Übersetzer-Leser-Interaktion in den wissenschaftlichen Übersetzungen des 18. Jahrhunderts

Der Fall der Viaggi alle due Sicilie von Lazzaro Spallanzani

Abstract

This article discusses the French and German translations of Viaggi alle Due Sicilie e in alcune parti dell'Appennino (Pavia, 1792-1797) written by the Italian natural scientist Lazzaro Spallanzani. The French translations by Jean Senebier (Bern, 1795-1797) and Georges Toscan (Paris, 1799-1800) as well as the German translation by Kreissig/Schmidt (Leipzig, 1795-1798) will be examined. Through a historical contextualization of the respective translations, the three texts are discussed from the perspective of the interaction between translators and readers. This communicative approach turns out to be particularly useful in relation to 18^th century scientific translations. Focussing both on relevant paratextual elements (the translators’ prefaces and footnotes) and on historical sources (correspondences and reviews) the paper investigates the mutual relations between the “voices” of the translators and those of their readers.