HACIA UNA HISTORIA COMPARADA DE LOS CONCEPTOS: EL EJEMPLO DE «CIVILIZACIÓN/BESCHAVING

Authors

  • PIM DEN BOER

Keywords:

Comparative history, conceptual history, Civilization.

Abstract

The comparative history of concepts does not search for a universal system that interrelates all languages of the world. The comparative history of concepts seeks to determine how, when, and why certain basic concepts have been translated into different languages. Especially interesting are those concepts that are new for contemporaries or old words that acquire new meanings, which are difficult to translate, or have different connotations and functions in other languages. The Dutch concept «beschaving» (from «beschaven» which means to polish) may serve as an interesting example of conceptual refuse. The transnational concept of civilization (with a clear political dimension) still not accepted in Dutch language.

Published

2008-03-24