Translation and Context

熊茂蓉++赵君

Abstract This paper talks about the definition of translation， the definition of context and the importance of context in translation.

Key words translation； meaning； context

Definition of Translation

People have given translation numerous definitions from different angles. In 1927， Jiang Yizhen wrote that translation is to use words or language A to describe words or language B. What's more， translation is to transfer the thoughts of A into B. Mao Dun said "The lowest requirement of translation is to faithfully express the content of original text…making readers gain the same enlightenment and information from the translated text like the original readers get". Catford defined it as the replacement of textual material in one language with another. Eugean A. Nida said "Translation consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message， first in terms of meaning and second in terms of style." Anyway， with the development of society， definition of translation is changing. But with time goes on， the understanding of it is approaching perfect.

Definition of Context

About context， various components of shared knowledge have been identified： knowledge of language they use， of what has been said before； knowledge about the world in general and the specific situation. Context determines the speakers use of language and the hearers interpretation. Without such knowledge， communication cannot be understood exactly. Look at the sentence： It is cold here. Which might have been said by the speaker to ask the hearer to turn on the heater or apologize for the poor condition of the room. It depends on the context. B. Malinowski， Polish human linguist and context theory founder， holds that language is closely connected with context and context is necessary for the understanding of a language. He said that context refers to the conditions where things exist or occur. Linguistically， it is part of discourse surrounding， a word or a passage that helps make its meaning clear.

Importance of Context

In general， context refers to the conditions in which something exists or occurs. In a narrow sense， it refers to words， phrases， sentences， paragraphs， chapters or even the whole book. Which is known as linguistic context. Besides， physical and social settings etc. are known as non-linguistic context.

In translation， linguistic context is of importance. First， context is conducive to determine the word meaning of the SL text. Usually， most words contain more than one meaning. Only depending on the context can the suitable meaning be chosen. Second， context is helpful in diction. The meaning of one word in source language may correspond to several words in the target. Therefore， in order to be accurate， context is needed. Third， context contributes to eliminate ambiguity. If a word or a sentence is understood separately， there must have different types of understanding. But through context， ambiguity can be largely avoided.endprint

Non-linguistic context includes situational context， social context and cultural context. Situational context is an actual speech situation in which a word， a phrase， a sentence etc. occurs. Sometimes， the same sentence has different understanding in different situation. For example， the sentence “He passed” may express that he passed away；he passed the exam or he passed the ball out. Which shows that situation in the process of translation is very important.

Usually， social context can be generally categorized into cultural context. Cultural context refers to historical knowledge， beliefs， attitudes， values and so on. Cultural factor is a huge obstacle in translation， hence as a translator， cultural gap should be understood as much as possible. A typical example is the different images of animals in different cultural backgrounds. In general， dog-related words in western countries are often commendatory， while the attitude of most Chinese towards dog is derogatory. So the saying that ‘you are a lucky dog may show peoples admiration in English， but it cannot make a good impression on Chinese people. In short， it is important to accumulate certain cultural background knowledge to avoid the confusion led by translation version.

Anyway， context plays a vital role in translation. In the process of translation， translators need to have a good understanding of the linguistic context. With regard to non-linguistic， it needs to accumulate step by step. As the saying goes “Rome was not built in a day”. Which should be kept in the mind of translators.

Conclusion

This paper lists certain definition of translation and describes what context is. Also， it combines context with translation and explains what the important role context plays in translation.

References

[1] Peter Newmark. A Textbook of Translation [M]. 上海外语教育出版社，2001.

[2] Eugene A. Nida & Charles K. Taber. The Theory and Practice of Translation [M]. Leiden： E.J. Brill， 1982.

[3] 茅盾. 为发展文学翻译事业和提高翻译质量而奋斗 [J].endprint