Babbling Barbarians: How Translators Keep Us Civilized - A Conversation with David Bellos

Ever heard people say things like, 'A translation is no substitute for the original' or 'Humour can't be translated into another language'? In this thought-provoking book, based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Princeton University Professor David Bellos, author of the bestselling book, Is That A Fish in Your Ear? Translation and the Meaning of Everything, many fascinating features of language and translation are explored at length. This carefully-edited book includes an introduction, Teaching a Man to Fish, and questions for discussion at the end of each chapter:I. Introductory Musings - On Perec, Chomsky, and other mattersII. An Illustrative Capture - Learning from The Great EscapeIII. Getting the Joke - Translating HumourIV. Probing the Foreign - Dickens, word order, and Anglo-Italian gibberishV. Films in Translation - Subtitles, dubbing, and 'The Bergman Effect'VI. The Varieties in English - In search of a middle formVII. Asserting Our Individuality - Language as an expression of our identityVIII. Translation and Meaning - Extending the Principle of EffabilityIX. Mathematics and Music - Pushing the boundaries of 'language-like'X. Language and Thought - Plato, Hopi, and jumping mind-groovesXI. Paying Respects - Valuing the translator in our midstAbout Ideas Roadshow Conversations Series: This book is part of an expanding series of 100+ Ideas Roadshow conversations, each one presenting a wealth of candid insights from a leading expert in a relaxed and informal setting to give non-specialists a uniquely accessible window into frontline research and scholarship that wouldn't otherwise be encountered through standard lectures and textbooks. For other books in this series visit our website: https://ideasroadshow.com/.