Didactics of Translation: Text in Context

Participation

. lexical means
. syntactic means
. textual means
x Genre

3. The Contrastive Discourse Model (Hatim & Mason (1990) (1997)):

This model investigates the relationships which exist between the different elements of discourse and the context of the communicative activity. The elements of discourse could be a word, a phrase, a clause, a sequence of clauses, a paragraph, or even the text itself as a unit of communication in its own right. The context of the communicative activity in this model is seen in terms of three dimensions: a communicative dimension or register, a pragmatic dimension and a semiotic dimension. Language users are believed to make use of these dimensions of context when they are engaged in a given communicative activity, although this remains at a generally unconscious level. Translators as special language users who are engaged in the transfer of messages from one language into another also have to operate within the requirements of these three dimensions of context. However, not all translators make a conscious use of these dimensions in their work.

In describing the characteristics of each of these dimensions, Hatim & Mason (1990) maintain that these can be used as a set of procedures which guide the translator in his/her translation activity; that is to say, as “a basis for motivated choices that can recreate the intended meaning and relay it in the target language” (Hatim & Mason 1990: 238). The three dimensions of context constitute vital elements in the communication activity. In fact, taken together, they constitute

both a point of departure and a destination for text users in their attempts to communicate or appreciate the meaning of a text. (Hatim & Mason 1997: 25)
But what do these dimensions of context actually consist of?

1.