Abstract

Few of the German word creations of modern times were assimilated into other European languages to such an extent as the concept of ›Weltanschauung‹. Thehistorical reception of the concept in France confi rms the principle formulated by Paul Ricœur that asserts the existence of »untranslatable« terms and recommends that we dispense with their translation, and that we make use of such expressions in the original language so as not to distort their content. Why should the notion of ›Weltanschauung‹ have exerted such a strong infl uence, especially on the French language? The question arises naturally. The translationof ›Weltanschauung‹ into the Polish »światopogląd« is too strongly associated with the tradition of Marxist-Leninist doctrine. It is worth taking stockand systematically working through such issues surrounding the translation of such philosophically important terms. This will help ensure that those key concepts of German philosophy that continue to be important in the Humanities as studied in various European languages, obtain a more uniform and bindingform.