Untranslatable
Translation between languages is often feasible at a general or surface level. However, when semantic precision is required, direct translation may fail to preserve the intended meaning. In such cases, literal or culturally biased interpretations can result in significant distortions of the original message.
A clear example can be found in the comparison between Catalan and English. In English, constructions such as “I have to do” or “I have had to do” typically encode a sense of obligation or necessity. In Catalan, the structurally equivalent expressions “haig de fer” and “he hagut de fer” may appear to convey the same meaning. Yet, depending on the context, these forms do not necessarily imply obligation. Rather, they can function as explanatory or justificatory devices, providing reasons for an action or accounting for its consequences, without conveying any sense of external or internal compulsion.
When such an expression—e.g., “he hagut de fer”—is translated literally into English, the pragmatic force of the original utterance may be misrepresented. A native English speaker is likely to interpret “you have had to” as implying constraint or obligation, leading to a misunderstanding of the speaker’s intent—it happened to me recently. This illustrates how grammatical equivalence does not guarantee pragmatic equivalence.
This issue extends beyond isolated examples. Approximately one year ago, I translated one of my Catalan texts into English. After revisiting the translation, I concluded that the central message of the original text was not adequately conveyed and ultimately removed it. The conceptual core of the text resisted translation, highlighting the difficulty of transferring meaning across languages when it is deeply embedded in linguistic and cultural structures. For this reason, composing texts directly in the target language may, in some cases, be more effective than translating from a source language.
Across the spectrum of each language, there are corners where semantic and pragmatic domains are not fully translatable, particularly when dealing with abstract, affective, or culturally grounded meanings. Rather than representing a deficiency, this limitation reflects the richness and diversity of linguistic systems. Preserving this diversity is essential, as it embodies distinct ways of conceptualising and interpreting human experience.
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