Das Fremde in der Sprache: Hegel e la sfida dell'estraneo

This essay aims to investigate the speculative meaning of Hegel’s translation theory. Based on Hegel’s review of Wilhelm von Humboldt’s lectures on the Bhagavad-Gītā, in which the main theoretical features of his theory of translation are concisely outlined, I argue that, according to Hegel’s understanding, the act of translating requires a speculative conceptualization of the notion of Fremde. My claim is then developed by taking into account: (a) first, Hegel’s semantics; (b) second, the intralingual value of translation, based on which the notion of Fremde appears to be an essential element of self-understanding; (c) last, the problem of linguistic and cultural diversity. As a result, at the core of Hegel’s translation theory one will find what Humboldt and the Romantics had already identified as the principle of fidelity in translation.