Abstract
I propose a genre-based approach and use the highly multilingual genre of travel writing (in particular in the 18th and 19th centuries) as an example. As these texts often deal with journeys across linguistic boundaries and report on experiences with other people, other countries, and other cultures, it is a genre that is bound to be multilingual. Still, the multilingualism of travelogues has hitherto hardly been studied. Looking at various examples (e.g. by Georg Forster, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, George Sand), I show how travel writers used multilingualism in their texts (also) in a playful manner, for instance when recounting funny scenes or misunderstandings. Furthermore, they at times invite their readers to play, for example when they cite writers in the original language (e.g. Mary Shelley quotes Dante, Karl Philipp Moritz quotes John Milton) and don’t give any translation. The readers are thus invited to search for translations, reading such a travelogue thus also has a playful element to it.
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
Multilingualism, Travel, Writing
