Languages

Abstract

This chapter recounts how René Étiemble became a fierce advocate for translation. It analyzes Étiemble's exuberant linguistic range in many of his works, such as Essais de littérature (vraiment) générale in “Sur quelques adaptations et imitations de haiku” where he quotes poems in Japanese, French, English, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Croatian, German, and modern Greek. It also highlights the importance of translation for the next generation of comparatists in Étiemble's edgy survey titled Comparaison n'est pas raison. The chapter explores the quality of literary translation that has steadily grown during the past several decades. It also addresses crucial and highly problematic questions of language with the rise of global English that leaves many literary scholars too comfortably ensconced within the imperium of English.