Organizations and Markets

Theoretical vs. Teórico vs. 理论: How the Precision of Foreign Language Relates to the Cost of Innovation

| Chihmao Hsieh |

Recently, bloggers Nicolai and Peter have highlighted the unfortunate confusions corresponding to the usage of the terms conceptual vs. theoretical, as well as usage of “method” vs. “methodology.”

A few inquiries could deserve some attention. First, is this confusion specific to those terms as they appear in the English language? For instance, perhaps other languages have their own labels indicating the concepts of “conceptual” and “theoretical” but the root words (e.g. concept, theory) involved are less substitutable. I’m also guessing that other languages have distinct labels for “method” and “methodology,” whereby less confusion emerges. (more…)

22 April 2007 at 6:14 pm hsiehc 1 comment