REFERENCE

Dictionary of Untranslatables: A Philosophical Lexicon

by Barbara Cassin
Princeton Univ. (Translation/Transnation). Mar. 2014. 1344p. ed. by & others. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780691138701. $65; ebk. ISBN 9781400849918. REF
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Cassin (French National Ctr. for Scientific Research) here explores words found in the humanities that are difficult to translate, those that are often left untranslated, or that, when translated, seem to lose some of their meaning. Entries cover, for example, the German word Enstellung as well as discuss concepts such as the definition of translation itself. It is important to note that although the entries do address the meaning of words and terms, the focus is more on their etymology, the process and difficulties of defining and translating them, and their use in the humanities. Also noteworthy is the work's Eurocentric focus. Entries span between half a page to several pages in length each, and short essays on different aspects of philosophy and language are interspersed throughout.
VERDICT Entries in this work are dense, opaque, and often unapproachable. Although the material may be of interest to those with a love of linguistics or translation, the long, confusing entries do little to aid one's understanding of a term. The entries are so impenetrable that it would be difficult for all but the most intense scholar to read through them.
Reviewed by Julie Seifert, Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Mar 15, 2014
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