Protivoslovo

[Paul B. Gallagher]

Lily Alexander wrote:

> Dear Colleagues,
> 
> Rereading yesterday Bakhtin, I ran into "protivoslovo."
> 
> I am surprised that I did not come across any attempts of its theorization.
> Of course Bakhtin invented many words, but this one may have slipped 
> through undiscussed. It is used in his "Marxism and the Philosophy of 
> Language."
> 
> As with all of his invented words (or reinvented), it is more than what 
> just meets the eye. It  certainly will be more than just "vozrazhenie," 
> counter argument, etc.
> Slovo also connotes tale, myth, even epos, so it might have an extended 
> meaning beyond "word."  But of course, for starters, "word" and 
> "utterance" would be the subject of his discussion.
> ...
> 
> Slovo provokes protivoslovo in his context. This would be more along the 
> lines of passionate counterargument. Something polyarnoe in a dialoical 
> context, coming out of opposition or provocation and stimulated by debate.
> 
> Any thoughts?

"Word/antiword" doesn't really work for me because it's too narrow, too 
specific, so my immediate reaction was to look for something broader, 
something that would denote an activity or practice rather than a small 
piece of the result. And of course I thought immediately of "speech," 
recalling the phrase "свобода слова." Then "speech/counterspeech" could 
work. I'm sympathetic to the "discourse/counterdiscourse" suggestion, 
but it strikes me initially as esoteric or even arcane (is that what 
you're aiming for?)

But I'm no philosopher or Bakhtin expert, so take this with a grain of salt.

-- 
War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
--
Paul B. Gallagher
pbg translations, inc.
"Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
http://pbg-translations.com

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