One may wonder to what degree it is legitimate to convey the sense of newness and/or cultural distance that is always experienced in the act of reaching out to a foreign text. To what extent is newness necessary? When does newness become exoticism? Current debates on translation and the representation of foreign cultures, translation ethics, postcolonial translation and the reception of the translated text cannot avoid the issue of exoticism, yet difference remains a thorny issue that is easily oversimplified. Using interdisciplinary tools, especially cognitive, semiotic and critical linguistics, this essay explores the intertextual qualities of difference and how they help create identity and authority in texts and its receptors.