Heterolingualism, although a constant element in literary history, has seldom been taken into account in translation studies. Whenever translation scholars have considered it, it has almost always been for positing its untranslatability. Heterolingualism is generally seen as a dead end to which translation must surrender. However, why should it be seen as a problem? This article aims to demonstrate how heterolingual texts, while questioning the monolingual assumption underlying the traditional conception of translation, can open the way to an alternative idea and practice of translation. It first provides a historical overview of literary heterolingualism, then focuses on the relationship between heterolingual writing and translation before looking into the prospects of heterolingualism in translation. The last part of the article investigates strategies in the translation of heterolingual texts by analyzing excerpts from two novels, Temps de chien (2001/2003) by Patrice Nganang and Verre cassé (2005) by Alain Mabanckou, and their English, Spanish and Italian versions. Far from facing an impossible challenge, translation can succeed in representing the interweaving of languages of the source text, provided that it draws away from the monolingual paradigm.