Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1998 23:09:05 -0100
Subject: Do you speak American? (C. J. S. Wallia: "American spellings")




Current practice, observed for some years now in most of the French press:
when reviewing French translations of books originally published in the
U.S., is to designate them as "traduit de l'américain". This is not, I
feel, just verbal sloppiness but part of an imaginary construct, the object
of much fantasising ("American", a different culture - from "English" -,
ergo of necessity a different language). Only Le Monde (of course) takes
the trouble to be precise and puts "traduit de l'anglais (Etats-Unis)". My
attitude to this in discussions with my students (and colleagues):
linguistically, at any rate (and surely, since the question is one of
"language", this is the most immediately relevant consideration) to write
as if such a thing as a separate American "language" existed calls for
reflexion.
(Modern Greek is still referred to, is it not, as Greek? But then, modern
Greek admittedly doesn't have quite the same degree of "rayonnement(?)
culturel" as its antique forbear or, come to that, as the languages of some
of its N.A.T.O allies).

Malcolm Stuart

Malcolm Stuart
Départment d'Anglais
Université des Sciences Humaines
67000 Strasbourg
=46rance

Email: stuart-AT-ushs.u-strasbg.fr




     --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---