(Fehl-)Übersetzung, (Miß-)Deutung? Was die Vernünftigen Tadlerinnen mit The Tatler anstellen

Based on the variance of early German translations of the Tatler, which appeared from April 1709 onwards – ‘Der Plauderer’ vs. ‘Der Tadler’ – this article takes a walk through the history of meaning. In two synchronous sections in 1716/17 and 1725/26, dictionary entries on the one hand and literary-critical contexts in which the Tatler is referred to on the other are examined. Repeated semantic and performative interweaving between reprimanding and verbal excess can be observed, which suggests that the early word history of ‘Tadel’ or ‘tadeln’ should be investigated. The Teutsche Sprachschatz of 1691, which defines ‘tadeln’ in its basic meaning as an intensified ‘talen’ (‘to make words’), is informative. Against this background, the choice of title and the public appearance of the Vernünftige Tadlerinnen 1725/26 present themselves as an implication-rich ‘translation’ of The Tatler that exhausts the semantic and performative scope, which precisely evades normative judgement in the sense of ‘rebuke’ in favour of linguistic staging.