据语境确定词义

4.4　据语境确定词义

语境即语言使用的环境，凡是对话语意思产生影响的各种语言成分的前后逻辑关系，以及各种主客观环境因素都可称为语境。比如，“傻”在一般情况下多形容一个人智商不高，不过，热恋中的情侣口中的“你真傻”却可能是“你真可爱”！下面来看一些实例。

原文:“Since she left，I have done the cooking and baked the cakes，but mine are never as good as hers．”—“Nonsense，my dear；I don't think Lissie's cakes were any better than yours．”Said Mr．Priestly loyally．

译文:“她走后，做饭、烤饼的事落在了我的身上，不过，我可没她做的好”。——“哪儿的话，亲爱的，我觉得你做的饼和莉茜做的饼一样好吃。”普里斯特先生诚心地说。

说明:nonsense的常见意思是“胡说”、“废话”、“愚蠢的举动”，但在本句中，从上下文的my dear，I don't think Lissie's cakes were any better than yours及loyally等褒义语和积极评价意见不难看出，此处的nonsense当作“哪儿的话”、“没有的事”解。

原文:“Oh，nonsense，mother！It's nothing，”said Fred，putting out his hot dry hand to her，“I shall soon be all right．I must have taken cold in that nasty damp ride．”

译文:“哦，不要大惊小怪，妈妈！这没有什么，”弗莱德说，向她伸出了又烫又干的手，“我马上就会好的。那天天气阴冷，我骑马出门，一定是着了凉。”

说明:将nonsense一字译作“不要大惊小怪”，说明作者动了脑筋。不过，“大惊小怪”这一表达似乎与整个语境不相吻合。结合It's nothing这一上下文，将nonsense译作“别担心”或“别担惊受怕”也许才好，其中，前者更朴实，也更口语化，似乎更可取。

原文:社会主义道德建设是发展先进文化的重要内容。在新世纪全面建设小康社会，加快改革开放和现代化建设步伐，顺利实现第三步战略目标，必须在加强社会主义法制建设、依法治国的同时，切实加强社会主义道德建设、以德治国，把法制建设与道德建设、依法治国与以德治国紧密结合起来，通过公民道德建设的不断深化和拓展，逐步形成与发展社会主义市场经济相适应的社会主义道德体系。

译文:Improving socialist morality is an important aspect of developing an advanced culture．In the new century，we are building a society in which people lead a fairly comfortable life，quickening the pace of reform，opening up and modernization，and attaining the strategic goals for the third stage．While we are strengthening the socialist legal system and the rule of the country by law，we must earnestly improve socialist morality，rule the country by virtue，and closely integrate the improvement of the legal system with the improvement of morality and the rule of the country by law with the rule of the country by virtue．Through a continuous process of deepening and broadening the improvement of civic morality，a socialist moral system suitable for our socialist market economy will gradually take shape and develop．

说明:“建设”^［4］一词在本例中多次出现，其英译皆做到了“因地制宜”:“建设小康社会”译作building a society in which people lead a fairly comfortable life，“现代化建设”译作modernization，“加强社会主义法制建设”译作strengthening the socialist legal system，“社会主义道德建设”被译作improving socialist morality。