ABSTRACT
In a general sense, all translation issues are cultural. That is, translation is as much to do with mediation between cultures as with transfer of meaning between languages. By ‘culture’, we mean the whole physical, social, historical and ideological environment within which any use of language occurs. Texts and utterances are produced in particular places at particular times, are shaped by particular conventions, precedents and ideological constraints, and are aimed at particular receivers; they deploy forms of language to refer to aspects of their surrounding environment in ways designed to be understood by those receivers, assuming shared knowledge and experiences. Some texts refer more concretely and specifically to aspects of their environment than others, and may reflect this in the choice of varieties of language — particular dialects or sociolects.
