翻译讲义1
Chapter One Theory of Translation
1 Definition(s) of translation
A: a social activity, an activity for cultural communication and transmission;
B: to express the ideas or thoughts of the original texts in the translated one;
C: to use one form of language to express the contents of another form of language;
D: an art, an art to rewrite; etc.
E: Translation consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source-language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style. (Nida)
F: Translation is rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the way that the author intended the text. (Newmark)
2 Functions of translation
3 Classification of translation
4 Two most influential translation theories:
Nida: functional/dynamic equivalence
9 functions of language:
Expressive; informative; cognitive; interpersonal; imperative; performative; emotive; aesthetic; metalingual
Newmark: semantic translation & communicative translation
Section Two Standard and principle of translation
1严复：信、达、雅
2傅雷：神似
3钱钟书：化境
4鲁迅：忠实、通顺
Three translation principles in the west:
1 A translation should give a complete transcript of the ideas of the original work;
2 The style and manner of writing should be of the same character as that of the original;
3 A translation should have all the ease of the original composition.
Section Three Methods of translation
1 Literal trans.
1. To take off the boots or to put them on was an agony to her, but it had been an agony for years.
2. It was Sunday. I never get up early on Sundays.
3．one country, two systems
a stick-and-carrot policy
to add fuel to the fire
4．All roads lead to Rome.
Blood is thicker than water.
There is no smoke without fire. Classroom practice:
1. crocodile’s tears
2. chain reaction
3. to kill two birds with one stone
4. to turn a deaf ear to
5. to fish in troubled waters
6. to talk black into white
7. Look before you leap.
8. Example is better than precept.
9. Ill news travels fast.
10. Easier said than done.
2 Free trans.
1．from the cradle to the grave 2．Do you see any green in my eye? 3．Mary will make you a good wife.
Classroom practice:
1.Adam’s apple
2. raining cats and dogs
3. the apple of one’s eye
4. castles in the air
5. to laugh off one’s head
6. to look a needle in a bundle of hay
7. to hold a wolf by the ears
8. to have one’s nose in the air
9. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
10.Now it’s the time to put our cards on the table.
3 Transliteration
1．Cocacola 可口可乐 2. Canon 佳能
3．model 模特儿 4. Karl Marx 卡尔.马克思
5．typhoon 台风 6. Wall Street 华尔街
Classroom practice：
1. modern _____________
2. carnation ____________
3. radar _____________
4.Dove ____________
5. sofa _____________
6. aspirin ____________
7. Botily Co. _____________ 8. Benz ____________
9. mango _____________ 10. hormone ____________
11. nylon _____________ 12. tango ____________
4 Formal trans.
5 annotation
1. pizza 比萨饼
2. Sahara 撒哈拉沙漠
3. mad-cow disease 疯牛病（一种牛海绵状脑病）
4. tree hugger 紧抱树干的人（极端环保主义者）
5. Many school children like Harry Potter very much.
很多在校的学生非常喜欢哈里.波特。（哈里.波特：英国女作家罗琳的畅销系列小说中的小主人公）
Classroom practice：
1. clone ______________
2. hacker _______________
3. AIDS ______________
4. EL Nino _______________
5. sauna ______________
6. Oval Office _______________
7. rock’n’roll ______________ 8. the Water-gate Event _________
9. His dream is to be a second Jordan.
6 Paraphrase
1．to meet one’s Waterloo 遭到惨败
2．at the end of one’s wit 黔驴技穷；江郎才尽；山穷水尽等
3．to fish in the air 水中捞月
4．tit for tat 以牙还牙
5．a drop in the ocean 沧海一粟
6．Money makes the mare to go. 有钱能使鬼推磨。
7．An old dog can’t learn new tricks. 老狗学不了新花样。
8．He was smooth and agreeable. 他待人处事，八面玲珑。
Classroom practice：
1. to put all one’s eggs in one basket ______________________
2. neither fish nor flesh _______________________
3. to return good for evil _______________________
4. a Trojan Horse _______________________
5. One boy is a boy, two boys half a boy, three boys no boy.
_____________________________________________________________________
6. In the end things will mend. _______________________
7. Man proposes, God disposes. _______________________
8. All for one, one for all. _______________________
9. He who keeps company with the wolf will learn to howl.
_____________________________________________________________________
10. Can the leopard change his spots? __________________________
11. Among so many well-dressed and cultured people, she felt like a fish out of water.
_____________________________________________________________________ 12. He acts a lot older than his years.
_____________________________________________________________________ 13. The more you try to hide, the more you are exposed.
