Contexts in Translating (Benjamins Translation Library, 41)

Contexts in Translating is designed to help translators understand the varieties of contexts and their importance for understanding a text and reproducing the meaning in another language. The contexts include the historical setting of writing a text, the cultural components that make a text unique, the types of audiences for which the translation is intended, and the most efficient and effective ways of producing a satisfactory representation of the source-language text. The structural levels of language are described, and the principal features of text organization are also explained. In addition, the main features of various books on translation are outlined, and a chapter on basic theories of translation is followed by a selective bibliography. Cover......Page 1 Title page......Page 4 Table of contents......Page 8 Preface......Page 10 1. What is translating?......Page 12 A new focus on translation studies......Page 17 Evaluation of potential translators......Page 18 Translating versus interpreting......Page 20 Translating and related studies......Page 21 The contents and structure of this volume......Page 22 2. Language and culture......Page 24 Similarities between language and culture......Page 25 Differences......Page 34 Interrelations between language and culture......Page 37 3. Words in context......Page 40 The types and functions of contexts in understanding texts......Page 42 Range of vocabulary......Page 52 Misleading grammatical terminology......Page 64 Referential grammatical classes......Page 66 Basic meaningful relations between words......Page 69 5. Translating texts......Page 78 Major organizational features of texts......Page 80 Major content features of texts......Page 88 Rhetorical features of a text......Page 89 Developments in interlingual studies......Page 98 Illustrative examples of different treatments of translating......Page 103 7. Three major types of translation theories......Page 118 Theories based on philological insights......Page 120 Theories based on linguistic insights......Page 122 Theories based on sociosemiotics......Page 124 Bibliography......Page 126 Index......Page 134 Failure to consider the contexts of a text is often responsible for the most serious mistakes in translation. Contexts need to be understood as influencing all structural levels of a text: phonological, lexical, grammatical, and historical. This work seeks to assist in understanding contexts Eugene A. Nida. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [115]-125) And Index.