Die Übersetzung als fortgeführtes Sprachexperiment. Ansätze zu einer anderen Metasprache für das Übersetzen (Friedrich Achleitner, Ernst Jandl, Georges Perec, Walter Abish)

Abstract

This article examines the translation of experimental literature, i.e. of literary texts that explicitly explore conventional forms of representation. Focusing on four examples, Friedrich Achleitner’s montage mit weiss (1957), Ernst Jandl’s reihe (1968), Georges Perec’s La vie mode d’emploi (1978), and Walter Abish’s Alphabetical Africa (1974), the essay shows how the translators employ the experimental methods used in the original language in the target language, thereby shifting the focus from the semantic level of the originals. The article concludes by arguing that these translations challenge traditional concepts of translation, which subordinate the translation to its original. In contrast, the article proposes these translations must be conceptualized as continuations of literary experiments in another language.