Un, Dos, y Juntos: Interpretation, Incommensurability, and Linguistic Evolution in Juana Adcock’s “Thirteen Ways of Inhabiting a Language”

Citation

Esler CM (2025) Un, Dos, y Juntos: Interpretation, Incommensurability, and Linguistic Evolution in Juana Adcock’s “Thirteen Ways of Inhabiting a Language”. Modern Languages Open, 2025 (1). https://doi.org/10.3828/mlo.v0i0.539

Abstract
This article explores two models for linguistic development (the Tree and Wave models) as well as currents in so-called “non-translation studies” through a close reading of “Thirteen Ways of Inhabiting a Language” (2019) by the Mexican poet-translator Juana Adcock. In particular, it argues that Adcock uses non-translation to demonstrate the extraordinary interconnectedness of languages and the impact this has on the way they develop and relate to one another. Ultimately, it concludes, in agreement with Domínguez et al., that the borders between languages (like many borders) are socially constructed and that embracing the entangled nature of human languages through non-translation can be immensely productive.

Keywords
Non-translation; translingualism; Scottish poetry

Journal
Modern Languages Open: Volume 2025, Issue 1