Ibérica (Apr 2006)
The lexicon of oral mediation in a contrastive and historical study I: the case of [interpret-]
Abstract
International relations and commerce have always relied on either one of two pillars: an accepted koiné or trustworthy linguistic mediation, with the various pidgin attempts as an interesting tertiutn cotnparationis. This linguistic mediation has had to fall back upon individuals capable of shedding light upon an otherwise opaque code of communication and thus of facilitating mutual understanding. From the point of view of the lexicon and so as to better define this vital activity, the corresponding culture imports foreign lexemes, coins new ones, surcharges others with additional semes, or even puts past currency back into circulation. The present paper offers an onomasiological and a semasiological overview of the present and historical values of the verb, noun and agent nouns of the Latin root [interpret-] in Spanish and English with greater detail, but also touching upon other major West European languages: Italian, French and German.
