Chartered Institute
of Linguists
Better in theory
By Spencer Hawkins
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How can the translator hope to render complex theoretical concepts in another language? Spencer Hawkins looks to Freud to argue for a controversial translation approach.
The meaning of theoretical concepts such as Anlehnungstypus (Sigmund Freud鈥檚 name for the opposite of narcissism) is debated among native speakers. So how can translators hope to render them 鈥榓ccurately鈥� and keep the same nuances of interpretation in the target text? I would argue that 鈥榙ifferential translation鈥� can broaden our understanding of such complex concepts.
Differential translation is my name for any context-sensitive approach to translating polysemous vocabulary. Notable published examples include translations of Machiavelli鈥檚 惫颈谤迟霉 as both 鈥榲irtue鈥� and 鈥榮kill鈥�, Hegel鈥檚 Geist as 鈥榤ind鈥� and 鈥榮pirit鈥�, and Heidegger鈥檚 Grund as 鈥榞round鈥� and 鈥榬eason鈥�. Some translators select one term or another; others alternate between translations rather than settling on one. That is what I mean by differential translation.
This translation strategy reveals points of friction between languages, exposes layers of meaning in foreign words and, at best, can provide more nuanced insight into writers鈥� use of concepts. It is controversial because it amounts to 鈥榠nconsistent translation鈥�.
Jean Laplanche and Jean-Bertrand Pontalis lament the inconsistent translation of the word 苍补肠丑迟谤盲驳濒颈肠丑 in published translations of Freud鈥檚 work1 .听 The word has several overlapping but related meanings for Freud; it can mean 鈥榓fter the fact鈥�, 鈥榖elatedly鈥� or simply 鈥榣ater on鈥�. Laplanche and Pontalis consider it important to track occurrences of that word in order to understand Freud鈥檚 theory of trauma, whereas inconsistent translation makes it 鈥渋mpossible to trace its use鈥�. Indeed, Freud uses the word to refer to the delay between a potentially traumatic event (in the wolfman鈥檚 case, a small child witnessing his parents having sex) and the later trigger for neurotic symptoms (like seeing a housekeeper clean the floor in a similar position to his mother during sex). However, Laplanche himself admits that Freud sometimes just means 鈥榣ater on鈥� when he writes 苍补肠丑迟谤盲驳濒颈肠丑.2听
Even if differential translations did impede readers from noticing Freud鈥檚 repetition of the word, and thus downplayed the concept鈥檚 relevance for the formation of trauma symptoms, they also result in more precise translations of this concept. This can be seen in Louise Adey Huish鈥檚 translation:3
It would be entirely typical behaviour if the threat of castration now took belated [苍补肠丑迟谤盲驳濒颈肠丑] effect.
The effectiveness of the scene has been postponed [苍补肠丑迟谤盲驳濒颈肠丑], and loses none of its freshness in the interval that has elapsed between the ages of 18 months and 4 years.听
Huish avoids the traceability problem by putting the source word in brackets, but this would probably not satisfy Laplanche, Pontalis and their Lacanian-trained colleagues.
Context is everything
Huish was at liberty to disregard the French psychoanalysts鈥� wish for consistent translation of 苍补肠丑迟谤盲驳濒颈肠丑 thanks to her 21st-century publication context. Her translation of History of an Infantile Neurosis for Penguin was commissioned by Adam Phillips, who encouraged a literary approach.
