Single Idea 6312

[catalogued under 19. Language / F. Communication / 6. Interpreting Language / b. Indeterminate translation]

Full Idea

There is no evident criterion whereby to strip extraneous effects away and leave just the meaning of 'Gavagai' properly so-called - whatever meaning properly so-called may be.

Clarification

'Gavagai' is an imagined native word which somehow refers to a passing rabbit

Gist of Idea

We can never precisely pin down how to translate the native word 'Gavagai'

Source

Willard Quine (Word and Object [1960], §09)

Book Reference

Quine,Willard: 'Word and Object' [MIT 1969], p.38


A Reaction

Quine's famous assertion that translation is ultimately 'indeterminate'. Huge doubts about meaning and language and truth follow from his claim. Personally I think it is rubbish. People become fluent in very foreign languages, and don't have breakdowns.