The Communication Process Through Translation

Abstract

Translation is used to express in different languages the same communication content. To distinguish the content as such, modern communication theories are based on the distinction made by three levels or types of linguistic content. This study uses the terminology of Coseriu from Textlinguistik (1994). According to this author, three main types of linguistic content can be distinguished: the designation - the reference to the extra-linguistic reality, the signification – the given content of the individual language and the meaning - what the text or a text fragment ‘meant’ in a specific context and in a specific situation. For the communication process it is important, which from these three types linguistic content can be found in a text and must be transferred when translating into another language. The article offers a comparative research between the original French text from Charles De Coster „La légende et les aventures héroïques, joyeuses et glorieuses d’Ulenspiegel et de Lamme Goedzak au pays de Flandres et ailleurs” and its German translations. The study examines 129 Flemish words and idioms used by the Belgian author for his „Flemish language”. The analyze shows the difficulties in the communication process trough translation in order to maintain the content with all significations in a different language.