浅析语境在翻译中重要地位.doc

郑州航空工业管理学院

毕 业 论 文（设 计）

2011 届 英语 专业 0707062 班级

题 目 浅析语境在翻译中的重要地位
姓 名 xxxxx 学号 xxxxxxxx
指导教师 xxxxxxxx 职称 副教授

二О一一年 六 月 一 日

Analysis of the Important Role Context Plays in
Translation

By
xxxxxxxxx

Supervisor
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Department of Foreign Languages
Zhengzhou Institute of Aeronautical Industry Management
June 2011

内 容 摘 要

翻译作为一种重要的跨语言、跨文化的交际活动，既是双语的传译，又是两种文化的传译。语境是语言学中一个非常重要的问题，也是翻译过程中不可忽略的一个重要方面，可以说，语境制约翻译，翻译依赖语境。为了实现源语言和目标语之间的语义转换，译者要根据特定的语境来进行协调和权衡，决定自己的翻译策略，使得翻译出来的译文不但要语言忠实于原文，还要充分体现原文的“韵味”，满足“信、达、雅”这一标准,完成成功的翻译。
因此，本文将语境在翻译中的重要地位作为中心问题加以表述。引言部分介绍本文写作的缘由和意义；第一部分对语境理论进行了系统、详细的回顾和综述。包括对语境研究的发展，语境的定义和分类；第二部分从三个方面讨论了语境对翻译的影响；第三部分探讨了如何正确处理语境与翻译的方法，要求我们在处理语境时，需要异化时即采取异化翻译，需要归化时即采取归化翻译；结论重申了语境因素在翻译实践过程中的核心作用，强调译者应在翻译实践中努力培养和增强语境意识，不断提高语境分析能力。

关键词
语境; 制约作用; 翻译策略

Abstract

As an important cross-lingual and cross-cultural communicative activity, translation is the interpretation of both two kinds of languages and culture.In linguistics,context is a vital question. It is also regarded as an indispensable aspect during the process of translation. We can say that, translation is restricted by context，in addition, translation relies on context. In order to achieve the semantic transition between source language and target language, translators should determine the strategy according to its context. Consequently, not only more emphasis has been put on linguistic fidelity, but also the ‘flavor’ contained in the source text existed. Based on this can we follow the principle－“faithfulness, expressiveness ,elegance ” and complete a successful translation.
Therefore, the thesis illustrates the important role context plays in translation. The introduction of the thesis sketched out the cause and significance of this thesis；part one deals with the principles of the theory of context, including review of the studies of context, its definition and functions; part two mainly discusses the restricting function of context on translation from three aspects; part three sums up the techniques of handling the relationship between translation and context. The techniques include foreignizing whenever foreinization is needed by the context and domesticating whenever domestication is needed; the conclusion reaffirms the significance of context to translation studies and practice. It emphasizes that the translator should cultivate and strengthen consciousness of context in translating and improve the ability of context analysis continuously.

Key Words
context；restricting function；strategies of translation Acknowledgements

I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude to all the guidance and assistances which are indispensable to help me to finish the thesis.
First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor Zhang Yunxia, for her patiently and generously making her knowledge available to me as well as giving me constant valuable suggestions in the course of my writing the thesis. Without her diligent work and patient guidance, the thesis would not have been completed.
And I should also show my sincere gratitude to the other teachers in the Department of Foreign Languages. Their profound knowledge and instructive lectures have widened my scope of knowledge and laid solid basis for my future study.
Besides, I will always thank my parents who offer me various care, help and understanding in my life. Their love and support make it possible for me to overcome all the difficulties and complete the thesis.
Finally, my special thanks should go to my dear friends and classmates for their sincere help and encouragement. In one word, my gratitude goes to all those who contribute to the completion of this thesis.

目 录
Abstract (in Chinese)...............................................................................ⅰ
Abstract (in English)...............................................................................ⅱ
Acknowledgements..................................................................................ⅳ
Introduction...............................................................................................1
1. A Brief Introduction of Context............................................................ 2
1.1The Definitions of Context in Previous Studies.................................2
1.2The Classification of Context.............................................................4
1.2.1 Linguistic Context..........................................................................5
1.2.2 Non-Linguistic Context..................................................................6
2. The Influence of Context on Translation...............................................6
2.1Restriction of Context on Word Meaning..........................................7
2.2Restriction of Context on Sentence Meaning.....................................9
2.3 Restriction of Context on Text Meaning...........................................10
2.3.1 Advertising Translation..................................................................11
2.3.2News Translation............................................................................12
3. Strategies of Translation in Context.....................................................14
3.1 Foreignization...................................................................................14
3.2Domestication....................................................................................15
Conclusion................................................................................................16
Works Cited..............................................................................................18
Analysis of the Important Role Context
Plays in Translation

Introduction

Translation，as a behavior of cross—language and cross—culture communication, it is not only translating the surface meaning，referential meaning，but also more importantly, the deep meaning, or pragmatic, associative and stylistic meanings，which can only be properly interpreted on the basis of the specific language environment in which the main purpose is to transmit the meaning between two different languages. To great extent, translation relies on the context．Just as N．Marx once put it，“context is always the most important factor in all kinds of translation. In fact, many translators still don’t pay much attention to the study of context.”
The term ‘context' was first put forward by the distinguished Polish-born anthropologist Malinowski in 1923. Following up on his notion of “context of situation”，many other linguists，philosophers and even psychologists both at home and aboard develop an intense interest in context with its scopes，functions, and classifications varying significantly from one to another．Meanwhile，the translator realizes that in a word-for-word translation of the text or utterance，the meaning may still remain untranslated．“That is because text becomes comprehensible only in the context of the whole way of life of which they form part．"(Samspon，1980).Therefore，it is evident that an adequate and effective translation work does not result from a narrowly formal approach that matches the verbal elements of source language and target language alone, but from a wider consideration and keep sensitivity to its overall contextual elements．
In this thesis，the theory of context is introduced into the translation study. The writer tries to systematically discuss the importance of context. In the process of translation，one of the most essential issues which a translator has always been confronted is how to acquire the maximum and optimal understanding towards the original text．This requires the translator pay great attention to the context which exists in the original text.

