Portrait
In Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Grey both the word picture and portrait are used to refer to the famous painting encompassing Dorian's soul.
There is no loss of meaning in the different translations. In fact, portraits were something common to the European lifestyle of the time. Therefore, all languages had an equivalent that achieved a similar resonance within the reader.
Un portrait en français retient la même signification culturelle que le mot anglophone. En fait, c'est un des rares exemples où l'essence même du mot, tout aussi que son influence culturelle, reste la même d'une langue à l'autre.
The only word who could lose a bit of it cultural significance is the word "picture" as it is directly translated to image in French. If translated to image it refers more to a photography than a painting. A way to remedy this is to utilize the word tableau which directly signifies picture (in the sense of a painted portrait).
This page has paths:
- Loss of Meaning Sandrine Servant