_____________________________________________________________________ 14. The onlooker sees most of the game.
_____________________________________________________________________ 15. Do not cast pearls before swine.
_____________________________________________________________________
Section Four Translation process
Step One understanding
1 semantic analysis
（1）This month I have three wedding feasts to attend.
（2）It is really a special feast when finally you are standing at the top of the mountain. （3）The book is more a dictionary than a grammar.
（4）The two sides were at swords’ points on the matter of abortio n.
Classroom practice:
1. Can can can a can.
2. It’s difficult for him to take the heavy plane to Chicago.
3. A dark horse candidate gets elected president.
4. As a president candidate, you must be ready for some Water-gate events.
2 grammatical analysis
（1）He was a teacher.
（2）a He asked her to go there at once.
b He promised her to go there at once.
（3）All that glitters is not gold.
Classroom practice:
1. Such observations are frequently made of Canada and Canadians.
2. It was in this way that she cast in a bone between the husband and the wife.
3. Immediately away fly these timid birds when anyone approaches.
4. Your bicycle did not move because I pushed on it.
3 text/discourse analysis
（1）There is a definite link between smoking and lung cancer. But this doesn’t make you too uncomfortable because you are in good company.
（2）As luck would have it, he was out again when I called on the second time.
（3）Don’t get funny with your boss.
Classroom practice：
1. Frank hit the man with a hammer.
2. Our conference did in the end make the detailed plans for the invasion.
3. Wife: Are you sick？
Husband: Yes, I’m sick. I’m sick of you.
4. It is good for him to do so.
5. The old man recalled that he was full of energy when he was a young fellow in the seventies.
4 stylistic analysis
Classroom practice：
1. My beloved parent has joined the heavenly choir.
2. My dear father has passed away.
3. My dad has died.
4. My old man has kicked the bucket.
Step Two expression
1．It seems that the gap between the rich and the poor hasn’t been narrowed, but widened. 2．We ate to our heart’s content at her home last Sunday.
3．You are late for the last time.
Classroom practice：
1. The pilot was ordered to land his plane at once.
2. Get a livelihood, and then practice virtue.
3. Men are good in one way, but bad in many.
4. Two is company, three is misery.
5. I’m up to my neck in your bullshit.
6. She denied it, denied everything, bone and stone.
7. Daniel said, “I’ll teach you how to kiss a girl.”
“No,” said Sute, “I’ve graduated.”
8. He sold consumer goods in great demand but shot supply.
9. At that time, he was as poor as a church mouse.
10. It’s therefore necessary to see the feasibility and effectiveness of this kind of management. Step Three checking
Section Five Requirements of a Translator
1 bilingual knowledge
1．You don’t want to do that.
2．However, such measures touch only the tip, but not address the basis of the problem.
Classroom practice：
1. Don’t be inflexibly devoted to a system just because it worked everywhere.
2. Vietnamese War is a drain on American resources.
3. Everybody says she is an angel of a woman.
4. He has an acute intelligence.
5. He is determined to turn over a new leaf.
2 rich in cultural background knowledge
1. My landlord asked me not to allow friends to visit me after 10 at night.
2. The European Empires in Africa have disappeared.
Classroom practice：
1. She is a cat.
2. John can be relied on, he eats no fish and plays the game.
3. Traditionally, rural highway location practice has been field oriented, but the modern method is “office” oriented.
4. Items in this shop are discounted by 20-30 percent.
5. When the cat’s away, the mice will play.
3 understanding the use of context
1 A man is a man, a woman is a woman.
2 I would rather be a has-been than a never-was, because a has-been has been while a never-was never was.
3 My boyfriend will come in a minute.
4 You are an attractive young woman …
4 rich in sentence structures
1 太原理工大学位于太原市幽美的汾河西畔，四周鲜花烂漫，绿树成荫。太原理工大学是全国重点高校之一，也是国家211工程重点建设的百所高校之一。
2 No mater what text the translator is facing with, if the ideas/meanings of the original are successfully transferred to the readers without being distorted, the translated version should be at least regarded as a half-success, because for any translated ones, faithfulness is always the first to be taken into consideration.
3 What must be pointed out here is, that we are seeking for the smoothness and naturalness of the translated versions does not mean that our translation should be quite colloquial or informal so that all the readers, no matter whether they are experts, the educated laymen or the uninformed, could understand, because, just as Peter Newmark once said, “You should try to assess the level of education, the class, age and sex of you readership if these are important.”
5 with some theoretical knowledge and methods of trans.
6 familiar with different tool books
7 with strong responsibility
Some arguments:
1 elegance in trans.
2 literal trans. & free trans.
3 translatability:
1) figures of speech
2) humors
3) expressions with typical cultural background knowledge