Le statut de la traduction dans les éditions bilingues : de l’interprétation au commentaire

Abstract

The publication of revised editions of recognized works is usually accompanied by a commentary intended to guide the readers while the translation of a work acts as a substitute for its source, producing a different reading of it. This study proposes to examine a third practice yet related to the two mentioned above, that of bilingual editions presenting both the translation and its original text side by side. The functioning of bilingual editions will be examined by comparing three bilingual editions of Aucassin et Nicolette which all include a critical edition of the manuscript in Old French, the translation of the work into modern French, and a critical apparatus of which the footnotes and end notes appear to be the most relevant element regarding the reading of the work itself. This bilingual arrangement enables the reader to have access not only to the texts but to the linguistic, literary and cultural context of the original work as well. It will be shown that the integrated reading of the original alongside its translation has a dual effect: firstly, it facilitates the comparison between the texts, thus emphasizing the gap between them; secondly, it brings to light the complementary relation between them with the translation working to a certain extent as a commentary on the original or even as an index referring the reader to the notes. This article also examines whether this dual mechanism follows specific rules, and what these rules are. The new situation of utterance created by this side-by-side presentation of the texts is explored, as well as the new status the translator and the work itself gain through it.