coolbrowne Jun 3, 2010:

Thank you In fact "it's just a list of parts to build a cot" is context. (By the way, "its" is a possessive. It should be "it's", which is the contraction it is)

Anyhow, even though you didn't answer the request for the source country, that little fragment still helps. There is no such thing as "no context" or "the context wouldn't help". Please allow me to explain:

The asker, being a translator, is in possession of some document containing the full text to be translated, in the source language. From that, the asker can garner other useful information, such as: purpose, tone, register, and even the level of command of the language by the author (is it a Korean engineer struggling with technical English or a fluent Spanish speaker who plays with images and metaphors?). And, of course, what are, the (geographic) source and destination of said translation? All this knowledge, at the asker's fingertips, is denied those who are offering their free help, by the phrase "there is no context" (or, worse, "context wouldn't help"). Thoughtfully supplied context is an asker's insurance against mere guesses, often disguised as "suggestions".
Thanks

Douglas Bissell (asker) Jun 2, 2010:

I'd love to give you some but its just a list of parts to build a cot so context wouldn't help. The target is to produce a document to be translated into another language as there was no pair found from Portuguese to the final target apparently

coolbrowne Jun 1, 2010:

Context, please? In fact "one of those questions that probably only has one right answer" does not help with the context at all. A full sentence containing the expression is always helpful and another very important element is the target country. English is the language of several places and technical terminology variations are well known. The source country is also important, and Brazil it seems to be a reasonable guess. However it's always best not to guess.

Thank you

Marlene Curtis May 30, 2010:

Ver http://www.proz.com/kudoz/english_to_portuguese/tech_enginee...