1. A Brief Introduction of Context

Context，as a linguistic conception，is still a controversial issue．It originally came from the Latin word ‘‘contextus’’，meaning ‘‘a joining together'’．Later it was extended to mean ‘‘the whole structure of a connected passage regarded in its bearing upon any of the parts which constitute it：the parts which immediately precede or follow any particular passage or text and determine its meaning．”(The Concise Oxford Dictionary).Context now has gained more and more attention in every subject of linguistics，but people have different opinions about them.

1.1The Definitions of Context in Previous Studies

It was Bronislaw Malinowski who put forward the basic notion of context in 1923．Working with people who belonged to remote culture---Melanesian peoples in the Trobri and Islands of the Western Pacific，Malinowski made painstaking endeavors to translate the local dialects meaningfully for English—speaking readers．For example，a man called his oar as “wood”，that was the substance of which the trunks and branches of trees．So Malinowski found that “Meaning does not come from contemplation of things，or analysis of occurrences，but in practical and active acquaintance with relevant situations．The real knowledge of a word comes through the practice of appropriately using it within certain situation．"(Malinowski，1923).
At the same time，he also classified two kinds of linguistic applied situations．One was called “magic” situation，which meant a word or a sentence could directly make the outer world change；the other one was a deriving usage of the former, there was no relation between language and its environment．Malinowski offered two types of narrative speech environments：(1)the environment for the narration，such as the people’s social attitude, cultural level and feelings．(2)the environment which the narration was involved in，such as the situation in a myth．In the book The Scientific Theory of Culture(1944)，he thought that the meaning of a word was therefore neither a thing nor an abstract entity, but emerged from the use of words in context，in short，in the “context of situation．”After noting how words became comprehensible when one took into account the larger cultural framework with which they were embedded，Malinowski broadened his conception of context by putting forward the notion “context of culture”，which included the totality of the cultural surrounding，the act of text production and reception．In other words，only within the overall context of situation and context of culture were the utterances people produced comprehensible．
Malinowski’s views were later accepted and developed by all English linguist－J．R．Firth, one of the founders of London Linguistic School．Keenly influenced by his association with Malinowski，Firth moved further into the exploration of meaning．He gave illustration on context in detail in 1950，and put up the theory and method in studying utterance in linguistic environment．
Firth also believed that utterance was closely related to people’s social communicative activity．He extended the meaning of context, and got a conclusion that context was made up of two parts．One was a previous or following part of a sentence or a paragraph；the other was the social relation with utterance．Firth treated the first part as “context” which was constituted by verbal factors；the second part was “situational context’ which was by social environment．So he categorized the context of situation as follows：A．The relevant features of participants：persons，personalities．(i)The verbal action of the participants．(ii)The non-verbal action of the participants．B．The relevant objects．C．The effect of the verbal action．(Firth，1957).
His definition could be understood as the relation between verbal action and its participants．He thought that verbal context would be involved in a person’s whole experience and cultural background．It melted the past，present and future together．Furthermore，he emphasized that context of situation should include economical，religious，social structural, linguistic classification and function．
Then Halliday, descending directly from Firth’s perspective of theory of context，took a functional approach to view language as an instrument of social interaction．He(1976) pointed out that every language was language in use，in a context of situation，and all of it related to the situation．Halliday presented the semiotic structure of a situation under three headings，namely, field，mode and tenor, which formed the integrated system of ‘‘register”，a different description about the context of situation．
Halliday’s register theory offered a new direction for context studies．In such a theory, the features of language variation were examined in terms of the combination of the context of culture and situation．Hence，when applied to translation，it provided the translator with the awareness and insight into the extralingual contextual factors that should be considered during the translating process．Much research in linguistics had recognized the necessity of taking context into account．
Another important sociolinguist D.H.Hymes made a further elaborate description of context and formulated the eight elements that formed context．He used the word SPEAKING as all acronym for the elements he deemed to be relevant．These elements include：Setting(S)，Participants(P)，Ends(E)，Act(A)，Key(K)，Instrumentalities(I)，Norms(N)，Genre(G)．These eight components had far-reaching influence on the studies of theory of context．

1.2 The Classification of Context

Malinowski(1923) classified context into “context of utterance”、“context of situation’’ and “context of culture”．His classification did not involve in the contextual problem in inner part of language．Firth(1957) absorbed Malinowski’s view, and further explained the problem mentioned above．His model of context of situation covered both the situational context and the linguistic context of a text.
In China, we can see there are three kinds in Hu Zhuanglin’s Discourse Cohesion and Coherence: linguistic context, situational context and cultural context.
There was no unified classification about context，because the scholars judged its standard from different perspectives. According to the classifications we have mentioned above，we know there are many factors of context that influence the use and comprehension of language．In the light of the influence of context on translation ,this thesis is to classify it into linguistic context and non-linguistic context，with the former including phon