Ethico-aesthetics and the machinic repetition of literature in translation

This article examines how translation practitioners might begin to develop a praxis that is based on an ontological polyvocality; one which allows for difficulty - even misconstrual and semantic breakdown - so that translations do not become mechanical reproductions, subsumed by systems of power, rather than machinic repetitions that allow for deterritorializations along lines of flight. Because, despite the fact that translations are regarded as relatively autonomous creations, they still conform; they are still produced in the socius which, in modern societies, aids the functioning of capitalism. The question arises: if translations - which are unavoidably a kind of literary repetition - are produced and constructed within capitalist societies, does this mean that they inevitably become mechanical reproductions rather than machinic repetitions? To answer this question, translation is investigated within the ethico-aesthetic framework developed by Félix Guattari and selected translations of passages in the oeuvre of the South African author Ingrid Winterbach are referenced.