Dialoguing with Antiquity. Sociolinguistic and pragmatic framework for translating ancient texts

Every translation task raises a slew of complex methodological issues. For ancient languages, these questions are even more outstanding due to the time lag; this is why we consider their discrete exploration to be crucial. This paper identifies the specificities of translation from ancient languages into modern languages, defines the particular challenges arising and suggests theoretical and methodological leads to tackle them. Considering that every translation recreates a communication situation, we analyze the specificity of the translation of ancient texts in the light of sociolinguistic and pragmatic theories. From linguistic to extralinguistic features, we review the different elements of R. Jakobson's interpretation process with regard to the translation of classics. We explore how the characteristics of the original communication situation and those of the situation recreated for the translation can be considered to determine a translation strategy. This interdisciplinary approach lays the foundations for a theoretical and methodological thought about ancient texts translation in the French speaking academic world.