Say what you see

One of the first songs I learnt to play by ear on the piano was Stevie Wonder's 1984 hit I Just Called To Say I Love You. I'd always admired his lyrics to describe things that he himself cannot see. On closer inspection it could be argued that with the exception of references to the sun and the moon, everything mentioned in the song can actually be perceived without the gift of sight. This got me thinking about the relationship between language and perception – and its implications for translation. But first here's some theory.

It was the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) who first theorised about the signifier (the word used to denote a given object or concept) and the signified (the actual object or concept itself). It's easy to believe that the relationship between the two is arbitrary and universally intelligible – it is not. After all, if you and I both imagine a table, in the absence of any other specific details, only coincidence would cause us to imagine the exact same object. This is surely because we will each draw on the totality of our respective life experiences to imagine the object. And since we both experience the world differently; so our representation of it will also be different.

This difference in perception and representation (combined with the different levels of specificity discussed in an earlier post on this blog) can give translators major headaches. Up to now we have looked at two variables: the signifier and the signified. Translators have three: the signifier in the source language, its equivalent signifier in the target language and a signified which most accurately represents both signifiers. I've recently begun to think of this as the linguistic equivalent of the fire triangle – such that if any one of these components is unsatisfactory, effective translation is difficult.

I have been translating descriptions for a new clothing range. However, the fact that the items are new means that often no photos exist of the clothes being described. Secondly, no definitive terms exist in the client files or online yet – so the translator only has one side of the 'triangle' to work with. Google Images 'helps' by proposing thousands of signifieds when you only need one! Even with other descriptive elements, if Farbe is the German word for colour, and we encounter the words Farbgebung and Farbbrillanz; without photos or further details it is not always clear how many colours are involved. So either colour or colours could be correct.

I've also been wondering about the precise time in English when a body warmer became a gilet. And if German speakers could tell me why they decided to call the humble English tank top a pullunder, I'd be very grateful. I'd also love to know how someone actually puts this garment on. With a pullover it's clear. But a pullunder? The mind boggles!