A discussion of the translation process focuses on inferencing strategy, using attributes and contexts that are familiar in recognizing or making sense of what is unfamiliar in a text. Examples drawn from Belgian translation student work are used to illustrate this principle in operation, at several levels of difficulty. The examples come from texts translated from English into French and accompanied by student commentaries on problems encountered during translation. Errors from language interference are distinguished from true translation problems whose solution requires reflection and possibly further research, using a dictionary or other tool. Inferencing with immediately available cues and inferencing involving more complicated intellectual processes are examined. It is concluded that there is a compelling argument for further study of grammatical and stylistic detail so both this information and greater awareness of its practical use can be communicated to students of translation. Contains 16 references. (MSE)