Language, historically speaking, has always been slippery. Two dictionaries provide two different maps of the universe: which one is true, or are both false? Speaking in Tongues - taking the form of a dialogue between Nobel-Laureate novelist J. M. Coetzee and eminent translator Mariana Dimopulos - explores questions that have constantly plagued writers and translators, now more than ever.This is a book about languages, what languages can and what they cannot do.