【问】 请问下面的译文将as a whole译为“总的来说”是否正确?
 The study of words is the business of LEXICOLOGY but the regularities in their forma-tion are similar in kind to the regularities of grammar and are closely connected to them.Meaning relations as a whole are the business of SEMANTICS，the study of meaning，and this therefore has relevance equally within lexicology and within grammar. (GCE，P.8)
 [原译]研究词汇是词汇学的任务。但是词汇的组成规律与语法的规律在性质上是相似的，并与语法的规律是紧密关联的。总的来说，研究词义的关系是语义学的任务，也就是研究词的意义。因此，这就和词汇学与语法都有了同等的内在联系了。(《当代英语语法》)
 【答】 上面的译文把as a whole与on the whole的含义弄混了。
 on the whole意为：“总的说来”(generally)、“基本上”、“大体上”。一般用作句子状语：
 1. On the whole I am quite satisfied with the experiment. (Chambers)
 总的说来我对实验很满意。
 2. You have made a few mistakes but on the whole you have done well. (ELD)
 你犯了一些错误，但是总的说来你做得很好。
 3. On the whole，early American city planning was excellent. (TOEFL，84—85)
 总的说来，美国早期的城市规划还是很好的。
 as a whole则表示把某事或某几件事当做一个整体来看。既可作状语，也可作定语：
 1. We must examine these problems as a whole. (ELD)
 我们把这些问题作为一个整体来考察。
 2. That was her final judgement on the story as a whole. (London)
 这就是她对整个故事的最后判断。
 3. As a whole，the relocation seems to have been beneficial. (RCD)
 从整体上看，调动似乎是有好处的。
 4. Oxygen is one of the most abundant elements in the earth as a whole.
 氧是整个地球内最丰富的元素之一。
 5. In general，the application——or misapplication——of science and technology in allfields is certain to affect the structure of society as a whole.
 一般说来，科学技术在各个领域中的应用或误用，必定会影响整个社会的结构。
 在你所提问的句子里，as a whole是meaning relations的定语，而不是整个句子的状语。建议把上面的译文改为：
 ……研究整个意义关系，则是语义学即意义科学的任务。因此，语义学跟词汇学和语法学都是有关系的。