Comparaison et traduction des droits: à l’impossible tous sont tenus

A number of literary critics, philosophers, and lawyers have argued in favor of an ethical approach to translation. Through various examples, I first seek to illustrate what these thinkers have had in mind. Having contrasted this perspective with ethnocentric translation, I then argue in favor of an ethics of translation, although I make the philosophical point that, strictly speaking, an ethical translation is impossible to achieve. I conclude, however, by claiming that the ethical claim is so compelling as to force the translator to achieve the impossible.