The Linguist

Chartered Institute of Linguists SUMMER 2026 The Linguist 23 FEATURES the term "could have been translated as autistic personality disorder or else autism to bring it into line with current terminology". In private correspondence, she confirms her view that the meaning of Psychopathie is 'psychopathology', "describing a condition of biological origin that is not deteriorating with age". If we accept this, then Psychopathie may be understood as a classic false friend. Another translation strategy I have seen is to use the term 'AP', which maps clearly to Asperger's original label while removing the connotations. However, Sheffer's argument is that by removing the negative associations, Asperger's work was sanitised. Omissions and mistranslations Frith's translation is presented, without context, as a standalone chapter in Autism and Asperger syndrome. The introduction, in which Asperger sets out the conceptual framework for his findings, is omitted, apparently because Asperger himself cut it from his later-published book. However, Sheffer says that Asperger's motivations for the omission and revisions may be revealed by the context in which the publications appeared: during and after the Nazi era. Whether we agree with this analysis, we can say with certainty that the omission deprives English readers of the ability to evaluate Asperger's work in its rightful context. The term Gemüt appears 19 times in the introduction but only 5 in the main text. This suggests that the concept played a more prominent role in Asperger's framing than is visible in the translation available to English readers. The main thread running through Sheffer's book is that the term Gemüt was firmly rooted in Nazi psychology and was an implicit way of categorising individuals as worthy or unworthy of life. She states that anyone – including Asperger – aligning themselves with the concept was also aligning themselves with Third Reich ideology. However, medical historian Herwig Czech argues that this overemphasises the word Gemüt, and that Nazi psychiatry "is much better characterised by the concept of 'life unworthy of living' (lebensunwertes Leben)." 10 Given the (potential) ideological weight of Gemüt, Sheffer's approach is sensible: unlike Frith, who translates it inconsistently using descriptive terms, Sheffer retains the original German in italics, as a defined term, with an extensive explanation of the etymology of the word and its meaning in Nazi psychology. Likewise, the term Heilpädagogik should, in my opinion, be retained in any translation. According to Czech, "Heilpädagogik's self- professed mission of turning as many 'difficult' children into useful members of the community… [is] perfectly compatible with a program to murder those whose conditions were too severe to allow rehabilitation." 11 In this light, translations such as 'curative education' do not reflect the potentially dark undertones and could be seen as euphemistic. A central accusation against Asperger is that when he referred children from his clinic to the Nazis' Am Spiegelgrund 'euthanasia programme' he knew that they would be murdered. A related criticism is directed at the many academics who have uncritically adopted the narrative of his benevolence. One barrier to a fuller understanding of Asperger's work is that much of it remains untranslated and therefore inaccessible, underscoring the translator's role as mediator between language and culture. Regardless of the debate about Asperger's links with the Third Reich, the translator's job is to provide the English-language reader with the same experience as the German reader of the time. Our remit is to render the source text faithfully to enable readers to make their own decisions. This calls for a translation of Asperger's introduction, a reevaluation of the terminology he used (specifically Psychopathie and Gemüt), and translations of the literature that he relied on. Placing the work in context Asperger's 'slightly revised' republication opens up interesting opportunities for further research. At present, no translation of his book Heilpädagogik exists, but if it did, what would those 'slight revisions' tell us about the mindset of Asperger? And why did he omit the introduction in 1952 compared to 1944? The same is true for the entire body of Asperger's work, for which no official translations exist. An unofficial translation of his 1938 work by evolutionary anthropologist Dean Falk 12 is characterised by mistranslations, according to Czech. 13 Worse, Falk asserts that autistische Psychopathie should be replaced by the later term 'Asperger's syndrome'. In fact, Frith essentially does the same in her translation of the term as 'autism'. In the foreword, Frith thanks her proofreader and presents the age-old translator's problem: "I am also grateful to Judith Ayling for her careful reading of the translation and expert help in keeping the text faithful to the original yet readable in English." But times change. What was 'readable' in 1991 may now be seen as obfuscating. This is a call for a professional translation of Asperger's body of work, with one aim in mind: to allow later generations to interpret Asperger's own words in context. Notes 1 Grunya Yefimovna Sukhareva (1891-1981), a Soviet child psychiatrist, was the first to identify autistic traits, but Asperger's work is lengthier and better known. 2 Sheffer, E (2018) Asperger's Children: The origins of autism in Nazi Vienna, W W Norton & Company 3 Ibid. 33 4 Asperger, H (1944) 'Die "Autistischen Psychopathen" im Kindesalter'. In Archiv für Psychiatrie und Nervenkrankheiten, 17 5 Asperger, H (1952) Heilpädagogik: Eine Einführung in die Psychopathologie des Kindes für Ärzte, Lehrer, Psychologen, Richter und Fürsorgerinnen, Wien: Springer Verlag 6 Wing, L (1981) 'Asperger's syndrome: A clinical account'. In Journal of Psychological Medicine, 11 7 Frith, U (1991) Autism and Asperger syndrome, Cambridge University Press 8 Wing, L (2005) 'Reflections on Opening Pandora's Box'. In Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 9 Op. cit. Sheffer, 242 10 Czech, H (2019) 'Response to "Non- complicit: Revisiting Hans Asperger's career in Nazi-era Vienna"'. In Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49 11 Ibid. 12 Falk D (2019) 'Non-complicit: Revisiting Hans Asperger's career in Nazi-era Vienna'. In Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49, 1-2 13 Op. cit. Czech

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