"Volgarizzare e tradurre" di Gianfranco Folena. Storia e prassi della traduzione

Folena’s essay on translation was first published in the proceeding of a Conference which took place in Trieste in 1973. Yet, approaching this text today may give the impression of reading a work just issued from the author’s workshop, which proves its constant scientific and methodological value, after more than four decades of debates and discussion on translation practices. In a work of extraordinary density, in which a variety of themes and argumentative lines are intertwined, Folena deals especially with the “semantics of translation”, reconstructing the history of the terms with which this operation has been identified between the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and simultaneously by getting insights into the debates which, within this time frame, have qualified the translation activity "per sé". Folena focuses on the personal experience and mindset of the Humanist Leonardo Bruni, first and sophisticated theorist of ranslation, translator from Greek and Latin and promoter of the new terminology – “traducere”, “traductio”, “traductor” – which opposed and replaced different expression previously in use – “volgarizzare”, “traslatare”, “trasmutare”, and so on – thus enabling the passage from an obsolete conception of translating to one more apt to the spirit and exigences of a new era. Folena’s thought-provoking essay, characterized by critical lucidity and touching on an abundance of fascinating issues, may still be considered a milestone in the reflections on the practice of translation and on the role of translators.