Blanc : un symbole, un mot, un terme
White: Symbol, Word, Term

Summary/Abstract: The starting point is a word from common vocabulary, chosen to pay homage to papacy – the adjective blanc (white). The paper deals with its symbolism, and then shows how the symbolic components are underlying the meanings of its polysemic senses. Attention is drawn upon the compound words that are to be considered as whole terms, with a double difficulty for the translator : recognizing and referencing. Then the linguistic derivatives of the chosen adjective are studied and, finally, research prospects are suggested, particularly concerning the translation problematics with the example of two set phrases belonging to law language : blanchir une réputation and blanchir un inculpé (to clear vs to exonerate). The starting point is a word from common vocabulary, chosen to pay homage to papacy – the adjective « blanc » (white). The paper deals with its symbolism, and then shows how the symbolic components are underlying the meanings of its polysemic senses. Attention is drawn upon the compound words that are to be considered as whole terms, with a double difficulty for the translator : recognizing and referencing. Then the linguistic derivatives of the chosen adjective are studied and, finally, research prospects are suggested, particularly concerning the translation problematics with the example of two set phrases belonging to law language: blanchir une réputation and blanchir un inculpé (to clear vs to exonerate).

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