In literary translation, differential translation is more than acceptable; varying one鈥檚 word choice is a matter of good style. Phillips, a writer and psychoanalyst who does not speak German, argues for this approach not because he thinks it will provide readers with a more nuanced understanding of Freud鈥檚 concepts, but simply because it will expose more of the wit, suspense and beauty of his writing 鈥� qualities readers can appreciate whether Freud鈥檚 theories are correct or not: 鈥淔reud could then be given a go as the writer he wanted to be, and is, as well as the scientist he wanted to be, and might be.鈥� 4
In his 1918 authorised English translation, James Strachey could also translate 苍补肠丑迟谤盲驳濒颈肠丑 differentially by context, but only because Freud himself did not explicitly treat the word as a technical psychoanalytic term. Quite different is the case of the 1925 translation of Freud鈥檚 explicitly technical term Anlehnungstypus.5 In that essay, Freud argues that narcissists are capable of loving fantasy versions of themselves and others who remind them of themselves, whereas a non-narcissist (Anlehnungstypus) can love 鈥渢he woman who feeds him; the man who protects him; and the succession of substitutes who take their place鈥�.听
What is a good English term for this supposedly healthy shift, made in early childhood, from a fixation on oneself to a fixation on one鈥檚 caregivers? Strachey calques the term in a footnote as 鈥淟iterally, 鈥榣eaning-on type.鈥欌�� In the text itself, he translates it differentially as 鈥榓naclitic鈥� and 鈥榯he attachment type鈥�. 鈥楢naclitic鈥� is a neologism, a semantically impenetrable, sublimely obscure Greek loan translation loosely mimicking the German word鈥檚 roots, while intentionally evoking the Greek grammar term 鈥榚nclitic鈥�. (Enclitic describes a final syllable vowel contraction in response to the next word鈥檚 vowel, as when 魏伪委 becomes 魏鈥� in 魏鈥欋紑纬伪胃蠈蟼.)
鈥楢ttachment鈥� is Strachey鈥檚 far more intuitive translation, since Freud鈥檚 term refers to the normal tendency to bond with other people. However, Strachey鈥檚 footnote ends by dispelling the misimpression that the word was chosen because this type of person is capable of attachment to others: 鈥淚t should be noted that the 鈥榓ttachment鈥� (or 鈥楢nlehnung鈥�) indicated by the term is that of the sexual instincts to the ego-instincts, not of the child to its mother.鈥�
Strachey鈥檚 second translation emphasises the way in which normal desire is linked to the early childhood experience of relying on others to fulfil one鈥檚 needs. With three terms on hand (鈥榣eaning-on鈥�, 鈥榓naclitic鈥� and 鈥榓ttachment鈥�) Strachey can make Freud鈥檚 concept sound scientific yet intuitive.
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Neologisms and meaning
Nearly a century later, translating for the New Penguin Freud series, John Reddick 鈥渞ejected with relish and relief鈥� Strachey鈥檚 鈥榓naclitic鈥� as a 鈥減reposterous neologism founded on plain ignorance of Freud鈥檚 German (Anlehnung).鈥�6 Instead of opting for further neologism or differential translation, Reddick translates the term consistently as 鈥榠mitative type鈥�.
In a footnote, he explains his choice: 鈥渢he [related German verb sich anlehnen an] does not imply 鈥榓ttach鈥� or 鈥榓ttachment鈥�; it simply means that A 鈥榠s modeled on鈥�, 鈥榠s based on鈥�, 鈥榝ollows the example of鈥� B鈥�, as when past works of art or philosophy influence the next generation. The choice of 鈥榠mitation鈥� suits Freud鈥檚 claim that non-narcissists take their parents as a model and seek substitutes who 鈥榠mitate鈥� their characteristics.
鈥業mitative type鈥� makes sense as a translation, but 鈥榠mitation鈥� (enge Orientierung) only corresponds to the second definition of Anlehnung in the German Duden dictionary; the first definition is 鈥榙ependence鈥� (das Sichst眉tzen; Halt). 鈥楧ependence鈥� calls up both the child鈥檚 dependence on caregivers and the adult鈥檚 dependence on love from others who could very well spurn us. Narcissism, in Freud鈥檚 theory, is a reaction to unconscious terror at the thought of dependence, which prompts the libido to fasten onto a safer object of desire 鈥� the self:
It is universally known, indeed it seems self-evident to us, that anyone tormented by organic pain and dire discomfort abandons all interest in the things of the external world, except in so far as they bear on his suffering. Closer observation shows us that he also withdraws all libidinal interest from his love-objects; that so long as he suffers, he ceases loving.7
A narcissist鈥檚 pain impedes their ability to form 鈥榓ttachment鈥� to others, a problem which Strachey鈥檚 translation illuminates (even if this was not his declared intention).
