Dictionary of Untranslatables: A Philosophical Lexicon

by Barbara Cassin, Emily Apter, Jacques Lezra, Michael Wood

Overview

A one-of-a-kind reference to the international vocabulary of the humanities

This is an encyclopedic dictionary of close to 400 important philosophical, literary, and political terms and concepts that defy easy—or any—translation from one language and culture to another. Drawn from more than a dozen languages, terms such as Dasein (German), pravda (Russian), saudade (Portuguese), and stato (Italian) are thoroughly examined in all their cross-linguistic and cross-cultural complexities. Spanning the classical, medieval, early modern, modern, and contemporary periods, these are terms that influence thinking across the humanities. The entries, written by more than 150 distinguished scholars, describe the origins and meanings of each term, the history and context of its usage, its translations into other languages, and its use in notable texts. The dictionary also includes essays on the special characteristics of particular languages—English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

Originally published in French, this one-of-a-kind reference work is now available in English for the first time, with new contributions from Judith Butler, Daniel Heller-Roazen, Ben Kafka, Kevin McLaughlin, Kenneth Reinhard, Stella Sandford, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Jane Tylus, Anthony Vidler, Susan Wolfson, Robert J. C. Young, and many more.The result is an invaluable reference for students, scholars, and general readers interested in the multilingual lives of some of our most influential words and ideas.

• Covers close to 400 important philosophical, literary, and political terms that defy easy translation between languages and cultures
• Includes terms from more than a dozen languages
• Entries written by more than 150 distinguished thinkers
• Available in English for the first time, with new contributions by Judith Butler, Daniel Heller-Roazen, Ben Kafka, Kevin McLaughlin, Kenneth Reinhard, Stella Sandford, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Jane Tylus, Anthony Vidler, Susan Wolfson, Robert J. C. Young, and many more
• Contains extensive cross-references and bibliographies
• An invaluable resource for students and scholars across the humanities

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691138701
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	02/09/2014
Series:	Translation/Transnation , #35
Pages:	1344
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 2.20(d)

About the Author

Barbara Cassin is director of research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris. Emily Apter is professor of comparative literature and French at New York University. Jacques Lezra is professor of Spanish, Portuguese and comparative literature at NYU. Michael Wood is the Charles Barnwell Straut Class of 1923 Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Princeton University.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Introduction xvii

How to Use This Work xxi

Principal Collaborators xxiii

Contributors xxv

Translators xxxiii

Entries A to Z 1

Reference Tools 1269

Index 1275

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This is an absolutely astonishing book. There is really nothing else like it. Brimming with excited discovery on every page, it allows readers to re-experience all the freshness and energy of the original Enlightenment attempts to sum up knowledge. If other works of reference read like this, they'd give novels a run for their money. It is dazzling."—Bruce Robbins, Columbia University

Praise for the French edition: [A] comparatist's bonanza. . . . [F]rom abstraction and phronesis to saudade and Wunsch, across hundreds of carefully researched lexical histories, this exceptionally rich and useful [book] also makes a forceful argument for doing philosophy in dialogue with other philosophical traditions, with their original languages and texts."—Christian Moraru, The Comparatist

Editorial Reviews

"[This] is an invaluable reference for students, scholars, and general readers interested in the multilingual lives of some of our most influential words and ideas. . . . It has already provided me with several pleasurable evenings of educational reading adventures, and promises many more for the future. A superb gift for English-speaking writers, linguists, verbivores and linguaphiles."

GrrrlScientist

Winner of a 2015 Outstanding Reference Sources Award, Reference and User Services Association, American Library Association

"One of The Guardian’s Best Books of 2015, selected by Hari Kunzru"

"One of The Times Literary Supplement’s Books of the Year 2014, chosen by David Wootton"

"One of The Times Higher Education Supplement’s Books of the Year 2014, chosen by Robert S. C. Gordon"

One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2014

From the Publisher

"[T]his erudite volume is indispensable for advanced European philosophy, literature, and translation studies."

Choice