The author analyzes an interesting debate that was ignited in Corsican cultural and literary circles, spilled into the public domain and received considerable media coverage following the translation of a French novel into Corsican in 1989. The debate, which drew contributions from linguists and writers actively involved in promoting Corsican language and culture, concerned the way in which translations in Corsica could be politicized and made to symbolize power relations on a wider historical and societal level. Political resistance to French domination in Corsica has been fought, as elsewhere, on the level of language and culture. The Corsican language forms the centerpiece of an activist claim to political autonomy, and as such has value in and of itself, as a pure, autonomous code rather than a communicative practice.