Traduire La Célestine aujourd'hui

Abstract

To make a modern translation of an old text —contrary to what the Pierre Menardof Borges says—, I tried to recreate the original text with sentences which were «verbally» different. By using homology, one can respect the uniqueness of a text, both in its original freshness and its perspective. But, so that the reader can recognize the oral vitality of The Celestina, one must take into account not only the time which separates us from the date it was written, but the tempo of the phrases. One must reorganize the text with a syntax which corresponds to the way we communicate today. Then it becomes obvious that the word, even if it seems to emanate from a code of courtly love or of ancient wisdom, is an imposture —as much in the mouth of the masters as of the servants.