Translating “The End of the World” Ludically

From Playing Sudoku to Playing Gossip

Abstract

Based on the author’s experiences of translating Ernesto de Martino’s work, this article will discuss some of the challenges and risks of this endeavor, with a specific focus on her work translating La fine del mondo [The End of the World]. Above and beyond the general problems of translating de Martino, which the author has treated elsewhere (Zinn 2015), La fine del mondo poses a number of particular difficulties: among these, the article considers the nature of the book as an edited, posthumous volume; the heterogenous languages and styles it incorporates; and the immense challenge of the philosophical language employed. To address these, the author offers insights into her translation atelier. From her considerations regarding the process of translating de Martino, the author then moves to a broader reflection on how The End of the World may or may not be received internationally: to what extent does de Martino risk getting caught in an erudite version of the children’s gossip game, in which passing the message from one player to the next leads to serious distortion when the last player says what they’ve heard? Will a de Martino that circulates only based on knowledge of the translation(s) produce visions of his scholarship that are unrecognizable or unpalatable to Italian-speaking scholars? The author concludes by inviting us to play with AI translation, assessing the potential of these technologies as ludic partners.