A tradução radical e alguns problemas para a linguística:

um ensaio

Abstract

This essay aims to demonstrate how Willard Van Orman Quine's reflection on the indeterminacy of translation can be insightful for linguistic inquiry, including language description and theoretical frameworks. Initially, I outline Quine's concept of translation indeterminacy (1960) as developed in his reflections on radical translation. Then, I connect Quine's ideas with linguistic practice using examples from Daniel Everett's book "Don’t Sleep, There Are Snakes" (2008), where he narrates the experience of living with the Pirahã tribe to describe their language. Examples include Everett's struggles with Pirahã numerals and his proposed translation of the term kagi, along with the principle he posits to explain linguistic and cultural phenomena. This illustrates how Quine's ideas on translation indeterminacy are relevant for linguistic practice. I conclude that philosophical discussions on meaning and reference, particularly Quine's formulations, can greatly benefit linguistic inquiry, which, despite attempting to sideline the language-world connection, inevitably confronts this fact and its theoretical and methodological implications.