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Skepsi 2008
Aphorisms from French to English: translations of La Rochefoucauld’s MaximsAbstract: This paper aims to raise the question how aphorisms can signify stable ideas without being grounded in any particular or explicit context, which makes them virtually compatible with any other body of discourse. Aphorisms, being linguistic units in themselves, can be easily transplanted from one discursive situation to another. I shall also discuss their translation, which is to some extent an attempt to graft them from a language to another. Observing how aphorisms translate reveals their complex use of language. These observations find a particular echo in the understanding the effects of the grafting process affecting language.
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