The concept of '隔たり意味' can be translated as 'semantic gap' or 'meaningful distance' in English, but it's more nuanced than that. It refers to the subtle disconnect between what is said and what is truly meant, often found in cultural contexts or layered storytelling. For instance, in 'NieR:Automata,' the androids' dialogue carries a '隔たり意味'—their mechanical words hide profound existential questions. This linguistic phenomenon isn't just about literal translation; it's about the emotional and contextual chasm that words sometimes fail to bridge.
In Japanese literature, like Haruki Murakami's works, characters often speak in riddles or silences, leaving readers to interpret the '隔たり意味' themselves. It's like watching a kabuki performance where the mask's expression contradicts the actor's voice—a deliberate dissonance that enriches the narrative. To explain it in English, you'd need to evoke the tension between surface and depth, where meaning resides in the unspoken.
翻訳の現場では、まず文脈を見て語感を選ぶことが大事だと感じる。支離滅裂は単に『意味が通らない』というだけでなく、論理やつながりが断ち切られているニュアンスを持つことが多い。私ならフォーマルな場面では 'incoherent' を第一候補に置く。たとえば批評や学術的な文で「彼の説明は支離滅裂だった」を訳すなら "His explanation was incoherent." が自然だ。
日常会話やや強めに非難したいときは 'nonsensical' や 'makes no sense' を使うことが多い。感情の込め方で "That argument is nonsensical." や "What he said makes no sense." とすると、日本語の苛立ちや呆れが伝わりやすい。