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Herera (2010) further notes that the concept of representation described here is lexicalized in languages like English, French, Spanish or Portuguese with expressions that share a common Latin root (“repraesentatio”): “representation” (English), “représentation” (French), “representación” (Spanish), and “representação” (Portuguese). However, in German—the language in which Freud first formulated this concept in psychoanalysis, representation is denoted by two different expressions, each capturing different aspects of the same idea. Thus, a representation such as Hokusai’s print would be called “Darstellung” (an objective and public representation), while a mental image or mental representation would be referred to as Vorstellung” (a subjective and private representation). “Vorstellung” is the term used in the German philosophical and psychological tradition to refer to what the English or French traditions call an “idea” or “mental representation” (Herrera, 2010). In the discussion of Freud’s concept of representation (below), Latin American perspective refers to the concept denoted by German term “Vorstellung”.
II. BROAD CONTEXT
II. A. Terminology: Etymology & Translations Today, Representation is a feminine noun in Roman and Slavic languages. Both German terms for Representation (Die Vorstellung and Die Darstellung) are likewise feminine nouns. In English as well as all the above languages, the term denotes the act or effect of presenting. exhibiting, reproducing by image or symbol. Representation as a noun, verb or an adjectiv e ( representation, to represent, representative of) has been also used for centuries in a legal, societal, and legislative contexts - acting or speaking on behalf of someone or a group. Similarly, with the advent of scientific methodology in 19 th century, it has been used in the context of all sciences and methodologies, e.g. a representative sample is to accurately reflect (represent) much larger diverse population. (This is the sense in which the IRED aims to be as fully realistically representative of all theoretical orientations of all regions around the globe, as possible.) According to Oxford English Dictionary (2026), in looking for the evolution of the terminology , languages to consider are Classical Latin, Old French and Middle French. Directly from Classical Latin representare was to make present, set in view, show, exhibit, display: from pre-fix re ( an intensive prefix) + presentare (root) = to present, to place before, where ‘before’ may designate space and/or time. The root praesentare is from praesens, which meant ‘present, at hand, in sight; immediate, prompt, instant; contemporary, itself from the present form of the verb praesse, which meant to be before (someone or something), be at hand.
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