The role of context and relevance in translating European Union texts

The article presents the nature and legitimacy of translation studies; it examines the function of a translator, its role during the translation process and the generated linguistic product from the point of view of cognitive pragmatics. In the present study we are looking for the answer to what fac...

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Main Authors: Ilona Lechner, Ilona Huszti
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: Publishing Center of Kyiv National Linguistic University 2021-07-01
Series:Вісник Київського національного лінгвістичного університету. Серія: Філологія
Subjects:
Online Access:http://philmessenger.knlu.edu.ua/article/view/236087
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author Ilona Lechner
Ilona Huszti
author_facet Ilona Lechner
Ilona Huszti
author_sort Ilona Lechner
collection DOAJ
description The article presents the nature and legitimacy of translation studies; it examines the function of a translator, its role during the translation process and the generated linguistic product from the point of view of cognitive pragmatics. In the present study we are looking for the answer to what factors influence the translator in his/her activity, what aspects he/she keeps in mind, how relevance theory prevails in translation, what role the current context, target audience and readers’ prior knowledge have in interpreting the translated text. In order to answer the questions, in the first part we summarize the opinions published in the literature, then we examine our hypothesis with the method of structural discourse analysis in relation to three languages (English, German, Hungarian) in EU texts, according to which, despite the European Union’s language policy aspirations, similarities and differences can be noticed depending on what the translator considered relevant to highlight. In the examined texts we can find formal, semantic and pragmatic differences according to the levels of identity. In the course of the analysis, we have made an attempt to highlight the semantic and pragmatic similarities and the differences between the versions, the factors which may cause them, and also their connection with the cognitive context, relevance and the general context. As a first step, we identified the different parts of the texts, and then the reason for the differences was revealed during the analysis. The aim is therefore to support our hypothesis and to illustrate with linguistic examples that context and relevance are central to translation.
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spelling doaj.art-5993da8b2f5546f7ac8457abe9f015912023-02-01T08:26:59ZdeuPublishing Center of Kyiv National Linguistic UniversityВісник Київського національного лінгвістичного університету. Серія: Філологія2311-08212415-73332021-07-01241839510.32589/2311-0821.1.2021.236087273773The role of context and relevance in translating European Union textsIlona Lechner0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7235-6506Ilona Huszti1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1900-8112Ferenc Rákóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher EducationFerenc Rákóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher EducationThe article presents the nature and legitimacy of translation studies; it examines the function of a translator, its role during the translation process and the generated linguistic product from the point of view of cognitive pragmatics. In the present study we are looking for the answer to what factors influence the translator in his/her activity, what aspects he/she keeps in mind, how relevance theory prevails in translation, what role the current context, target audience and readers’ prior knowledge have in interpreting the translated text. In order to answer the questions, in the first part we summarize the opinions published in the literature, then we examine our hypothesis with the method of structural discourse analysis in relation to three languages (English, German, Hungarian) in EU texts, according to which, despite the European Union’s language policy aspirations, similarities and differences can be noticed depending on what the translator considered relevant to highlight. In the examined texts we can find formal, semantic and pragmatic differences according to the levels of identity. In the course of the analysis, we have made an attempt to highlight the semantic and pragmatic similarities and the differences between the versions, the factors which may cause them, and also their connection with the cognitive context, relevance and the general context. As a first step, we identified the different parts of the texts, and then the reason for the differences was revealed during the analysis. The aim is therefore to support our hypothesis and to illustrate with linguistic examples that context and relevance are central to translation.http://philmessenger.knlu.edu.ua/article/view/236087translation studiespragmaticscognitive contextrelevance theorycontext
spellingShingle Ilona Lechner
Ilona Huszti
The role of context and relevance in translating European Union texts
Вісник Київського національного лінгвістичного університету. Серія: Філологія
translation studies
pragmatics
cognitive context
relevance theory
context
title The role of context and relevance in translating European Union texts
title_full The role of context and relevance in translating European Union texts
title_fullStr The role of context and relevance in translating European Union texts
title_full_unstemmed The role of context and relevance in translating European Union texts
title_short The role of context and relevance in translating European Union texts
title_sort role of context and relevance in translating european union texts
topic translation studies
pragmatics
cognitive context
relevance theory
context
url http://philmessenger.knlu.edu.ua/article/view/236087
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AT ilonahuszti roleofcontextandrelevanceintranslatingeuropeanuniontexts