The concept of “meaning” in literary translation from a Wittgensteinian Perspective

Abstract

The concepts of meaning, family resemblance, language games and way of life that Ludwig Wittgenstein developed in his book Philosophische Untersuchungen have been widely analysed and debated in different disciplines (i.e. Philosophy, Linguistics, Psychology, etc.). In this article, I aim to summarize them and link them to their relevance when translating literary texts. I believe that translating a literary text implies, first, an interpretation as well as comprehension of the text by the translator. In doing so, their translation cannot be a mere conveyance of words from one language to another, but of a full interpretation and search of effects.