ABSTRACT
The table of textual filters on pp. 6–7 places the genre of the ST at the top of the list of textual features to be taken into account in the development of a translation strategy. Analysis of the type of text to be translated is the indispensable starting-point, involving not only recognition of characteristic textual conventions but also identification of the purpose of the ST within the culture in which it was produced and is used. Most of the texts being produced around the world, and especially those likely to get translated, fulfil concrete functions — providing information, persuading, making a record of agreements or transactions, building or consolidating human relationships — and the verbal (or visual) forms they take are generally determined by those functions. Everyday conversations may seem largely aimless, but they tend to be motivated and structured by underlying purposes and social dynamics, such as establishing one's status within a group or reinforcing an emotional bond with someone who may provide support. Literary texts can in a sense be defined in terms of not having a specific practical or informative function, yet they are certainly published, purchased and read for particular reasons: to be marketed and consumed as a leisure activity, often alongside other media products; to be studied as part of educational curricula; to provide emotional experiences and influence opinions; to enhance the prestige of cultural institutions.
