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ABSTRACT
This essay considers the translatabilty of Trump's language as both a practical and ethical concern. Focusing on the infamous “grab ‘em by the pussy” episode, which occurred during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, I examine how the international press translated this phrase and consider the implications of the various translation tactics employed, including the refusal to translate. At issue, I argue, is the principle of accountability and how translation can hold Trump accountable for the language he uses, even when doing so crosses the line.
Notes
1. Arabic-language media outlets also declined a more precise translation, employing strategies comparable to the Hebrew.
2. Castilian Spanish, for example, had an almost perfect counterpart in coño, which is both pussy and coward/fool Citation(Juez).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Adriana X. Jacobs
Adriana X. Jacobs is Associate Professor of Modern Hebrew Literature at Oxford University and Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies. She is also a convenor of the research program Oxford Comparative Criticism and Translation. Her monograph Strange Cocktail: Translation and the Making of Modern Hebrew Poetry is forthcoming from the University of Michigan Press.