Translation Review - The University of Texas at Dallas

SAD TROPICS, OR TRISTES TROPIQUES?By Liane GutmanThe great 19th-century German poet Novalis distinguishedbetween three modes of translation: grammatical,paraphrastic, and mythical. 1 Paraphrastic translationrequires the translator himself to become a “poetof the poet,” which leads directly to the translation fromthe French by the poets Doreen and John Weightman ofClaude Lévi-Strauss’ Tristes Tropiques, published in1973. None but the translator cum poet can do justice toan ethnographer who writes in poetic prose.The Weightmans have since translated a substantialpart of Lévi-Strauss’ books, and Tristes Tropiques, nearingits silver anniversary, continues to grace today’sbookshelves.The first translation of Tristes Tropiques, by JohnRussell, appeared in 1961. Its title, AWorld on the Wane,conveys decline, whereas Tristes Tropiques does not: Akey sentence in this context reads: “The tropics are lessexotic than out of date.” (W, 87)Russell was hasty in translating this title. Only fromthe text can a process of decline can be inferred. Thealliteration in Tristes Tropiques and the author’s suggestionto preserve the French title prompted theWeightmans to conserve the original title. Quite possibly,John Russell thought of compensating for the alliterationin French and opted for AWorld on the Wane.Pensée Sauvage: Une autre casse-têtePensée Sauvage, the title of Lévi-Strauss’ bookpublished in 1962, another impasse, has a binary meaning:French pensée signifies thought as well as wildpansy — in Lévi-Strauss’ language, culture versusnature. In the English translation, Savage Mind, Frenchpensée had to forfeit one of its meanings, and only “culture”survived. Should the French title have been preserved?Further translation problems into English fromTristes Tropiques are labeled: (LS=Lévi-Strauss; R=JohnRussell; W=Weightmans).Title of Part OneFin des Voyages (LS)Destinations (R)End of Journeying (W)A patchy trio. The English gerund “journeying” best conveysthe conclusion of Lévi-Strauss’ odyssey that hewould eventually consign to writing. Russell opted for“destinations,” which may also signify the opposite.Title, Chapter VIComment on devient ethnographe (LS,54)How I became an anthropologist (R, 54)The Making of an Anthropologist (W,51)Lévi-Strauss opens his linguistic cabinet and opts forthe French indefinite pronoun “on” (lat. Homo, homme),designating one or more persons, feminine or masculine.“On” also indicates a course of action shared with one ormore participants, not reflected in Russell’s translation.The Weightmans solved the problem with “the makingof,” an ongoing process, hence closer to French “on.”There is of course, the English “one,” which soundsawkward. Does the English gerund replace the Frenchon? Not so, but a correspondence exists.Next emerges the thorny problem of Claude Lévi-Strauss calling himself an ethnographer, while bothtranslators use “anthropologist” in a rare moment ofmutual accord. In this instance, should not the translatormove closer to the author rather than the reader?Russell’s translation was published in 1961, a meresix years after Tristes Tropiques, a time span closeenough for the translator to opt for “ethnographer.”Shouldn’t the Weightmans have done likewise, even in1973?Lévi-Strauss writes that anthropology and ethnographyare basically two sides of the same coin, and theresearch is in essence a matter of choice.Etymologically, anthropo/logist=man+study;while ethno/grapher =people+writer. The most importantaspect of Lévi-Strauss’ work saw the light in his writingssome twenty years subsequent to his field work. Hence,many call him an “armchair anthropologist” to whom lemot juste is a dictum, in the good old French tradition.Where did the favellas go?Les miséreux vivaient perchés sur les mornes, dansles favellas où une population de noirs vêtus deTranslation Review 27