Why Berman Was Wrong for the Right Reason. An Indirect Discussion of the Pivotal Role of Friedrich Schleiermacher in the Ethico-Translational Debate

Abstract

In the past decades many scholars have gone to some lengths to incorporate the tenets of Schleiermacher into their reflections on translation. One of them, Antoine Berman, contends that the German was the first to seize upon and systematically assert the ontological importance of the ever-recurring dichotomies in translation theory. The French theorist maintains that, by pursuing his ontological claims to the end, the German has succeeded in providing an irrefutable argument for foreignization in translation. In the following article, we will reassess the pivotal role of ‘Ueber die verschiedenen Methoden des Uebersezens’ in the ethico-translational debate by restaging the theoretical background against which Berman’s appreciation has been able to take shape. By bringing the Heideggerian notion of “authenticity” to the fore, we hope to have proven that, despite his having ample reason to emphasize the paramount role of this seminal text within the ethico-translational field, Berman has failed to grasp its true value.