Traduire c’est trahir

Abstract

In both Italian and French paronomasia has tricked translation into a marriage with betrayal: traduttore/ tradittore, traduire/trahir. The link is a vexed one since the idea, when taken literally, runs contrary to the very intention of translation. This paper intends to further the debate on translation theory in relation to poetry by forefronting the notions of interpretation, empathy and intuition, and showing in fine that Umberto Eco’s idea of negociation is far more pertinent to the issue. Quintette de Chambre, a suite of five poems by Penelope Sacks-Galey and translated by Caroline Peyron, are used to show how poetic language of the source text engages in dynamic dialogue with its other, the target text, in an effort to overcome the inevitable and varied stumbling blocks that threaten poetic integrity when passing from one language to another.