英汉翻译讲义

E-C Translation Course NotesDefinitionTranslation 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.(Eugene A. Nida)Significance of TranslationPlays the key role in inter-cultural communication1. Bringing about mutual understanding and friendliness among nations.2. Enriching our own experiences and knowledge of the world.The most important media in international trade and business. ------No translation, no globalization.The Criteria of TranslationTytler (p.5)严复：faithfulness, intelligibility, and elegance(信达雅)林语堂：忠实，通顺，美钱钟书：化境傅雷：神似The procedures of translationAccurate comprehensionAdequate representationCareful proofreadingRequirements on the translatorsGood command of the languagesWide scope of knowledgeSensitive to cultural differencesHard working and willing to sacrifice personal gains and interestsStrong sense of responsibilityLiteral Vs. free translationsThe former focuses on a word-for-word translation of the source text into the target text; while the latter involves language adjustment in the process of translation.No matter what method you may use, your translation should be correct, comprehensible to the target reader and close to the original style. Only when you keep the meaning and spirit of the original sentence structure a nd/or its figure of speech can your translation be regarded as proper literal translation, otherwise it is merely mechanical translation.Similarly, only when change the original sentence structure and/or the figure of speech but make no addition or deletion of the original meaning and spirit, can your translation be regarded as proper translation; otherwise it is simply random translation.The designative meaning of a word (指称义) refers to the object, people, plant, animal, place, etc. that it represents; while the associative meaning of a word (内涵义) is the idea, quality, state, circumstance, etc. that it makes you think of.Formal vs. Functional EquivalenceFormal equivalence (形式对等) focuses on the match between the source text and the target text as close as possible in both form and content; while functional equivalence （功能对等）stresses the closest parallel of the target text to the source text in communicative function.If the communicative function of the source text can be translated into the target text without having to change the form of the former, formal equivalence should be strived for;whereas if the strict reservation of the structure of the source text constitutes an obstacle to the transmission of the communicative function, adjustment then needs to be made structurally for the establishment of functional equivalence.Hypotaxis(形合) vs. parataxis (意合)English is a language of hypotaxis(形合). It heavily depends on grammar for constructing different linguistic parts into a sentence or an article. the Grammatical meanings in the language of English are reflected in such aspects as the suffix (后缀) of a word (e.g.“-s, -ing or -ed”), the tenses(时态), the voices(语态), the moods(语气), constructions(结构), and such functional words like articles, conjunctions, pronouns or prepositions. On the contrary, Chinese, being a language of parataxis (意合),has the parts linked up with each other semantically or through the context. Therefore, when English is being translated into Chinese, some of the words mentioned above need to be omitted out of grammatical or rhetorical considerations.Syntactic marking （语法标义）vs. semotactic marking（语义标义）Syntactic marking refers to those situations when the meaning of a word in a sentence is specified by the grammatical construction of the sentence.Semotactic marking refers to the determination of the meaning of an English word by some other words in the sentence, which form the semotactic environment for that word. In other words, the context, built up by the words prior to or following the word, can often provide clues as to what the word means.Syntactic marking interplays with semotactic marking in the specification of the meaning of an English word.Form and ContentIf we assume that language is a device for communicating messages, then it follows that language and linguistic forms are means to an end rather than an end in themselves. The content is the conceptual intent of the message, together with the connotative values the source text wishes to communicate; it is what the message is about.The form, on the other hand, is the external shape the message takes to effect its passage from the source’s mind to the receptor’s mind.In transferring the message from one language to another, it is the content which must be preserved at any cost; the form, except in special cases, such as poetry, is largely secondary,variable.It is a bit like packing clothing into two different pieces of luggage: the clothes remain the same, but the shapes of the suitcases may vary greatly, and hence the ways in which the clothes are packed must be different.We preserve the form when we can, but more often the form has to be transformed precisely in order to preserve the content. An excessive effort to preserve the form inevitab ly results in a serious loss or distortion of the message.Semantic adjustment made in transfer—Specific meaning Vs. generic meaning Some of the most common shifts in meaning found in the transfer process are modifications which involve specific （个别意义）and generic （一般意义）meanings. Such shifts may go in either direction, from generic to specific , or from specific to generic.Semantic adjustment —Analytic process Vs. synthetic process分析过程综合过程In the