Different meanings of やはり produce very different, but plausible, translations


A recurrent problem I have with the word やはり (also やっぱり) is that when I apply
the various standard definitions for this word, I end up with translations
that are quite different from each other, and I don't know how to decide which
of these translations most fairly represents the original.

To see what I mean, suppose A and B are chatting about a common acquaintance
C. At some point, A claims that he/she (A) would have acted differently from
how C is acting. In reply, B explains away A's claim by pointing out that A's
and C's life situations are completely different.

Now, suppose that at this point A replies to B like this:

> もし自分がCの立場だったと仮定したら、 **やはり** そうするだろう。 (❶)

One possible translation, based on interpreting as やはり as "still, as before",
would render ❶ as A's _rebuttal_ of what B said:

> If I were in C's position, I would **still** act that way [i.e. the way I
> said before, and _differently_ from the way C is acting].

On the other hand, a translation of ❶ based on a different meaning of やはり
would render it as A's _concession_ of B's point:

> If I were in C's position, I would, **as one would expect** , act that way
> [i.e. _the same_ way C is acting].

Furthermore, in a context slightly different from the one I sketched above, I
can imagine A offering the following by way of _summation_ :

> If I were in C's position, I would, **after all** [apparent differences
> notwithstanding], act that way [i.e. the way C is acting].

Of course, I realize that what seems reasonable to my non-native ear may very
well strike native speakers as _way off_. In other words, it could be that,
contrary to what I just wrote, at most one (and maybe none!) of the
translations above corresponds to the way a native speaker would understand
sentence ❶.

So, to be specific: Which of the translations above is/are possible? Which
is/are likely? What's the basis for the difference? Is _yet another_
translation distinctly better than all the ones proposed above?




Hopefully the following helps clarify some of your doubts although it may not
directly answer your questions.

**still vs. after all**

I think these two are mostly the same
([大辞泉](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/%E7%9F%A2%E5%BC%B5%E3%82%8A/#jn-222453)
#3) and it is a matter of translation (and contexts).

  * Apple製品は高価だが、自分はやはり好きだ.
  * Apple products are expensive, but I still like it.

Here I think using _after all_ doesn't change the meaning (or you could even
say _I still like it after all_ ).

If the context suggests:

  * The speaker likes Apple despite their ripping off, _still_ may be better;
  * The speaker tried other brands, _after all_ may be more precise.

It may depend also on the nature/tense/aspect of the verb (好き in this case)
which of _still_ and _after all_ is better.

**as expected**

This also isn't totally distinct from _still/after all_ , but one thing is
that usually the speaker also expects it, so in the case of your example

  * If I were in C's position, I would, as one would expect, act that way

is off in a strict sense (at least from my understanding of the translation).
_I would do it as I expect it_ makes little sense.

A more ordinary example would be:

  * 彼は忙しいと言っていたがやはり今日の会合に来なかった
  * He said he was busy and, as expected, he didn't come to today's meeting.

Here it is possible that やはり means _after all_ , e.g. in case the speaker
didn't think he was that busy. (Another point: probably using _still_ is
difficult here.)

