There are many times when a person will come across something and misunderstand it, simply due to the fact that they interpreted the meaning wrong. There are many reasons why occasions like these may occuri No two people will ever hear, read, or look at something exactly the same way and language is also applicable to this ideal. Everyone has gone through moments like these where they assume and get the wrong meaning, only to be entangled in a web of mistakes and confusion. Walter Benjamin, who was a German critic who had written several essays on philosophical theories, points out several times in his text “The Task of the Translator” that interpreting the original meaning is something people throughout the ages have been dealing with; and it is something that will continue to go on.
The speaker will always know what they meant, but the listener, who plays the role of the translator must hope that their interpretation of the original is correct. This is the where the question of what is said versus what is meant is brought up for debate It is safe to say that everyone has had a moment in their lives where they thought the original meaning and what they assumed were the same Unfortunately, this is not always true Benjamin points out that one reason for the confusion of communication is due to the differences in languages when he states that “the word. Brot means something different to a German than the word pain to a Frenchman” both the words brot and pain mean bread, but in each language the individual words mean something else. If two people from different backgrounds conversed there will certainly be misunderstandings among them.
One word has multiple meanings as it is in the English language. With people who know multiple languages speaking to each other there are possibilities for one of the two to misinterpret a word or two due to the barrier and ways language is translated Music is said to be another language, and that is also something that can be interpreted differently. A composer perhaps will write a symphony based on his own emotions at the current time and as Benjamin mentions in the beginning of his text “in the appreciation of a work of art or an art form, consideration of the receiver never proves fruitful”. If the composer had written his music thinking only of the audience then he would not be successful. Then, years later when a contemporary group is given the piece to play they may not be able to understand the background of the composer and the era to be able to play it with the appropriate style. It is because the composer writes based on his emotions and thoughts that the music is able to be interpreted and given varying arrangements.
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The composer might mean one thing during his time of writing, but over time as the meanings of things change so will the views of his work. An important part of music, language, and literature to consider when debating whether or not there is a difference in what is said and what is being meant is toner. When reading something it might be difficult if the reader is unfamiliar with the author, this is where research comes into play. Whereas when a person is having a conversation the actual tone of voice is something that holds meaning in itself, An type of tone that gives words a different meaning is sarcasm. A person might respond to an obvious question using sarcasm.
An example would be answering to the question of ”Are you busy?” Could sarcastically be answered with “Oh no all this paperwork is just something I’m doing for fun!” When reading this a person might assume there is no hidden meaning and the later person is free Yet when this is said with a sarcastic time it should be noticeable that the comment was not intended to be taken seriously. This is how Jonathan Swift structured his satirical text A Modest Proposal, In his text he uses satire to emphasize the poor conditions the Irish have to live under. By saying that they are in such poor conditions that there is no way they could be worse off, and having them sell their babies for consumption would actually be a start in helping them, The satire he uses is one mode of language that needs to be interpreted to understand the meaning. If someone read that not understanding the tone then Swift would appear to be a sick cannibal who wants to convince others to join him.
In occasions like these it is important to do research on the author, and understand the tone of the text. Although at times the original meaning has good intentions, perhaps once the message is delivered the meaning that is brought across is less than ideal, An example of this given by John Davis, who is a professor at Pasadena City College, is that once an acquaintance of his recommend a doctor, In the way she described the doctor she had mentioned that he was Japanese but really good. What she said was that he was a doctor who was Japanese and his services were good, with no thought to any negativity, Yet her language, when interpreted says that despite his being Japanese he is still a good doctor.
Through her language it is revealed that she might have had a not-too-pleasant opinion of those who are Japanese Although she might not have intended to say that Through analyzing what is said it is possible to tell more about a person and their values. There will never not be a reason to further analyze a textt Although a person may assume they already know what the text is saying there is a lot more to be discussed. By analyzing a text a person may find hidden meanings within it. There is also the possibility that in the original language certain words and phrases had different meanings during the time period in which it was written.
Not only are texts from older periods in English full of different meanings, but texts that have been translated as well. When something is translated from one language to another, there is no way for the original meaning to be carried over, Not only is the translation losing the original meaning, but also if the text that was translated was something from a different era. There will always be a need to analyze and many different ways to interpret a text because to different people different things have different meanings.
