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Article published In:
The Metalanguage of Translation
Edited by Yves Gambier and Luc van Doorslaer
[Target 19:2] 2007
► pp. 235–254

Polysemy and synonymy

Their management in Translation Studies dictionaries and in translator training. A case study

| Hogeschool Antwerpen

The use of the same term with different meanings and the use of different terms with somewhat analogous meanings are not exceptional phenomena in scientific language. This article deals with polysemy and synonymy, and consists of three parts. The introductory part gives a brief description of the dictionaries and encyclopedias published up to the present time and justifies the choice of the examples in this case study, namely the polysemic term coherence and four synonymous pairs of concepts and terms: documentary/instrumental translation, overt/covert translation and interlingual interpretive/interlingual descriptive communication as well as direct/indirect translation. The second part offers a comparison between the various dictionaries and encyclopedias and shows how the polysemic term coherence and the related pairs of concepts/terms are dealt with. It also indicates how the profusion of terminology could more effectively meet the needs of everyone who is engaged in translation and Translation Studies. The purpose of the third part is to demonstrate that in the training of translators, it is necessary to dispose of a metalanguage and that terminological diversity as a reflection of theoretic-conceptual diversity may be seen as an opportunity.

Keywords: coherence, documentary/instrumental translation, overt/covert translation, interlingual interpretive/interlingual descriptive communication, direct/indirect translation
Article outline
  • 1.Dictionaries and encyclopedias and the case study terms and concepts
    • 1.1Dictionaries and encyclopedias of translation and Translation Studies
    • 1.2Case study terms and concepts
  • 2.Polysemy and synonymy in Translation Studies dictionaries
    • 2.1Coherence as a polysemic term and concept in Translation Studies
      • 2.1.1Translation terminology (Delisle et al. 1999)
      • 2.1.2Dictionary of Translation Studies (Shuttleworth and Cowie 1997)
      • 2.1.3Routledge encyclopedia of Translation Studies (Baker 1998)
      • 2.1.4Critical reflections
    • 2.2Documentary/instrumental—overt/covert—interlingual interpretive/interlingual descriptive—direct/indirect: synonymous pairs of concepts?
      • 2.2.1Terms and cross-references
      • 2.2.2Dictionary of Translation Studies (Shuttleworth and Cowie 1997)
      • 2.2.3Routledge encyclopedia of Translation Studies (Baker 1998)
      • 2.2.4Critical reflections
    • 2.3Perspectives
  • 3.Polysemy and synonymy in translator training
    • 3.1Working with a translation commission
    • 3.2Working with evaluation criteria
    • 3.3Perspectives
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 18 January 2008
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.19.2.05van
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