Influence Of Linguistic And Non-linguistic Factors On The Accuracy Of Pragmatic Meaning In Fiction Translation

The main purpose of translation is to socialize and communicate. From the definition and the composition of the pragmatic meaning, it plays a more significant role in serving the purpose of translation in social contact and intercultural communication. When translating literary texts such as fictions and dramas, where dialogue, narration, and description abound, the translator should especially prioritize accurate representation of pragmatic meaning.This paper uses the author’s translation of Guy Davenport’s A Table of Green Fields as a case study to discuss how the linguistic and non-linguistic elements make a significant impact on the accuracy of pragmatic meaning in literary translation. Since the short stories in this collection feature vivid dialogues and various scene descriptions, it is important for the translator to accurately represent the pragmatic meaning of the original text. To achieve accuracy in translation of pragmatic meaning, one should consider two major influences on the pragmatic meaning:linguistic factor and non-linguistic factor. The linguistic factor closely related to pragmatic meaning includes whether this word is complimentary or derogatory, whether the tone of speaker is overstatement or understatement, and whether the style of diction is colloquial or formal. Non-linguistic factor includes both non-cultural elements and cultural elements. The former feature commonalities shared by different cultures rather than distinctively ethnic attributes; linguistic context, for instance, is a major non-cultural element. The latter, cultural elements are further divided into four types:tech-economic, social, conceptual and linguistic. In the process of fiction translation, linguistic factor and non-linguistic factor should be taken into account so as to dispense with the misunderstanding and mistranslation and achieve the accurate comprehension of pragmatic meaning of source language. Therefore "association", "amplication", "overstatement" and "understatement" are utilized to find the closest natural equivalence to source language in order to realize the purpoe of the accurate representation of pragmatic meaning.