The Terms "Culture" and "Civilization" and the Terms ‘Wénhuà’ and ‘Wénmíng’: Self-Understanding and Transmission of Ideas Through Space and Time

Abstract

Česta prepreka na koju različite civilizacije i kulture nailaze pri međusobnom susretu je jezična barijera. Ona ne obuhvaća samo nepoznavanje gramatike i vokabulara, već i niz konotacija i kulturnih predodžbi koje dolaze s riječima. Tako često dolazi do posuđenica ili novotvorenica kako bi se bolje pojasnio neki pojam. Primjeri pojmova koji se tako usvajaju su između ostalog i sami pojmovi „civilizacija“ i „kultura“. Oni su na japanski i kineski prevedeni kao „文明“ i „文化“. Cilj ovog rada je sagledati povijesni razvoj pojmova te procijeniti jesu li ti prijevodi prikladni i koje su pretpostavke u njima prenesene, a što je originalno; odnosno, što je od ideja koje se za njima povlače preuzeto iz Europe, a što je od ranije prisutno. Pojmovi će prvo biti sagledani preko prijevoda na kineski jezik, a potom kroz povijesni pregled njihova korištenja na Zapadu.A common obstacle that different civilizations and cultures encounter when meeting one another is the language barrier. It encompasses not only unfamiliarity with grammar and vocabulary, but also a range of connotations and cultural notions that come with words. This is why loanwords and newly-formed words are used to clarify a concept. Examples of concepts which are adopted in this way are among others the very concepts "civilization" and "culture". They are translated into Japanese and Chinese as "文明" and "文化". The aim of this paper is to look at the historical development of the concepts and to assess whether these translations are appropriate and which assumptions in them are carried over and which are original, that is what of the ideas behind them was taken over from Europe and what was present before. The terms will first be viewed through their translations into Chinese and then through a historical overview of their use in the West