After Babel: Aspects of Language and Translation

By George Steiner

Book Overview

When it first appeared in 1975, After Babel created a sensation, quickly establishing itself as both a controversial and seminal study of literary theory. Indeed, the reactions to the book now constitute a considerable secondary literature themselves. In the long-awaited second edition of this book, George Steiner offers a complete revision, an updated bibliography, and a new preface in which he places his groundbreaking work in the present context of poetics, hermeneutics, and translation studies.
In the previous edition, Steiner provided readers with the first systematic investigation since the eighteenth century of the phenomenology and processes of translation both inside and between languages. Taking issue with the principal emphasis of modern linguistics, he finds the root of the "Babel problem" in our deep instinct for privacy and territory, noting that every people has in its language a unique body of shared secrecy. With this provocative thesis he analyzes every aspect of translation from fundamental conditions of interpretation to the most intricate of linguistic constructions.
Like the towering figures of Derrida, Lacan, and Foucault, Steiner's work is central to current literary thought. After Babel is essential reading for anyone hoping to understand the debates raging in the academy today.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0192828746
• ISBN13: 9780192828743
• Release Date: April 1993
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 560 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 1.1" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

Pioneering, insightful work

George Steiner's work here is pioneering in its look at the epistemological aspects of language, and the process of translation. His epistemological objections are valid and should be well heeded. His discussion of translation is entirely pioneering and must be considered. Like most (or even all pioneers), Steiner inevitably makes some mistakes as some other reviewers have noted. This is typical because a pioneer in an area is unable build on the works of others and correct the errors of others. For this reason one must look at the work as tentative rather than authoritative. It is a book to be contemplated and considered rather than accepted as the way forward. In particular I enjoyed his discussion of Whorf's hypotheses, and the problems that translation poses from this perspective. I would highly recommend this work.

What's Left after Babel?

George Steiner's After Babel is a must-read for anyone interested in language and translation. Yes, the book is rather long; however, the information found there can be applied to many fields of study: language, literature, linguistics, and even sociology and anthropology. The first edition of the book was published in 1975, and two subsequent editions have hit the press since then: the second edition in 1992, and the third in 1998. According to Steiner, the first edition has some "inexactitudes of phrasing, particularly in reference to what were then called transformational generative grammars," and it "lacked clarity in regard to the vital topic of temporality in Semitic and Indo-European syntax." Taking this into account, I would recommend that you read the second or the third edition of the book. The second edition does not seem to stray much from the third; however there are some significant changes in the last chapter of the book. The objective of After Babel is clearly delineated in the preface/prefaces, and the six chapters that comprise it are well organized. Throughout the book, George Steiner tries to reconcile the supposed chaos stemming from the Biblical fall of Babel Tower and the Darwinian benefit of having so many languages in the world. The first three chapters basically deal with issues of language. They are sprinkled with some interesting tidbits from Steiner's experiences as, what he claims to be, a native speaker of English, French, and German. The fourth chapter gives the reader a nice history of translation in about sixty pages; however, the fifth chapter, "The Hermeneutic Motion," seems to be Steiner's shining glory because it explains his own ideas about translation which includes a very interesting bit about the translation of time. Steiner's basic premise is that translation is a part of everyday communication: "To understand is to decipher. To hear significance is to translate." Steiner sees a translation as an artistic act, and perhaps, this is the reason he cannot give actual "tools" for creating a translation. What he does do is explain the act of translation and the process that a translator goes through as he transfers a text from one languages into another. Although the text does contain many examples to support Steiner's translation analyses and a section containing top picks of successful translations that meet the goals of his hermeneutic theory, the reader who cannot read French and German will find them a bit difficult to take-in. Still, the book is overall enjoyable and insightful.

Translation as an insight into the language

For those who expect to find a list of practical instructions on translation methods or a review on the history of translation, the book "After Babel" by Professor George Steiner will be a bit of a surprise. Because you won't find anything of the kind. On the contrary, it deals with the more general linguistic and philosophic notions - such as meaning, context, historic relativity, cultural aspects of the language and literature - to bring up the nature of the art of translation and language. The author treats translation not as an aquired skill only, but rather as a natural ability of a human being to perceive and interpret one's native language as well as a foreign tongue. Professor Steiner employs numerous examples of works of literature and translation that appeared in the 18th century and still are major guidelines for both scholars and readers. Throughout the book we come across multiple references to the works of ancient Greek scholars who defined the linguistic areas of interest for the generations of scholars to come. This work - even though it does not provide us with "how-tos" - is of major importance to the linguistic community and expecially to translators, since it opens up the physical curtain of the language and brings us behind the words and structure.

an Insightful Look at Translation

George Steiner takes the reader through the history, theory and justification of translation in this challenging book.His book is divided into six sections. In Understanding as Translation, he explains that since language is used to imperfectly express thoughts and ideas, all speech is translation. Language and Gnosis addresses the reasons behind the surprising and seemingly counterintuitive diversity of languages. Word and Object covers a variety of subjects, including the sounds native to a language and the purpose (if any) of falsity in expression.The Claims of Theory traces the history of translation theory, with some very helpful comments on Chomskyan linguistics. The Hermeneutic Motion gives examples and detailed analysis of various triumphs and failures of translation. Topologies of Culture closes with a look at all imitative art as translation and a conjecture about the future need for translation in light of English as a world language.Although this book is written in English, the author cites text in French and German extensively, and a reader unfamiliar with these languages will miss out on some passages. Professor Steiner's selected bibliography and extensive footnotes offer a decade's worth of further reading for those who are interested in following up on some of the ideas.I hightly recommend this incredible book!