These observations are not meant as 鈥榞otcha鈥� translation criticism;8 Strachey and Reddick both formidably capture aspects of this polysemous word鈥檚 semantic range, as the translation 鈥榙ependent鈥� would have caught yet others. A differential translation of Freud鈥檚 narcissism essay might rally 鈥榓ttachment鈥�, 鈥榣eaning鈥�, 鈥榙ependence鈥� and 鈥榠mitation鈥� for Anlehnungstypus. For instance, when Freud describes non-narcissists鈥� idealisation of their love objects: 鈥淔or those of the dependent type, falling in love occurs when the infantile conditions of love are fulfilled.鈥� Where he contrasts normal love with narcissism: 鈥淲e are not concluding that people fall into two sharply divided groups, depending on whether they are attachment types or narcissistic types.鈥�
Freud mentions substitution (the imitative element) when describing a child鈥檚 budding love for their mother, but only in the sense that the mother is not always the child鈥檚 caregiver: 鈥渓eaning (Anlehnung) emerges in that the people involved in the feeding, care, and protection of the child become their first sexual objects, that is the mother or her substitute.鈥� However, imitation is certainly meant when the next (cringeworthy) sentence contrasts homosexuals, 鈥榩erverts鈥� and narcissists with those healthy imitative types who 鈥渃hoose their later love object on the model of their mother鈥�.
At least three features can be ascribed to Freud鈥檚 concept of Anlehnungstypus: 鈥榥ormal鈥� folks experience libido in the form of their ego鈥檚 demands on others, that is, they experience 鈥榓ttachment鈥�; in looking outside of themselves for love, they are vulnerable to rejection and in that sense 鈥榙ependent鈥�; and the presence of loving caregivers in infancy and childhood is the basis for their libido鈥檚 outward-looking orientation, which means that their choice of adult love objects 鈥榠mitates鈥�, or draws on, their experience of loving their caregivers in childhood. 鈥楢ttachment鈥� aptly names the context; the words 鈥榙ependence鈥� and 鈥榠mitation鈥� are the first and second dictionary definitions of Anlehnung; and 鈥榓naclitic鈥� accomplishes the key rhetorical goal of early 20th-century Freud translation: sounding rigorously scientific. Let鈥檚 not forget the direct calque, 鈥榣eaning-on-type鈥�, which provides a vivid metaphor for dependence.
If differential translation were more acceptable for published translations of theoretical works, then it would be easier for translators to convey the semantic range of such immensely creative concepts. At the cost of making the term harder to trace, a differential translation of Anlehnungstypus would help show the variety of features involved in the concept.
Differential translation uncovers a complexity in Freud鈥檚 concept of normal love that makes it almost as fascinating as the narcissistic aberration. In this case, a nuanced translation could help people theorise personality disorder without feeling morally superior. If translation norms change radically enough, readers may one day be ready for differential translation to complicate more familiar terms, including 鈥榥arcissism鈥� itself.
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This article is based on Spencer Hawkins鈥� German Philosophy in English Translation published by Routledge in 2023.听
Notes
1 Laplanche, J and Pontalis, JB (1973) The Language of Psycho-Analysis, trans. D Nicholson-Smith, International Psycho-Analytical Library, London, Hogarth Press, 94, 111-12
2 An Interview with Jean Laplanche by Cathy Caruth (2001);
3 Freud, S (2003) The Wolfman and Other Cases, trans. LA Huish, New York, Penguin Classics
4 Phillips, A (2007) 鈥楢fter Strachey: Translating Freud鈥�. In London Review of Books, 4/10/07
5 Freud, S (1925) 鈥極n Narcissism: An introduction鈥�. In The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud: Volume XIV (1914-1916): On the History of the Psycho-Analytic Movement, Papers on Metapsychology and Other Works, XIV, London, Hogarth Press, 67-102
6 Freud, S (2003) Beyond the Pleasure Principle and Other Writings, trans. J Reddick, Penguin, xxiv
7 Ibid. 11
8 Woods, M (2013) Kafka Translated: How translators have shaped our reading of Kafka, New York, Bloomsbury Academic
Spencer Hawkins is a research fellow in Translation Studies at the University of Mainz, author of German Philosophy in English Translation (2023) and translator of Hans Blumenberg's The Laughter of the Thracian Woman (2015). Since completing his doctorate in Comparative Literature at the University of Michigan, he has taught and researched in Turkey, Austria, US and Germany.
This article is reproduced from听the Winter听2023/2024 issue of听The Linguist. Download the full edition听here.
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