Application Of Context Theory In Biographical Literature Translation

Biography features truthfulness and aesthetics.On the one hand,the translation of it must retain the literature characteristics in the narrative description and the writing style of the writer.On the other hand,the translation should respect historical facts and put specific situation into consideration,keeping the description authentic and showing characteristics of hero or heroine and features of the time.As a result,context,namely the environment of language usage,plays a vital role in the translation of biography.Without context there will be no correct meaning of the language rendering.This thesis mainly elaborates on the application of context theory on the translation practice of the third chapter of Nancy Mitford.First it summarizes the previous research findings made by scholars at home and abroad.And it tries to define,classify and explore the functions of context theory in a new perspective.Then,based on the detailed examples in the translation practice,it analyses the constructive role of semantic and pragmatic meaning that context plays in translation from two major aspects,that is,linguistic context(composed of phrases context,sentence context and paragraph context)and non-linguistic context(consisting of situational context and cultural context).It draws a conclusion that linguistic context analysis can help to eliminate ambiguity and vagueness;while non-linguistic context,by analyzing opinions and attitudes,topics and occasions from situational context perspectives,habits and custom as well as other factors like literature,religion and education from cultural context aspects,plays a vital role in the accuracy of translation.In a word,this thesis reviews the previous research findings and makes an application of context theory on the translation practice of biography literature.It deepens understandings for context theory and points out the constructive functions of it,wishing to provide some contextual references to related translation of biography.