“‘Hang-hog’ is Latin for bacon” (MWW, 4.1.43): on a Few Renderings of Shakespeare’s Cross-language and Translation-based Wordplay
Résumé
Aiming to challenge the general assumption that polyglot wordplay is untranslatable, this paper focuses on the ‘Latin lesson’ from The Merry Wives of Windsor (4.1), a scene that almost exclusively derives its comic energy from cross-language punning. This paper deals with the question of its problematic translation, particularly through the diachronic comparison of a number of translations into French. Indeed, the Latin lesson relies so heavily on Latin/English punning that it represents a real stumbling block for any translator. My contention is that, far from being inevitably doomed, translations (or rewritings) of this type of scene are not only achievable, but that they can hold their own against the original and may even represent a gain for the target audience.