A Dissertation on Invective

Sexing Up (Or Down) Your French Translation

I have been slowly translating into English several French texts that will feature prominently in my dissertation, revising them again and again over time. An essay by Benjamin Jacob in a recent issue of French Studies Bulletin (n. 101) illustrates how little the translator can take for granted; even words that have been consistently translated a certain way may need re-evaluation: “In etymological terms alone, the French vit (ubiquitously interpreted by anglophone readers as ‘prick’ or ‘cock’) derives, in the thirteenth century, from the Latin uectis meaning ‘lever’ or ‘bar.’ It could, therefore, be more accurately interpreted as ‘rod.’ In contrast, ‘prick’ and ‘cock’ have Anglo-Saxon roots (from cocc, for male bird, and pricca, meaning ‘point, spot or dot’). Compared to the almost ubiquitous English translation ‘fuck,’ with its crude, violent connotations, might ‘mount’ and ‘ride’ provide more accurate translations of the verb foutre (as used in an eighteenth-century French context)? … Although the threat of legal penalties has led translators, academics and critics, to bowdlerize, avoid, or justify the racier passages of texts in all languages, it is less commonly known that another kind of mistranslation occurs: that is, the addition of obscene content.” (To deepen your appreciation of the pitfalls of translating risque material, you might see the recent article, “Linguistic and cultural aspects of the translation of swearing: The Spanish version of Pulp Fiction.” I mean, how would you translate, say, this?: “white people who know the difference between good shit and bad shit, this is the house they come to; my shit, I’ll take the Pepsi challenge with Amsterday shit any ol’ day of the fuckin’ week?”)

30 May 2007 | Uncategorized | Add A Comment

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