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脱構築性

English translation: the 'deconstructability' of ....

12:19 Jun 3, 2017
Japanese to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc.
Japanese term or phrase: 脱構築性
Can anyone understand explain what 脱構築性 means in this context? I understand 脱構築 as deconstruction, but what is the function of 性? My guess is that it means "possibility to deconstruct x" but I'm not sure. The term "deconstructivity" feels wrong and I can't find many relevant examples of its use.

Many thanks,

Nick
Nicholas Hallsworth
Japan
Local time: 08:32
English translation:the 'deconstructability' of ....
Explanation:

As you said, would associate this term with the semantic approach of Jacques Derrida, which, as I understand it, approximates the meaning of words in context not simply in terms of "signifiant'' and 'signifié', but in a contrasted fashion (a bit like the way a Roget's Thesaurus is organised, among other things), based on the fact that what the signifié denotes is achieved not just directly by a reference to what it 'may' refer to, but indirectly as well by what, on the face of it, it does not refer to (and this, not just on the mental word map of the author, but on that of the reader as well, which may not necessarily match 100%, given the different background / views of each on the subject dealt with.)
So , would view this term as referring to the extent to which the semantic spread a particular (most probably abstract) term can be determined from its origin(s) and usage(s) in different contexts over time, in order to delimit its range and tighten its probably intended semantic focus, given the context considered.

It is clear that Derrida put the finger right on the importance and difficulty of achieving successful mutual understanding across social groups with different formations, interests and concerns.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day32 mins (2017-06-04 12:51:32 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Sorry, Nick. Had week-end commitments to attend to but will have a go at the new phrasing challenge you mention and get back with some suggestion, if you leave me the time to do so.
But thanks for your first response. Just one follow-up remark for now:
Translated into French this specialist term could pass, if the paper has been meant for a readership of academic intellectuals. But into English, we must try to localise it by expanding this single pretty condensed Noun into a rhetorical interrogative sentence or clause, perhaps, that everybody can understand, Of course if the rest of the paper is in that dry and abstract vein, that would break up the consistency of the style and, to avoid that, induce you to 'localise' the expression of the whole paper to the British way of doing it. Rephrasing the literal translation in explanatory footnotes could be another way of making that paper more digestible; but isn't the real function of the translator to achieve a successful communication to the target of the source's intended contents?
Short of sufficient context info, the literal translation I suggested of the Japanese term you singled out (itself is a literal translation of the original French term, let's face it). To use it ‘as such’ would be a double cope-out, passing on the buck for the reader(s) to interpret in whatever way he/they wish. Is that the purpose of the paper?
It’s interesting! for we have here a concrete example of a communication that requires ‘deconstructing’ (breaking down) to weigh the influence of the various human factors (t.b.d) that may have contributed to the production of this paper, and to what effect so far as the chosen wording of that communication. But enough said for now. Back to work.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day4 hrs (2017-06-04 16:20:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Nope again! My rambling on the suitability of the term ‘deconstructability’ which applied to the meaning of communications is not relevant to your context, since it applies to Art, as you since told us.

The phrase “deconstructed art work” becomes perfectly clear once one takes a look at some of the works (paintings, ceramics, installations) produced in that creative vein of inspiration.
Some of these viewed online are not just unexpected collages or associations of subjects / ideas; they can actually blow away to smithereens not just our established notions of congruence, (received or acquired through living) (https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/victorian-china ) )but even the normalcy of our perceptions (https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/melted-ceramic-art .
This is a great fun game, with infinite possibilities, unsettling us, mixing the attributes of any object in combinations or positions not seen for nearly a century.
Yet we can see why this paper chooses to examine whether this more recent form of Art does/will contribute to the cultural enrichment of the established society, or undermine the order of its structures and its authority [権力]`. Why so? Because, apart from its gleeful play with images and symbols, when these ‘transmuted presentations’ change from amusingly gratuitous to ‘conceptual’ , then they can become a significant channel to sling officialdom with subversive or polemic messages (http://www.imgrum.org/media/1273538935989446228_2918744584). In a manner not at all acerbic but insidiously dangerous from the Establishment’s view point, the zest of this Art movement for creative chaos to stimulate new forms of expression (http://neosurrealism.artdigitaldesign.com/modern-artists/?ar... ) is what caused the German fascist regime to reject any unconventional form of art (Painting: (Cubism) and Music (Shostakovich)) as “decadent” and a potential corruption of the people’s mind.
Selected response from:

Marc Brunet
Australia
Local time: 09:32
Grading comment
Thank you for all the helpful insight and background work. I just realized that I forgot to post the original sentence in the post. アートが持つ多義的な想像力の中に、それら権力の脱構築性が織り込まれうるかを鑑みる。The potential to deconstruct these powers
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +2the 'deconstructability' of ....
Marc Brunet
3 +1property of being able to deconstruct xxx
Port City
Summary of reference entries provided
FYR
cinefil

Discussion entries: 8





  

Answers


9 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
property of being able to deconstruct xxx


Explanation:
~性 means "property of being able to ~" just like 移動性 (mobility) means property of being able to move.
So, 脱構築性 means property of being able to deconstruct xxx.

