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Translation and other acts of meaning : In between cognitive semiotics and semiotics of culture

Sonesson, Göran LU orcid (2014) In Cognitive Semiotics 7(2). p.249-280
Abstract

If translation is an act of meaning transaction, semiotics should be able to define its specificity in relation to other semiotic acts. Instead, following upon suggestions by Roman Jakobson, the Tartu school, and, more implicitly, Charles Sanders Peirce, the notion of translation has been generalized to cover more or less everything that can be done within and between semiotic resources. In this paper, we start out from a definition of communication elaborated by the author in an earlier text, characterizing translation as a double act of meaning. This characterization takes into account the instances of sending and receiving of both acts involved: the first one at the level of cognition and the second one at the level of communication.... (More)

If translation is an act of meaning transaction, semiotics should be able to define its specificity in relation to other semiotic acts. Instead, following upon suggestions by Roman Jakobson, the Tartu school, and, more implicitly, Charles Sanders Peirce, the notion of translation has been generalized to cover more or less everything that can be done within and between semiotic resources. In this paper, we start out from a definition of communication elaborated by the author in an earlier text, characterizing translation as a double act of meaning. This characterization takes into account the instances of sending and receiving of both acts involved: the first one at the level of cognition and the second one at the level of communication. Given this definition, we show that Jakobson's "intralinguistic translation"is, in a sense, the opposite of translation and that his "intersemiotic translation"has important differences and well as similarities to real translation. We also suggest that "cultural translation"has very little to do with translation proper except, in some cases, at the end of its operation. Peirce's idea of exchanging signs for other signs is better understood as a characterization of tradition.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
translation, communication, cognition, cultural semiotics, semiotic resources
in
Cognitive Semiotics
volume
7
issue
2
pages
32 pages
publisher
De Gruyter
external identifiers
  • scopus:85014246807
ISSN
2235-2066
DOI
10.1515/cogsem-2014-0016
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
a9e1e7cd-bf35-466a-ad0e-e257d3737e63
date added to LUP
2018-02-27 23:10:52
date last changed
2023-11-17 14:51:20
@article{a9e1e7cd-bf35-466a-ad0e-e257d3737e63,
  abstract     = {{<p>If translation is an act of meaning transaction, semiotics should be able to define its specificity in relation to other semiotic acts. Instead, following upon suggestions by Roman Jakobson, the Tartu school, and, more implicitly, Charles Sanders Peirce, the notion of translation has been generalized to cover more or less everything that can be done within and between semiotic resources. In this paper, we start out from a definition of communication elaborated by the author in an earlier text, characterizing translation as a double act of meaning. This characterization takes into account the instances of sending and receiving of both acts involved: the first one at the level of cognition and the second one at the level of communication. Given this definition, we show that Jakobson's "intralinguistic translation"is, in a sense, the opposite of translation and that his "intersemiotic translation"has important differences and well as similarities to real translation. We also suggest that "cultural translation"has very little to do with translation proper except, in some cases, at the end of its operation. Peirce's idea of exchanging signs for other signs is better understood as a characterization of tradition. </p>}},
  author       = {{Sonesson, Göran}},
  issn         = {{2235-2066}},
  keywords     = {{translation; communication; cognition; cultural semiotics; semiotic resources}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{249--280}},
  publisher    = {{De Gruyter}},
  series       = {{Cognitive Semiotics}},
  title        = {{Translation and other acts of meaning : In between cognitive semiotics and semiotics of culture}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/cogsem-2014-0016}},
  doi          = {{10.1515/cogsem-2014-0016}},
  volume       = {{7}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}