“The point of departure of peoples determines their fate”: Peter Chaadaev and Alexis de Tocqueville
In 1836, Peter Chaadaev in his private letter to Alexander Turgenev mentioned that the French thinker Alexis de Tocqueville had stolen from him a “deep thought” that the point of departure of peoples determined their fate. Russian and foreign scholars interpreted these words differently, trying to a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Слово.ру: балтийский акцент |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.kantiana.ru/slovo/4678/25626/ |
| _version_ | 1811276729097912320 |
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| author | Dementev I. О. |
| author_facet | Dementev I. О. |
| author_sort | Dementev I. О. |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In 1836, Peter Chaadaev in his private letter to Alexander Turgenev mentioned that the French thinker Alexis de Tocqueville had stolen from him a “deep thought” that the point of departure of peoples determined their fate. Russian and foreign scholars interpreted these words differently, trying to assess the seriousness of Chaadaev’s reproach. The article explores the history of the expression ‘le point de départ’ and the use of it in the works by Tocqueville (“Democracy in America”) and Chaadaev (“Philosophical Letters”, “Apology of a Madman”). The author argues that the concept of the ‘point of departure’, which had special significance for Tocqueville, was also important for Chaadaev, who used this phrase in different contexts. Having compared Russian translations of the texts by Tocqueville and Chaadaev, the author concludes that although the translators used different strategies to convey the meaning of the phrase in Russian, in all cases, to a greater or lesser extent, there was a threat of violation of the intentions of both authors. Based on the analysis of the word usage in the texts of both thinkers, the author suggests a number of recommendations aimed to clarify the translations of Chaadaev and Tocqueville works into Russian. The article also notes possible sources of the image “the point of departure of peoples” in the text by Tocqueville (from François Guizot to American interlocutors). |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T00:02:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e4e41327eb3d4c439e794738d8397608 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2225-5346 2686-8989 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T00:02:55Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Слово.ру: балтийский акцент |
| spelling | doaj.art-e4e41327eb3d4c439e794738d83976082022-12-22T03:11:19ZengImmanuel Kant Baltic Federal UniversityСлово.ру: балтийский акцент2225-53462686-89892020-08-01113425610.5922/2225-5346-2020-3-3“The point of departure of peoples determines their fate”: Peter Chaadaev and Alexis de TocquevilleDementev I. О.0Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal UniversityIn 1836, Peter Chaadaev in his private letter to Alexander Turgenev mentioned that the French thinker Alexis de Tocqueville had stolen from him a “deep thought” that the point of departure of peoples determined their fate. Russian and foreign scholars interpreted these words differently, trying to assess the seriousness of Chaadaev’s reproach. The article explores the history of the expression ‘le point de départ’ and the use of it in the works by Tocqueville (“Democracy in America”) and Chaadaev (“Philosophical Letters”, “Apology of a Madman”). The author argues that the concept of the ‘point of departure’, which had special significance for Tocqueville, was also important for Chaadaev, who used this phrase in different contexts. Having compared Russian translations of the texts by Tocqueville and Chaadaev, the author concludes that although the translators used different strategies to convey the meaning of the phrase in Russian, in all cases, to a greater or lesser extent, there was a threat of violation of the intentions of both authors. Based on the analysis of the word usage in the texts of both thinkers, the author suggests a number of recommendations aimed to clarify the translations of Chaadaev and Tocqueville works into Russian. The article also notes possible sources of the image “the point of departure of peoples” in the text by Tocqueville (from François Guizot to American interlocutors).https://journals.kantiana.ru/slovo/4678/25626/alexis de tocqueville“democracy in america”peter chaadaevletter of peter chaadaev to alexander turgenevproblems of translation of academic textsrevolution |
| spellingShingle | Dementev I. О. “The point of departure of peoples determines their fate”: Peter Chaadaev and Alexis de Tocqueville Слово.ру: балтийский акцент alexis de tocqueville “democracy in america” peter chaadaev letter of peter chaadaev to alexander turgenev problems of translation of academic texts revolution |
| title | “The point of departure of peoples determines their fate”: Peter Chaadaev and Alexis de Tocqueville |
| title_full | “The point of departure of peoples determines their fate”: Peter Chaadaev and Alexis de Tocqueville |
| title_fullStr | “The point of departure of peoples determines their fate”: Peter Chaadaev and Alexis de Tocqueville |
| title_full_unstemmed | “The point of departure of peoples determines their fate”: Peter Chaadaev and Alexis de Tocqueville |
| title_short | “The point of departure of peoples determines their fate”: Peter Chaadaev and Alexis de Tocqueville |
| title_sort | the point of departure of peoples determines their fate peter chaadaev and alexis de tocqueville |
| topic | alexis de tocqueville “democracy in america” peter chaadaev letter of peter chaadaev to alexander turgenev problems of translation of academic texts revolution |
| url | https://journals.kantiana.ru/slovo/4678/25626/ |
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