transfer process, sometimes the semantic contents of a word or a group of words need to be redistributed through either an analytical or synthetic process. The former involves expanding the semantic content of a word over a number of words; and the latter group s the semantic contents of several words into one or two words.Structural adjustmentThere are numerous features of the sentence structure, which must be adjusted in the process of transfer from one language to another. Such features, among others, concern word and phrase order, gender, class and number concord, active and passive constructions and ellipsis，etc.Discourse adjustmentAn English discourse generally starts with a topic sentence followed by the explanatory statements or supportive examples and ends up with a conclusion. The sentences in the discourse are often logically connected with each other by such cohesive markers（连接手段）as “first of all”, “furthermore”, “in addition”, “however”, “therefore”, “to sum up”, etc. The sentences in a Chinese discourse, though not always bound up together through formally distinct devices, actually all center on the theme of the text.Translation skillsChanging the positions of some phrasesChanging words or phrases into sentencesChanging the part of speechMain clause firstChanging the positions of the major componentsAdding words when necessaryKey word repetitionBreaking a long sentence into several short sentencesLeaving out unnecessary wordsUse of four-character phrasesPositive and negative ways of expressing an ideaDealing with idiomsThe former focuses on a －translation of the －text into the －text; while the latter involves language －in the process of translation.No matter what method you may use, your translation should be －, c－to the target reader and close to the original －. Only when you keep the－and－of the original sentence－a nd/or its－can your translation be regarded as proper literal translation, otherwise it is merely m－translation.Similarly, only when change the original sentence structure and/or the figure of speech but make no addition or deletion of the original meaning and spirit, can your translation be regarded as proper translation; otherwise it is simply r－translation. Designative Vs. associative meaningsThe designative meaning of a word (指称义) refers to the object, people, plant, animal, place, etc. that it－; while the associative meaning of a word (内涵义) is the idea, quality, state, circumstance, etc. that it makes you－.Formal vs. Functional EquivalenceFormal equivalence (形式对等) focuses on the －between the source text and the target text as close as possible in both －and －; while functional equivalence （功能对等）stresses the c- p- of the target text to the source text in －function.If the communicative function of the source text can be translated into the target text without having to change the form of the former, －should be strived for; whereas if the strict reservation of the structure of the source text constitutes an obstacle to the transmission of the communicative function, adjustment then needs to be made s-for the establishment of functional equivalence.Hypotaxis(形合) vs. parataxis (意合)English is a language of —. It heavily depends on ——for constructing different linguistic parts into a sentence or an article. the Grammatical meanings in the language of English are reflected in such aspects as the s- (后缀) of a word (e.g.“-s, -ing or -ed”), the t-(时态), the v-(语态), the m-(语气), c-(结构), and such functional words like a-, c-, p- or p-. On the contrary, Chinese, being a language of---, has the parts linked up with each other s- or through the c-. Therefore, when English is being translated into Chinese, some of the words mentioned above need to be o-out of g- or r- considerations.Syntactic marking （语法标义）vs. semotactic marking（语义标义）Syntactic marking refers to those situations when the meaning of a word in a sentence is -ed by the-cal construction of the sentence.Semotactic marking refers to the determination of the meaning of an English word by some other words in the sentence, which form the - environment for that word. In other words, the-, built up by the words prior to or following the word, can often provide clues as to what the word means.Syntactic marking interplays with semotactic marking in the -of the meaning of an English word.Form and ContentIf we assume that language is a device for communicating messages, then it follows that - and -c forms are means to an end rather than an end in themselves. The content is the ---------of the message, together with the - values the source text wishes to communicate; it is what the message is about.The form, on the other hand, is the --------------the message takes to effect its passage from the source’s mind to the receptor’s mind.In transferring the message from one language to another, it is the content which must be preserved at any cost; the form, except in special cases, such as ------, is largely secondary, since within each language the rules for content to form are highly c-, a-, and v-.It is a bit like packing clothing into two different pieces of luggage: the clothes remain the same, but the shapes of the suitcases may vary greatly, and hence the ways in which the clothes are packed must be different.We preserve the form when we can, but more often the form has to be transformed precisely in order to preserve the content. An excessive effort to preserve the form inevitably results in a serious loss or distortion of the message.。