Ionesco was born in 1912 in Romania of a French mother and
Romanian father; his formative years were spent in France. In 1925 he returned
to Romania when he learnt the “native” language. He subsequently taught French.
Does a perfect knowledge of two languages enrich one’s appreciation of language
in general?
“Bilingualism involves a sort of intellectual acrobatics. I think
that it is indispensable for my work as a writer. But I don’t believe that
different languages represent totally different visions of life, nor that
nationality is an isolating factor. From my experience as a bilingual speaker, I
would say that there can be an exact translation from on language to another, because
there is a commonly shared structure which is permanent and universal. Although
children learn a different language depending on where they were born,
nevertheless the process is the same in all cases. For we all have the same
anxieties and ask the same questions; and nationality, like politics, is
secondary to the central problem of man’s existential condition.”
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