Letterlijke

Letterlijke is the inflected form of the Dutch adjective letterlijk, used to describe a noun in terms of its literal meaning or direct accuracy. It appears with feminine singular and plural nouns (for example: de letterlijke betekenis, de letterlijke vertaling). The adverb often corresponding to literally is letterlijk, used to modify verbs or entire clauses (Het is letterlijk onmogelijk).

Etymology and meaning: Letterlijke derives from letter, meaning a written sign or character, combined with the suffix -lijk to form a general sense of correspondence to the written or primary sense. In linguistic and semantic contexts, letterlijke refers to the direct, primary meaning of a word, sentence, or text, as opposed to figurative, metaphorical, or figurational interpretations.

Usage and contexts: The term is common in discussions of meaning, translation, and interpretation. Phrases include letterlijke betekenis (the literal meaning), letterlijke vertaling (a literal or word-for-word translation), and letterlijke tekst (the text in its literal form). It is often contrasted with figuurlijk (figurative) or vrije vertaling (free translation). In everyday language, letterlijk is also used more loosely to emphasize precision or absoluteness, sometimes in colloquial phrases such as een letterlijke ramp, though such usage can be informal or hyperbolic.

Relation to translation studies: In translation and linguistics, een letterlijke vertaling aims to reproduce wording and syntactic structure as closely as possible, sometimes at the expense of fluency or naturalness. This is typically weighed against vrije vertaling, which prioritizes sense-for-sense equivalence.

See also: figuratieve taal, vertaling, meaning, translation studies.