Errors in translating expressive meaning
Another aspect of lexical meaning is expressive meaning. Baker (1992) defines expressive meaning as a word that cannot be evaluated as true or false because the word in question has to do with the speaker's feeling and experience (p.13). For example, the word dog in English has a good connotation because dogs in the English-speaking context are considered humans' loyal friends. In contrast, in Thai, the word dog is considered derogatory because they always fight among themselves and scavenge for food.
Therefore, expressive meaning can pose many problems for translators, especially fledgling ones. In the following discussion, errors in this respect are further classified into wrong translation of idiomatic expressions and of terms of address.
2.1 Translating idiomatic expressions after their propositional meaning
English has a great number of idiomatic expressions. A translator who is not familiar with these expressions tend to take them for their propositional meanings.