The Primal Scattering of Languages: Philosophies, Myths and Genders :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

The Primal Scattering of Languages Philosophies, Myths and GendersABSTRACT In after Babel, George Steiner recounts two main conjectures in fabricationology which explain the mystery of many tongues on which a view of translation hinges. One such mythic bilgewater is the tower of Babel, which non only Steiner, plainly in like manner Jacques Derrida after him, pretend as their starting read to approach the question of translation the some another(prenominal)wise conjecture tells of some awful error which was committed, an accidental release of lingual chaos, in the mode of Pandoras Box (Steiner). This paper result pull in this other conjecture, the myth of Pandora, first woman of the Greek creation myth, as its point of departure, not only to offer a feminized version of the primal dispel of languages, but to rewrite in a positive light and then also toreverse the negative and misogynist association of Pandora with mans fall. But, rather than exposing the entrench patria rchal bias in mythographers interpretations of Pandora, my foremost aim is to pose, through her figure, questions somewhat language and woman, and, by extension, the mother tongue and female sexuality. In after(prenominal) Babel George Steiner recounts two main conjectures in mythology which explain the mystery of many tongues on which a view of translation hinges. One such mythic rumor is the tower of Babel, which not only Steiner, but also Jacques Derrida after him, take as their starting point to approach the question of translation the other conjecture tells of some awful error which was committed, an accidental release of linguistic chaos, in the mode of Pandoras Box (Steiner 197557). This paper will take this other conjecture, the myth of Pandora, first woman of the Greek creation myth, as its point of departure, not only to offer a feminized version of the primal scattering of languages, but to rewrite in a positive light and therefore also reverse the negative and misogyn ist association of Pandora with mans fall.Rather than adopting the patrilineal account Derrida or Steiner give as regards the origin of translation, I will use the figure of Pandora to combine, and rewrite, aspects both of the Babel myth and the Oedipus myth. This is because, whilst Babel is associated with loss, the loss of one tongue, and Oedipus is associated with lack, mans expurgation anxiety, Pandoras box has been associated with both the threat of linguistic chaos, i.e. the loss of understanding, and the threat of womans sexuality, i.