In this interdisciplinary study Henry Schogt explores the relations between linguistics, literary analysis, and literary translation. He offers an analysis of both theory and practice of literary translation and literary analysis in the light of contemporary linguistic theories. Various aspects of language are examined: sound, grammar, morphology and syntax, semantics, style, social and geographical variants from the system-oriented point of view of linguistics and from that of the individual literary text.

Discussions of general problems cover the conflict between system usage and norm, the theory of cost and yield, and the nature of the linguistic sign. Questions more specifically relevant for literary analysis and literary translation are also addressed. How does one deal with sound symbolism? How does the translator cope with the problem raised by the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, according to which each language represents a different world view? Does the reader/receiver-oriented text analysis destroy the identity of the text and thereby give the translator complete freedom?

Schogt reviews some happy and some not so happy encounters of linguistics and literary analysis, and concludes with an assessment of the prospects for a fruitful collaboration of linguistics, literary analysts, and translators.