The term “predstavlennia” in philosophical texts and in its translations

• Main Author: Oleh Ihorovych Hirnyi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine. Institute of Higher Education 2020-12-01
• Series: Філософія освіти
• Subjects: representation (; idea (; image; imagery; notion; concrete (evident) representation; abstract (non-evident) representation
• Online Access: https://philosopheducation.com/index.php/philed/article/view/624
• ISSN: 2309-1606; 2616-7662

The article is devoted to the terminological problem of adequate Ukrainian translation of the Polish term "przedstawienie", which is a generic term to denote visual and abstract works of human intelligence. In the available Ukrainian texts, visual works are usually denoted by the term "ujavlennia", abstract – by the term "poniattia". However, these two species terms still do not have in the practice of Ukrainian word usage an established generic term that generalizes them. In general, there are two versions of the Ukrainian translation of the term "przedstawienie": "predstavlennia" (representation) and "ujavlennia" (idea). Both options from a formal-grammatical point of view have both advantages and disadvantages. Their comparative consideration, involving the experience of using these terms in Polish (for the translation of their English, German and other equivalents) – is the main content of this article. The causes and consequences of differences in the use of the term "representation" in Ukrainian dictionaries – both encyclopedic and specialized, linguistic and psychological - are compared and analyzed. The author attempts to analyze the philosophical aspects of the use of the term "representation" in its relation to representations as concrete (visual) representations and concepts as abstract (non-visual) representations. Analyzing the influences on Ukrainian terminology from the Polish and Russian languages, the author argues in favor of the actual Ukrainian etymology of the term "representation" as a generic term. The Ukrainian language often involves the interchangeable use of the terms "predstavlennia" (representation) and "ujavlennia" (idea) as generic. Also in recent years, there has been a discussion in Ukrainian science about the possible use of the term "image" as a derivative of the term "image". Mostly Russian language influences as a basis for such use are proved. However, arguments are given regarding the priority of using the term "representation" as a generic language in the Ukrainian language. This is closer to the Polish language. The author presents the main arguments of the philosophical discussion on the term "representation", which took place in Polish philosophy.