Эссе Марии Степановой об эмиграции и языке на английском

В Equator опубликовано эссе Марии Степановой “The Suitcase of Language” в переводе Саши Дагдейл. Текст основан на лекции, прочитанной Степановой в апреле этого года в Центре современной культуры в Барселоне.

В эссе — о потере дома и страны, языке в эмиграции и историческом опыте.

The very concept of a place of one’s own is so problematic that the Russian dictionary has not developed a term for its loss — either enforced or voluntary. “Bezdomny” — literally, “without a home” — is an umbrella category for all sorts of homelessness. There is no Russian word for a person who loses their country. We have only calques from other languages: emigration, expatriation, relocation. Of late, some of us have used the last to indicate that we are living outside our country only as a temporary measure.

Our country. But what is our country, if we have nothing of ours left in it?

Прочитать эссе можно на сайте журнала Equator.