Reversing Babel

According to Bruce O’Brien’s new monograph on translators and translation, an intrepid visitor to London around 1150 might have heard as many as fifteen languages: English predominantly, but also French, German, Flemish, Danish, Genoese, Spanish, Breton, Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Hebrew, Arabic and Greek. His book claims to cover fourteen languages; the new collection of essays edited by Elizabeth M. Tyler examines nearly as many. As the example of the hypothetical visitor suggests, studying medieval multilingualism requires a formidable knowledge of languages. Also desirable is a historian’s ability to analyse primary sources, a critic’s skill at the close reading of literary texts, a knowledge of linguistics, and a grasp of cultural theory—particularly analyses of the interaction of language and power. Considering these demands, it is not surprising that both books occasionally disappoint. The papers in Conceptualizing Multilingualism, all originally presented at the third Alcuin Conference held in York in

Art · Flemish · German · Irish · Linguistics · Literature · Multilingualism · Reading (process · Sociology · Translation studies · Visitor pattern · Welsh · Classics · History · Medieval Literature and History · Philosophy