The French Translations of The Origin of Species: A Lexicometric Approach

Abstract

A lexicometric analysis was performed with Hyperbase software, in order to capture the variations of Charles Darwin's six original editions of The Origin of Species, as well as of the French translations of the 1st, 3rd, and 6th editions. The source corpus is characterized by a greater homogeneity than the translated corpus, but the specificities identified point to salient elements of Darwinian thought and its evolution. The translated corpus, on the other hand, presents variations reflecting the translators’ choice and emphasizing that access to Darwin's thought for the French-speaking reader remains incomplete. The advantages and disadvantages of the method are also discussed.

Keywords

• charles darwin
• retranslation
• translation choices
• lexicometry
• statistics.etranslation
• statistics