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The Tower of Babel: From Babylon to Babel Fish
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 16:38:04
Abstract
"Will the vocabularies never cease clashing/Werden die Wörterbücher immer streiten/Will the bickerwords never grow silent."- Eugene Jolas, "Babel: 1940"
Objective
To situate contemporary discussions of machine translation in relation to earlier literary and philosophical reflections on the problem of linguistic diversity. To gain familiarity with historical origins of machine translation and the stages of its development until the present. To draw historical, thematic, and conceptual connections between the emergence of machine translation in the middle of the twentieth century and the impulses driving post-war literary and theoretical texts. To apply information theory to the analysis of literary texts. To use literary texts to interrogate the operation of telecommunications systems and the assumptions on which those systems rest. To practice inter- and intra-linguistic translation and confront the problem of "the untranslatable."
Content
“Will the vocabularies never cease clashing / Werden die Woerterbuecher immer streiten / Will the bickerwords never grow silent…” Thus read three lines from Eugene Jolas's poem “Babel: 1940.” The clashing of English and German across the line breaks of Jolas’s poem rehearses an age-old lament: why so many languages? At the same time, the consistent falling rhythm, pulsing through the English and German syllables, points in the other direction: might the diversity of the world’s historical languages yet be “processed” into some new unity? Jolas calls such “natural language processing” poetry. The New Testament had called it Pentecost. Today, DeepL calls it machine translation. This course will follow the hope and despair to which “Babel: 1940” gives voice as it echoes across various 20th century literary, scientific, and philosophical discourses. In our survey, we will pay particular attention to how the problem of linguistic difference changes depending on whether one considers Babel as an act of God, a condition of culture, or an obstacle to communication. Texts by Ted Chiang, Douglas Adams, David Bellos, Jorge Luis Borges, Johann Gottfried Herder, Franz Kafka, W. V. Quine, and Douglas Hofstadter.
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- DS
- Frequency
- Semesterly recurring
Examination
- Type
- graded semester performance
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture | The Tower of Babel: From Babylon to Babel Fish |
|
2 h weekly |
Offered In
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Science in Perspective (In “Science in Perspective”-courses students learn to reflect on ETH’s STEM subjects from the perspective of humanities, political and social sciences. Only the courses listed below will be recognized as "Science in Perspective" courses.)
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Type A: Enhancement of Reflection Competence (SiP courses are recommended for bachelor students after their first-year examination and for all master- or doctoral students. All SiP courses are listed in Type A. Courses listed under Type B are only recommendations for enrollment for specific departments.)
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