"Harmonic resonances" in language and translation

Comments are welcome.

My comments about taking statistics come mainly from Patricia Kuhl: https://map.bloomfire.com/posts/562552-the-linguistic-genius-of-babies

This is an amusing and informative video on harmonic resonance:

Extracted text from Harmonic_Resonances.pdf:

Harmonic Resonances A new model/metaphor for translation?

Communication takes place across many different frequencies I believe we are all taking statistics as we negotiate meaning along with other aspects of human interaction mediated by language. And these statistics are being taken on several (maybe more than several in many instances) different frequencies at once. So we are trying (both in original communication and then again in translation) to line up the most relevant frequencies to achieve some kind of harmonic resonance between the communication and our understanding (or translation) of it.

Communication takes place across many different frequencies For example: Communicative: E.g. negotiating meaning per se vs. negotiating relationships (identity) Pragmatic: E.g. denotation vs. connotation 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Purely linguistic: Phonology Morphology Syntax Lexicon Etc.

Yet harmonic resonances can exist at different frequencies

When I say "table" vs. "mesa," I may refer to the same object in the world, or even to a sufficiently similar idea in the brain of my hearer, but what I also communicate (whether I want to or not) is something about my own identity as a speaker of English or a speaker of Spanish. The harmonic resonance is not only at the level of object reference, but also at the level of identity reference.

Yet harmonic resonances can exist at different frequencies

The use of ch'ul totic and ch'ul metic (holy father/holy mother) vs. totic and metic (father/mother) or ca'cal and u (day/month) by Chamulas in Chiapas depends not at all on the reference-all are to the sun and moon. But only traditional animists will use the first pair, while only Catholics use the second and only Protestants the third. People apparently first of all process their identity, and then choose the natural pair of terms accordingly. Of course this does not happen quite like this, as it quickly becomes automatic.

Yet harmonic resonances can exist at different frequencies

Amos cows of Bashan clearly refer to rich aristocratic women of Samaria, but that reference, while important, is taken for granted in the original communication while the frequency being emphasized is Amos' disdain of these women as well as his negotiation with his audience to share that disdain with him. A good translation will find a harmonic resonance with that negotiated distain, perhaps even to the detriment of the physical reference.

Yet harmonic resonances can exist at different frequencies

In English we say on the corner when we mean an outside corner, while we say in the corner when we mean an inside corner. We use the same word, but different prepositions. (grammatical frequency) In Spanish, different words are used, but the same prepositions: esquina means on the corner, while rincn means in the corner. In both cases the use the preposition en would be used. (lexical frequency)

Yet harmonic resonances can exist at different frequencies

Here the frequencies being monitored for adequate similarity in translation or understanding are not object/idea reference vs. identity of speaker, but rather the different strategies employed by English (prepositions) vs. Spanish (lexicon) to achieve the same communicative goal. Languages make use of all the frequencies available (phonology/morphology/syntax/lexicon/pragmatics/etc.) to achieve similar goals using different strategies. And the hearers and translators need to be taking statistics on both sides of the equation in order to get adequate harmonic convergence or resonance.

Literal translation is often patently dissonant:

English

Spanish

How old are you = Que tan viejo eres? (It sounds like an insult: How old you are!)

Literal translation is often patently dissonant:

Spanish

English

Que tantos aos tienes? = How many years do you have? (In English one cannot have years, it is impossible. It sounds like How many sticks do you have?)

Yet if we align the right frequencies it comes out right:

English

Spanish

How old are you = Que tantos aos tienes?

Yet harmonic resonances can exist at different frequencies

Hebrew acrostic poems use all 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet at the beginning of each successive verse to express the completeness of the poetic utterance (in Lamentations, the utter depth of grief over the destruction of Jerusalem). In the Traduccin en Lenguaje Actual translator Alfredo Tepox used the 22 letters of the phrase he used to translate the opening (and repeated) cry of the book Pobrecita de ti, Jerusaln! as the basis for a new acrostic.

Hebrew acrostic (Lam 1)

Spanish TLA

Keys, chords, transpositions and genres

Ernst Wendland has suggested that other musical concepts might fit well under this model/metaphor. Here are some first thoughts about those ideas: Keys and transpositions might represent literary styles or linguistic registers. Chords might help deal with the concept of faithfulness within seemingly radical transformations. Genres could represent inter-semiotic translation across media. But there may be better and more apt comparisons which others will surely point out in due course.