Translation of Polysemantic Words

Different meanings of polysemantic words are revealed in the context. The term " context" is understood as the minimum stretch of speech diagnosing each individual meaning of the word. The context individualizes the meanings, brings them out.

The context reveals concrete or abstract meanings of a word, its direct or transferred meaning, e.g. the word " truth" is used in its concrete everyday meaning in the phrase " Tell me the truth" - «Скажи мне всю правду», while in the following sentence " To understand and to know the reality, it is necessary to have a theory of knowledge corresponding to truth (R. Fox, Marxism and literature) the word " truth" is used in its abstract philosophical meaning «истина». Для того, чтобы постигнуть и понять действительность, необходимо иметь теорию познания, соответствующую истине. In the following examples the context reveals direct and transferred meanings of the word " to cripple". " Smith was crippled in the war" - «Смит был искалечен на войне» (direct meaning), " Reactionaries cripple the national movement in Africa" - «Реакционеры подрывают национально освободительное движение в Африке» (transferred meaning).

The context also reveals a free or bound use of the word. He made a pace or two forward, (free) - Он сделал шага два вперед. Не kept pace with the times (bound) - Он не отставал от века. In this latter case the word " pace" forms part of a phraseological unity and is translated by a corresponding phraseological unity.

Here are some more examples. The adjective " brittle" developed a new figurative meaning used to describe " tone", " looks", " temper", etc.

" He has a brittle - easily loses his temper. (Hornby)

A brittle smile -деланная улыбка - (a forced smile) Kathleen was as white as Cade had been the day Scarlett called, white and hard and brittle(M. Mitchell) Катлин была бледна как Кейд в тот день, когда Скарлет заехала к ним. На её лице было застывшее, жестокое выражение. The context is not always limited to a minimum stretch of speech (microcontext). Sometimes macrocontext (a paragraph, a chapter or even a whole book) is necessary for a correct interpretation of the meaning. Describing Becky Sharp Thackeray writes: " The wretched woman was in a brilliant full toilet". Knowing Thackeray's negative attitude toward Becky, of the two meanings of the word " wretched" - (1) несчастная, (2) негодная the latter should be used in the translation of this sentence: Негодная/коварная/ женщина была в ослепительном туалете.