Context and register

(from A. Duff, Translation, Oxford 1998)

What is context? What is register? And what bearing do they have on translation?

Instead of offering plausible-sounding definitions (which would probably make the matter no clearer), I shall try to answer these questions by means of examples, and from the examples draw some brief conclusions.

But let me first make one, possibly obvious, general point all language must occur somewhere, and all language is intended to be read or heard by someone. Even an internal monologue is addressed to someone - the speaker. Since all words are shaped by their context, we can say - very broadly - that context comes before language. This is why context has been chosen as our starting point.

Context matters because if we have no context in mind we cannot give proper shape to our thoughts. Very simply, we do not know which words to choose because we do not know who they are intended for. The context helps to determine our choice. Which is why if I were, for instance, paying a subscription I might send a note with the words: 'Enclosed please find a cheque for ё50', but I would not send my son or daughter a note saying: 'Enclosed please find ё5 for your pocket money.'

To summarize: what I mean by context is the what, where, and to whom of our communication - what we are writing or speaking about (subject matter), where the language occurs (place or publication), and to whom it is addressed. All three are relevant in translation.

Unwritten rules

One of the particular concerns of this section is with what I would call the 'unwritten rules' of language. That is, not the rules of grammar but the patterns - and constraints - of usage. In almost all languages there are words and expressions which are regularly, even automatically, associated with specific contexts. For instance:

Press down to release (instructions). In the author's opinion... (academic article), scattered thundershowers (weather report), Ci-inclus, veuillez trouver... (business letter), an outstanding example of... (brochure/guide-book), light refreshments will be served (notice/circular letter).

There are no rules which prevent us from using expressions such as these in other contexts. Yet why is it that two villagers talking about the weather would be unlikely to speak of 'scattered thundershowers'? And why would a hostess, at an informal party, be unlikely to tell her friends that 'light refreshments will now be served'?

The simplest answer is, surely, that we are following the rules of usage. And these are largely unwritten. There is no rule that says we cannot speak of 'scattered thundershowers' in a love-letter or in an academic thesis, though it might sound odd if we did.

What happens if we try to break these unwritten rules? And do they really exist? Let us take a test case. Would you expect to find the following sentence in a tourist brochure, a scientific article, or neither?

Samples of sand taken from the sun-kissed, palm-fringed beaches of Goa revealed abnormally high concentrations of sodium chloride.

The most likely answer is neither. This, of course, is a made-up sentence, yet it is not an impossible one. But there is no rule which prevents a scientist from speaking of sunkissed beaches, or which says that tourist brochures cannot mention the concentrations of sodium chloride. We can only say that the language is unusual in either context.

If it is important in the mother tongue to be aware of these unwritten rules, it is doubly important when dealing with translation. For in translation we are following not one but two sets of unwritten rules, and they do not always overlap. To take just one example: a circular letter addressed to residents of a housing complex might contain (in English) expressions such as: 'Kindly use the plastic bags provided for rubbish disposal' or 'It would be appreciated if residents would not park in the entrance road.' In another language, it might be natural to use 'blunter' language in a similar context, for example: 'You must use...'and 'Parking is forbidden...'. The context is the same, but not the register.

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