The literal meaning is exact and is given by the meaning of the words.
From the Latin litterālis , literal is something according to the letter of a text and the proper and exact meaning of the words used in it . This means that the figurative or suggested meaning is not taken into account.
For example: “Raúl gave his father a hand” is a phrase that indicates that this man helped his father. The literal sense, however, would state that Raúl gave a limb to his father. It is clear that the literal meaning is sometimes illogical.
“I'm going to listen to music to see if I can be inspired to write this note” is another example of a phrase whose literal meaning does not serve its correct understanding. “Inspire” is a verb that refers to drawing outside air into the lungs, but it is also used to name the birth of an idea in the mind.
The literal translation
A literal translation , on the other hand, includes each of the words in the original text and, whenever possible, in the same order. The translator, therefore, does not include his subjectivity or talent at the service of his work, but is limited to carrying out a task of reviewing grammar and vocabulary.
There are literal translations that lose meaning: “I'll call you back” is an expression in English whose literal translation would be something like “I'll call you back.” Therefore, the correct translation of “I'll call you back” is not the literal translation, but rather an expression like “I'll call you back.” Some automatic translators rely on this type of literal translations, which is why they often do not offer us acceptable results .
To understand a text or a message, you often have to go beyond the literal.
The challenges of figurative meaning
The problem of literal understanding of the language is neither new nor unique to ours, but has long been a subject of study by linguists and translators, both to improve the interpretation of foreign texts and to improve communication with the outside world. For example, in an official conversation with a person from another country, the use of neutral language is recommended to facilitate the work of simultaneous translators and to ensure that the recipient does not misinterpret the messages.
On the other hand, it is important to note that some comedians benefit from this kind of duality to create lines with more than one interpretation. This reminds us that humor is very important for the development of a culture , not only to relax us but also to demand an unusual way of thinking, which can feed us as much or more than the study of a topic considered serious.
The literal and the renewal of language
Throughout the history of a language, it is inevitable that set phrases and expressions are formed whose words should not be understood literally or in isolation, but rather as part of a whole that often has a "whimsical" meaning. We are so used to using them that we generally do not stop to analyze them and for this reason they do not pose a problem until we have to explain them to a foreign person or a child. Returning to the example of "giving a hand", it is so common in everyday speech that no one thinks about its literal meaning .
However, since youth are in charge of renewing the language, with each generation new constructions appear that make understanding difficult for the elderly and reinforce that inevitable wall between the different age groups in society. If we add to this the incorporation of foreign terms, the situation becomes even more complex. In a chat conversation , telling someone to "delete me" is perfectly understandable, but an elderly person who has never used a computer may be perplexed by such a request.