Contextual Issues in Translation

Language cannot exist apart from society and culture; every language is a reflection of society and culture, with profound cultural connotations. At the same time, language is used for communication, and in this process, more specific situational contexts arise. Some linguists have broken this down into eight factors: setting, roles, function, intention, style, stress and intonation, grammar and vocabulary, and linguistic auxiliary means. This shows the complexity of context. Different contexts will definitely lead to different meanings, but sometimes even with the same context, the meanings can be quite different. Choosing the meaning of a word is the first step in understanding the original text and is also a major challenge in translation. The phenomenon of one word having multiple meanings is common in English, which requires the translator to repeatedly consider the context of the original word and make an appropriate choice. Additionally, analyzing the grammatical structure of the original text is an important method for understanding the meaning of a sentence, as it can help the translator understand the relationships at various structural levels.

For example, in the following sentences, the word "like" appears, but we find that the translations are entirely different:

(1) I like apples. (我喜欢苹果。)

(2) Like charges repel, unlike charges attract. (相同的电荷相斥，不同的电荷相吸。)

(3) Although he is young, he knows a lot like an experienced man. (尽管他还年轻，但他像一个阅历丰富的人那样有学问。)

(4) Like knows like. (英雄识英雄。)

In these four sentences, the word "like" is used, but we see that the translations vary. "Like" is a polysemous word, and according to the different linguistic contexts, it is translated as "喜欢," "相同的," "像," and "英雄" in the above four sentences. If we do not analyze the context and simply translate "like" as "喜欢" or some other single meaning, many sentences will contain serious errors.

Example 2:

(1) It was Friday and soon they’d go out and get drunk. (星期五发薪日到了，他们马上就会出去喝得酩酊大醉。)

(2) The United States has now set up a loneliness industry. (美国政府建立了一种为孤寡老人服务的社会服务项目。)

These two sentences involve non-linguistic contextual issues. In the first sentence, "Friday" is translated as "星期五发薪日" because in the UK, Fridays are paydays. In the US, however, due to two economic crises that historically occurred on Fridays, "Friday" often carries the meaning of "Black Friday." In the second sentence, "loneliness industry" refers to a part of the social welfare in the United States, a social service program established by the US government specifically for the elderly living alone. If the translator lacks this background knowledge, then this sentence would be difficult to understand, let alone translate. It is evident that social background factors also play an important role in the translation process. Therefore, translation requires us not only to focus on the text itself but also to pay attention to the background knowledge outside the text in order to achieve the best possible translation.

◀️：Attention Points for Simultaneous Interpreting and Listening Translation

▶️：The Importance of Common Sense in Translation