ABSTRACT
The triumph of the language of the U.S.A.'s president is deeply connected to the paradoxical insularity of English: a language perceived to be universal but which in fact limits its ability to converse—it forgets that the blood of any language is translation. Translators know well that their job is the best way to put an end to walls. But maybe the walls around the English language reveal the kind of language that is the language of the forty-fifth president—the president of the Wall—in a deeper sense.
Notes
1. Slahi, Mohamedou. Guantanamo Diary. Ed. Larry Siems. London: Canongate, 2015.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Carles Torner
Carles Torner is a Catalan writer, poet, and translator. Before joining PEN as Executive Director, he was director of the Literature and Humanities Department at the Ramon Llull Institute, where he was in charge of the presence of Catalan literature as guest of honor at the Frankfurt book fair and the Guadalajara International book fair. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Paris VIII and is a lecturer in Communication and International Relations at Blanquerna, Universitat Ramon Llull, in Barcelona.