Untranslatable Texts and Literary Problems

Abstract

Over the past decade, debates about the role of translations in studies focused on Comparative Literature have grown. Questions of self-translation and untranslatable texts have also been added to this discourse. The aim of this article is to bring a Canadian perspective to these discussions by looking at the writing and translation of Nancy Huston in English and French, and those of Italian-Canadian writer Arianna Dagnino in English and Italian. While these two sections revolve around selected Canadian authors switching between European languages, the third section deals, more generally, with the problems of translating Indigenous writing in Canada.