c) In any one context a lexeme is likely to have only one meaning unless multiple meanings are in some way indicated by the immediate or broader contexts. d) No two lexemes in a language have exactly the same meanings.
Men: Hey! What are you doing up my roof? Simpleton: When your wife invited me to supper, she said the dinner would be on the house.
“On the house” in English is an idiom which means “free of charge”.
3.1 Lexical context and translation The meaning of the isolated word usually remains indefinite. Context functions as the basic frame of reference to decide the thematic meaning.
Restrictive function is one of the major functions of context and also playing an important part in meaning understanding. I never had much in seeing you. There was no love lost between us at any time, I think. 我向来不大看到你，咱们两人之间大 概什么时候都不曾有过好感。
3 Linguistic context and translation
Linguistic context refers to the relevant text or discourse of which a sentence, a phrase, a word etc. is part or whatever longer text is relevant to same specific inquiry. Hatim and Mason (2001:204) define linguistic context as “the textual environment of a linguistic item”.
Chinese linguist He Ziran postulated that context is defined as “the environmental verbal communication depends on”. It includes: (i) linguistic context: words, phrases and sentences preceding or following a certain utterance;
So writers today should take heart. We could dress like Lady Gaga and hang from a cage at a Yankees game — if any of us looked as good near-naked, that is. 所以今天的作家应该鼓足勇气。 只要我们 中任何人有几分姿色，我们就可以打扮成 嘎嘎夫人那样，在洋基队比赛中将自己挂 在笼子状的裙子里---几近裸体。
3.2 Syntactical Context and translation Syntactical Context serves not only to eliminate syntactical ambiguities, but also to govern interrelations between words in the sentences.
2.2 Restrictive function Restrictive function refers to the influence of context on language application and language study. From the broad sense, this function may influence the whole nature, the human society and the culture. And from the narrow sense, it may influence a sentence, a phrase orБайду номын сангаасeven a word.
This function can be subdivided into three aspects: (i) The restrictive on meaning in an entire scale. (ii) The restrictive on meaning through preceding or furthermore part information of a text. (iii) The restrictive on meaning based on cultural differences.
(ii) social context: the objective environment in which the addresser produces and the addressee interprets an utterance, such as settings for communication, the status of and the relationship between the addresser and addressee, their social and backgrounds; (iii) cognitive environment: any experiences, background knowledge or other which contribute to communication and cognition(何 自然, 1997:210).
再如“Attention” 一在候机厅意指“注意！”， 在练兵场上则指“立正！”。 台湾电视台转播美国电视台宇航员升空的 实况。宇航员：“We are in good shape”. 我们的三围很好。 我们情况良好。
2. Functions of context
2.1 Interpretive function Interpretive function refers to the explanations and illustrations to some language phenomena in language using. It combines the situations that the event happens with the co-conditions of surroundings together and offers us a general expression and the prediction of understanding and then narrows down the choices according to the situation, and then identifies the one that is most suitable.
Chapter 5
Context and Translation
1. Definition of context
In a narrow sense, context refers to the words, phrases and sentences in which a word is used. This is what is known as linguistic context, which may be a paragraph, a whole chapter and even an entire book. And the physical, social and cultural setting, etc. are known as nonlinguistic context.
4.1 Situational context and translation 4.1.1 Spatial context Spatial context refers to the place where the utterance happens. Under most circumstances meaning of utterance has close relationship with specific sites. (1) It’s time to go abroad. Translation (A)：该上车了。 Translation (B)：该上飞机了。
Nida proposes basic analytical principles of analyzing the meanings of lexemes: a) The correct meaning of a lexeme in any one context is the one that fits the context best. b) Unless otherwise contextually marked, the central or core meaning of a term is to be assumed as correct.
It’s when the publication date looms that we have to roll up our sleeves and tackle the real literary labor. （《作家成名之道》） 搞写作的人都知道，现在写书简直就是 小菜一碟。要到出版日期临近时，我们 才不得不挽起袖子，开始下起真正的文 学功夫来。