'Saying Almost the Same Thing: Experiences in translation': an introduction
Translation: Kristin Addis
Abstract
This article is a translation into Basque of the introduction to Umberto Eco's book, Dire quasi la stessa cosa (Saying Almost the Same Thing). The author tries to decipher some of the problems inherent in the exercise and analysis of translation, beginning with an attempt to clarify the meaning of the term itself, or what translation is usually understood to mean, since there are numerous problems that arise in establishing what it means to "say the same thing," difficulties due to various operations such as periphrasis, definition, reformulation, and of course the use of synonyms. Secondly, when faced with a translated text, we don't know what it is. In some cases, it is even difficult to know what "means" means. In the final analysis, translation is a serious activity that requires a professional ethic that no deconstructivist theory of translation will ever be able to declare null and void.
