On Context And Translation

Translation, which involves translating meaning, has been believed to take place between languages for centuries. Language, as a common social phenomenon, is only used in a specific environment in a certain society. As long as humans use a language to communicate and exchange information, a particular language environment will definitely come into being.As to the process of translation, it generally starts from analyzing the original text, then followed by information transferring and target text constructing. The comprehension of the original text is a process of explanation. To comprehend the original text and express it in target language, language researchers and translators should take language environment, namely context, into consideration. Only in this way can appropriate translation be presented for audiences in target language. Otherwise, many knotty problems will occur in translation. In a word, translation is closely related to context and it is restricted by context from the very beginning. To translate precisely, context must be taken into account.The thesis is divided into six parts. Chapter one is an introduction which explains that context plays a very important role in translation studies and translation practice. Chapter two introduces the definition and classification of context. Chapter three reviews developments of context both at home and abroad as well as studies on context and translation. Chapter four analyzes the functions of context in translation. Chapter five probes the effect of contextual analysis in the practice of translation with examples presented in both English and Chinese. The author explores the influence of linguistic context, non-linguistic context, paralinguistic context and cognitive context on translation in details. Chapter six draws a conclusion. As context analysis plays an important role in the process of translation, a translator should master the related knowledge about it, and then the original text can be translated more precisely into target language.