Rebelle Et Infidele

by De Lotbiniere-Harwood

A truly bilingual book by an award-winning translator. In Re-Belle et Infidele/The Body Bilingual, Susanne de Lotbiniere-Harwood explores the complex terrain of translating the writing of feminists who use language innovation to create feminized space in language. Written in both French and English. "A delight for translators, writers, billinguals, ad/or feminists." - Canadian Book Review Annual

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Apolline]

C'est sans doute le meilleur livre sur la traduction que j'aie lu jusqu'à présent, c'était tout simplement INCROYABLE. J'ai adoré les réflexions de l'autrice (même si je n'étais pas nécessairement d'accord avec 100% de ce qu'elle dit), j'ai énormément appris (surtout grâce aux nombreux exemples de traduction qu'elle donne et qui m'ont époustouflée). C'est vraiment un ouvrage clé sur la traduction féministe et je suis choquée qu'on ne m'en ait jamais parlé pendant mes études ??

Un must-read pour toutes les traductrices.

[Catherine]

I wish I could read the French section, which I suspect is better. A ton of food for thought here!

[Rebecca]

I only read the French portion of this book for a couple of reasons. First off, I kind of felt that the rest of my class could read the English on their own time, seeing as this is for a presentation. Secondly, the author's primary language seems to be French. Finally, I didn't like the way she opens the English portion at all--she begins by writing in incorrect and informal English, as though trying to replicate the subversiveness of the French text, made possible by the genderedness of the French language itself.
In terms of the French, I like the author's ideas, her clear connections between translation theory and feminist (re)writing, and her delving into specific examples of choices she's made and why she made them. An excellent read, but if you're strictly an English-language reader, it might not be worth your time.