Understanding the meaning

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the nature of meaning, emphasizing the associa-tive character of lexical meanings. The essay also comments on the meaning-related difficulties the translator must often overcome in order to reach a coherent interpretation due to the dubious quality of many original texts. The author illustrates this point through texts from the European Union. He also discusses some exceptional situations , especially regarding religious and traditional texts such as the Lord' s Prayer, whose formal power, including the magical ring of words, seems to outshine the alleged universal need for coherence and signification. Thus, any attempt to promote an alternative translation is systematically rejected because although the new version might be more meaningful, it would also go against the symbolic power of the coined formula. [Javier Franco Aixelá] Resumen En este artículo se realiza un repaso de la naturaleza del significado, con énfasis en el carácter asociativo de los significados léxicos. Igualmente, se comentan las dificul-tades semánticas que el traductor debe superar en múltiples ocasiones, ilustrándolas a través de textos de la Unión Europea, para poder alcanzar una interpretación co-herente debido a la discutible calidad de muchos textos originales. También se co-mentan situaciones excepcionales, especialmente en textos de carácter religioso y de gran tradición como el "Padre Nuestro", donde el poder formal, incluso la magia de las palabras parece eclipsar la supuesta necesidad universal de coherencia y significa-ción, de tal manera que se rechaza cualquier intento de traducción alternativa porque aunque pueda resultar más significativa también quebraría el poder simbólico de la fórmula acuñada. 1. Note from the editors: We wish to express our most sincere thanks to Eugene A. Nida for this special off-topic article, which in spite of his delicate health he has written as a token of support to this new translation journal. We consider it a great honour and privilege to include Dr. Nida' s contribution in our first issue.