ABSTRACT
Even within a single language, so-called referential synonyms are as a rule different in their overall semantic effects. For instance, in contemporary English, ‘homosexual’, ‘queer’ and ‘gay’ must be rated as synonyms in terms of referential content, but they clearly have different overall meanings. This is because, while ‘homosexual’ is a relatively neutral expression, ‘queer’ is usually understood to carry pejorative overtones, and ‘gay’ meliorative ones. These overtones are not part of literal meaning, but it is evident that to refer to someone as ‘queer’ could be taken as hostile in a way that the designations ‘homosexual’ or ‘gay’ could not. It is impossible to ignore such overtones in responding to messages in one’s own language, and one certainly cannot afford to overlook them when it comes to translating. For example, a speaker who refers to a man as ‘maricón’ does not merely designate a person with certain sexual preferences, but also conveys a certain attitude to him. Consequently, while translating ‘maricón’ as ‘homosexual’ would accurately render the literal meaning of the ST, it would fail to render the denigrating attitude connoted by ‘maricón’ (better translated as ‘queer’ or ‘pansy’).
