“I know all the words, but I don’t understand how to translate this.” If this thought has ever crossed your mind, congratulations: you have encountered a lexical gap.
Lexical gaps arise when the target language has no direct equivalent for a word, term, or even an entire concept. This is particularly common in legal, financial, medical, and technical texts. That is why professional translation is not about looking up equivalents in a dictionary, but about working with meaning.
What should an aspiring translator keep in mind?
• Do not translate terms in isolation. The same word may carry different meanings depending on the field. For instance, the seemingly familiar term appointment in a legal context may refer not to a “meeting,” but to the allocation of inheritance assets under a power of attorney.
• Develop subject-matter expertise. A lack of background knowledge is one of the main sources of translation errors. To translate contracts accurately, it is not enough to know the language — you must understand how the legal system works.
• Use macro-context. Pay attention to the author of the text, the target audience, the document’s purpose, its domain, and its communicative function. Sometimes the correct translation of a term becomes clear only after reviewing the entire document.
• Verify terminology across multiple sources. Dictionaries, glossaries, specialist articles, legislation, corporate materials, and parallel texts all help reveal how professionals actually use a term.
• Do not be afraid to expand meaning. Some English terms require descriptive translation. This is not an error, but a way to ensure clarity for the reader.
• Keep the primary goal of translation in mind. The objective is not to find a literal equivalent, but to preserve meaning and communicative function. A translator works not only with language, but also with knowledge.
The broader your professional horizon, the more confidently you will handle complex texts.
