After Babel

After Babel
Cover of the first edition
AuthorGeorge Steiner
Cover artistThe (Little) Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1563
LanguageEnglish
SubjectsLanguage, translation
PublisherOxford University Press
Publication date
1975
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback)
Pages520 (first edition)
ISBN0-19-212196-0
OCLC1193209
418/.02
LC ClassP306 .S66

After Babel: Aspects of Language and Translation (1975; second edition 1992; third edition 1998) is a linguistics book by literary critic George Steiner, in which the author deals with the "Babel problem" of multiple languages.[1]

After Babel is a comprehensive study of the subject of language and translation.[2] It is both a controversial and seminal work[3] that covers a great deal of new ground and has remained the most thorough book on this topic since its publication.[2] Director Peter Bush of the British Centre for Literary Translation at the University of East Anglia described the book as a "pioneering work which revealed all communication as a form of translation, and how central translation is to relations between cultures."[4] Daniel Hahn at ContemporaryWriters.com wrote that "It is extraordinary in making a real contribution to translation studies, while remaining fairly self-contained and accessible to people who have never before given the matter a second thought."[2]

After Babel was adapted for television in 1977 as The Tongues of Men, and was the inspiration behind the creation in 1983 of the English avant-rock group News from Babel. After Babel also inspired work by cultural psychiatrist Vincenzo Di Nicola on intercultural communication and cultural family therapy, adopting "beyond Babel" as a metaphor.[5]

  1. ^ "Powers of Literature – Lesson 1: Genesis". Englishare. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
  2. ^ a b c Hahn, Daniel. "George Steiner". Contemporary Writers in the UK. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
  3. ^ "Aspects of Language and Translation". Kwintessential: Cross Cultural Solutions. Archived from the original on 5 May 2008. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
  4. ^ Jaggi, Maya (17 March 2001). "George and his dragons". The Guardian, 17 March 2001. London. Archived from the original on 24 March 2008. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
  5. ^ DiNicola, Vincenzo F (1986). "Beyond Babel: Family therapy as cultural translation". International Journal of Family Psychiatry. 7 (2): 179–191.