation historians despite its significance as evidence for a far more creative view of religious translation outside the confines of the Judaeo-Christian tradition. This important text is described in its historical context and compared to contemporaneous Pagan and early contending Judaeo-Christian developments in sacred translation as well as to classical secular translation practices. This will provide some valuable insights into the many factors informing the ancient origins and evolution of modern expectations and concerns in the western translation community such as translatability issues, preoccupations with fidelity, rigid adherence to the source text, the translator’s invisibility and lack of creative freedom.
TTR, 2011
The concept of “afterlife” constitutes a central theme in Die Aufgabe des Übersetzers, yet the Ge... more The concept of “afterlife” constitutes a central theme in Die Aufgabe des Übersetzers, yet the German equivalent to “afterlife” does not appear once in Walter Benjamin’s seminal essay on translation. This article investigates the German term that Benjamin has in fact chosen and examines the highly problematic translation of his idea. Some of the resulting interpretations by translation theorists are presented, along with the potentially deleterious effects on the translation community.
Cicero and Translation in the Summer of 45 BCE: A Study of De Finibus, Academica Posteriora, Tusculanae Disputationes
Oxyrhynchus 1381: In memoriam Daniel Simeoni
Target, 2012
The Hellenistic Greek papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1381 contains a translator’s prologue that has been ove... more The Hellenistic Greek papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1381 contains a translator’s prologue that has been overlooked by translation historians despite its significance as evidence for a far more creative view of religious translation outside the confines of the Judaeo-Christian tradition. This important text is described in its historical context and compared to contemporaneous Pagan and early contending Judaeo-Christian developments in sacred translation as well as to classical secular translation practices. This will provide some valuable insights into the many factors informing the ancient origins and evolution of modern expectations and concerns in the western translation community such as translatability issues, preoccupations with fidelity, rigid adherence to the source text, the translator’s invisibility and lack of creative freedom.
Before Babel: in memoriam Daniel Simeoni and Brian Peckham
Babel Revue Internationale De La Traduction International Journal of Translation, 2011
The biblical story of Babel has long served as a powerful image for translators in western civili... more The biblical story of Babel has long served as a powerful image for translators in western civilization, stimulating much productive discourse about translation history, mythology, theory and practice. It is therefore interesting to note that the biblical story itself, despite its apparent antiquity and remarkable brevity, has been strongly influenced by even earlier sources stemming from societies antedating its ancient Israelite authors. This article examines some of the most interesting examples of cross-cultural and intertextual references from ancient proverbs and writings including well-known works such as the <i>Gilgamesh</i> epic and the Babylonian creation epic, <i>Enûma Eliš</i>. The delightfully subtle translingual wordplay in the name ‘Babel’ is also clarified. The biblical Tower of Babel reveals a startling complexity resulting from the wealth of intercultural and multilingual contacts that constitute the distant foundation of western tradition.
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Papers by caroline disler