The transmission of wisdom in discourse is a phenomenon of orality. How does one translate an oral message from English into French? The French tradition, which centres around writing, tends to silence the author’s voice, and consequently, the mode of expression, and seeks to transform it into a literary-like construction, blending beauty and clarity. Ethnocentrism is unrelenting as exoticism ferments. But as, Meschonnic warns, what is to become of text meaning? How can one best deal with the dichotomy between translated discourse and its content? The author suggests that the translator – born in a norm-conscious society – acquire self-knowledge and learn to understand his or her own deeply ingrained habits as a means of escaping the dogma of the day, namely text hyperanalysis.