Port City
New Zealand
Native speaker of: Native in JapaneseJapanese
PRO pts in category: 4
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you. So it means ability to or potential for deconstructing x. In other words deconstructability as suggested by Marc is more or less interchangeable with "ability/possibility/potential" to deconstruct. I would also like to ask what you think about 権力 here. "Power" feels too abstract to deconstruct (it doesn't have a structure), so I want to use "power structures" or "power relations." But how do you feel about that as a native speaker. I'm sorry to bother you with a follow up question!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  DPurohit (X)
15 days
  -> Thank you!
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
the 'deconstructability' of ....


Explanation:

As you said, would associate this term with the semantic approach of Jacques Derrida, which, as I understand it, approximates the meaning of words in context not simply in terms of "signifiant'' and 'signifié', but in a contrasted fashion (a bit like the way a Roget's Thesaurus is organised, among other things), based on the fact that what the signifié denotes is achieved not just directly by a reference to what it 'may' refer to, but indirectly as well by what, on the face of it, it does not refer to (and this, not just on the mental word map of the author, but on that of the reader as well, which may not necessarily match 100%, given the different background / views of each on the subject dealt with.)
So , would view this term as referring to the extent to which the semantic spread a particular (most probably abstract) term can be determined from its origin(s) and usage(s) in different contexts over time, in order to delimit its range and tighten its probably intended semantic focus, given the context considered.

It is clear that Derrida put the finger right on the importance and difficulty of achieving successful mutual understanding across social groups with different formations, interests and concerns.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day32 mins (2017-06-04 12:51:32 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Sorry, Nick. Had week-end commitments to attend to but will have a go at the new phrasing challenge you mention and get back with some suggestion, if you leave me the time to do so.
But thanks for your first response. Just one follow-up remark for now:
Translated into French this specialist term could pass, if the paper has been meant for a readership of academic intellectuals. But into English, we must try to localise it by expanding this single pretty condensed Noun into a rhetorical interrogative sentence or clause, perhaps, that everybody can understand, Of course if the rest of the paper is in that dry and abstract vein, that would break up the consistency of the style and, to avoid that, induce you to 'localise' the expression of the whole paper to the British way of doing it. Rephrasing the literal translation in explanatory footnotes could be another way of making that paper more digestible; but isn't the real function of the translator to achieve a successful communication to the target of the source's intended contents?
Short of sufficient context info, the literal translation I suggested of the Japanese term you singled out (itself is a literal translation of the original French term, let's face it). To use it ‘as such’ would be a double cope-out, passing on the buck for the reader(s) to interpret in whatever way he/they wish. Is that the purpose of the paper?
It’s interesting! for we have here a concrete example of a communication that requires ‘deconstructing’ (breaking down) to weigh the influence of the various human factors (t.b.d) that may have contributed to the production of this paper, and to what effect so far as the chosen wording of that communication. But enough said for now. Back to work.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day4 hrs (2017-06-04 16:20:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Nope again! My rambling on the suitability of the term ‘deconstructability’ which applied to the meaning of communications is not relevant to your context, since it applies to Art, as you since told us.

The phrase “deconstructed art work” becomes perfectly clear once one takes a look at some of the works (paintings, ceramics, installations) produced in that creative vein of inspiration.
Some of these viewed online are not just unexpected collages or associations of subjects / ideas; they can actually blow away to smithereens not just our established notions of congruence, (received or acquired through living) (https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/victorian-china ) )but even the normalcy of our perceptions (https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/melted-ceramic-art .
This is a great fun game, with infinite possibilities, unsettling us, mixing the attributes of any object in combinations or positions not seen for nearly a century.
Yet we can see why this paper chooses to examine whether this more recent form of Art does/will contribute to the cultural enrichment of the established society, or undermine the order of its structures and its authority [権力]`. Why so? Because, apart from its gleeful play with images and symbols, when these ‘transmuted presentations’ change from amusingly gratuitous to ‘conceptual’ , then they can become a significant channel to sling officialdom with subversive or polemic messages (http://www.imgrum.org/media/1273538935989446228_2918744584). In a manner not at all acerbic but insidiously dangerous from the Establishment’s view point, the zest of this Art movement for creative chaos to stimulate new forms of expression (http://neosurrealism.artdigitaldesign.com/modern-artists/?ar... ) is what caused the German fascist regime to reject any unconventional form of art (Painting: (Cubism) and Music (Shostakovich)) as “decadent” and a potential corruption of the people’s mind.


    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deconstruction#The_Ethics_of_Deconstruction
Marc Brunet
Australia
Local time: 09:32
Native speaker of: French
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you for all the helpful insight and background work. I just realized that I forgot to post the original sentence in the post. アートが持つ多義的な想像力の中に、それら権力の脱構築性が織り込まれうるかを鑑みる。The potential to deconstruct these powers
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you, Marc. After reading your explanation and a bit of research, I agree that the term "deconstructability" is the right one. The next challenge is how to frame the sentence so that the "deconstructability of the powers" is interwoven/incorporated within the "diverse imaginative power of art." If deconstructability = ability to deconstruct (i.e. via the semantic approach), then it could be framed as "x allows for the deconstruction of y." The other problem is that "power" is being used in plural form which makes me want to add "structures" or "relations" after it.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Chrisso (X)
8 mins
agree  David Gibney
10 hrs
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Reference comments


12 hrs
Reference: FYR

Reference information:
http://www.sotokoto.net/jp/talk/index.php?id=7
http://artscape.jp/artword/index.php/脱構築
https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q10...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12時間 (2017-06-04 01:04:09 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://artscape.jp/artword/index.php/異化効果

cinefil
Japan
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in JapaneseJapanese
PRO pts in category: 8
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



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