Article 1
Translation Obstacles in English-Chinese Translation
Abstract: In the process of English-Chinese translation. There is a criticism of translation diseases. First of all, the article introduces translation diseases. Then, by analyzing some manifestations of translation obstacles in the three stages of understanding, expression and modification in the translation process. Summarize the root causes of translation diseases and finally put forward corresponding preventive measures.
Keywords: English-Chinese translation; Translation obstacle
1. What are translation barriers?
English-Chinese translation is to express the meaning expressed in English in Chinese, so as to achieve the purpose of communicating thoughts and feelings, spreading cultural knowledge and promoting social civilization. The basic standard of translation is generally "faithfulness and fluency". The so-called loyalty means that the translation should be faithful to the ideological content of the original and try to maintain the style of the original; On the basis of faithfulness, the translation should be correct in rhetoric, reasonable in logic, concise in language and fluent in arts and sciences, that is, fluent.
Due to the different cultural backgrounds of English and Chinese, the structure of writing is far from the habit of choosing words and making sentences, and some contradictions inevitably arise in the inter-language conversion. The process of translation is actually a process of constant compromise of this contradiction. Yu Guangzhong, a famous scholar and translator, vividly summed it up as "for example, when English is translated into Chinese, the west wind is not allowed to overwhelm the east wind and become Chinese with a foreign accent, and the east wind is not allowed to overwhelm the west wind and become Chinese with a glib tongue". However, in the actual operation of English-Chinese translation, due to preconceptions about English, the result of contradictory confrontation is often inadvertently overwhelming the east wind, and the translation is "neither Chinese nor western, neither donkey nor horse, but it seems different and awkward"; It makes people look "ugly, unpleasant, and awkward to say." You Kim? Nida mentioned this phenomenon in translation theory and practice, and specially coined a word-translation ese. Translation disorder not only seriously affects the quality of translation, but also affects the purity of Chinese, which is not conducive to the healthy development of Chinese.
Second, explore the causes of translation barriers
English-Chinese translation is an extremely complicated task. There are three stages in translation: understanding, expression and modification. If any stage is not handled well, translation obstacles may occur.
The stage of understanding
The process of understanding is the linguistic analysis of the original text, such as vocabulary, grammatical structure, context analysis, text style structure and so on. Strive to thoroughly understand the cultural connotation carried by the text, understand the relevant background knowledge, and sometimes need to have some common sense of life.
Galileo's greatest glory is that he was the first to use the newly invented telescope to prove the existence of the universe. The network revolves around the earth.
Galileo's greatest glory is that he was the first to aim the newly discovered telescope at the sky in 1609, proving that the planets revolve around the sun, not around the earth.
Analysis: Translation only understands the superficial meaning of the original text, and mechanically understands glory as "the greatest glory", which makes the final translation puzzling. When translating, if we only consider the superficial meaning of the original text and simply understand it according to the literal meaning, the result is often unsatisfactory. From the context of the example 1, we can see that it refers to Galileo's first experiment to prove that planets revolve around the sun by scientific means. Galileo's most brilliant achievement was that he was the first to aim the newly invented telescope at the sky in 1609, proving that the planets revolve around the sun, not around the earth.
Ex. 2: It doesn't matter to me, as long as there is something between my ribs and my spine.
It doesn't matter, as long as something is put between my ribs and my spine.
It doesn't matter, just eat something to fill your stomach.
Analysis: The stomach is located between human ribs and spine. Finding something between FFS ribs and my spine is equivalent to finding something to eat. This is a very humorous statement. British and American people like humor, so we should learn to understand their sense of humor when translating. Due to the differences between Chinese and English cultures, if we understand directly from the source language, it is often semantic and logical, which will ruin readers' interest in reading.
Two stages of expression
Expression is the focus of translation. In this process, besides correctly understanding the premise of the original text, it also depends on the literacy level of the target language and the mastery of two languages.
Example 1: Call the students in the cluster and liftheirhandswentheirnames.
The students stood together and raised their hands when their names were called.
Analysis: Translation is not fluent enough. English is a hypotaxis language, which needs function words to connect words or clauses in sentences, while Chinese is a parataxis language, which often does not need words or clauses to connect. Therefore, in English-Chinese translation, functional words such as conjunctions, pronouns and prepositions in the original text are often omitted. In English-Chinese translation, if we ignore this difference, we will translate when we see when, and every modifier will be treated with "de", which will lead to translation rigidity and serious translation problems.
Ex. 2: Many people think that the operation of the brain can never be compared with the process, and they must be obtained through some special training.
Many people imagine that the thinking activities of ordinary people can't be compared with the scientific thinking process at all, and this thinking process can only be mastered through special training.
Analysis: Example 2 applies the passive structure of "its imaginated" mechanically, and the translation of "It was imagined by many" is somewhat awkward to read. Translators ignore the differences in expression habits between English and Chinese, and Chinese is more accustomed to active voice than English. In this case, if we don't take some flexible measures to turn passive into active, but deliberately remain faithful to the surface form of the original text, then the translation is not authentic.
Example 3: I have the love of the soul, first of all, because it can bring ecstasy-1I can end the rest of my life with this joy for a few hours.
I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy ―― I would rather sacrifice the rest of my life for this happy moment.
I have pursued love, first of all, because it brings ecstasy-I would rather spend my whole life for this moment of happiness. Due to the different language structure systems, English language is quite clear, analytical and logical, while Chinese is good at fuzziness, jumping and harmony. If we ignore this feature, we think that Chinese is not accurate and scientific enough, but in the process of translation, we just use some words to standardize it. Considering English, translation is often neither fish nor fowl, which is just the opposite. Careful analysis shows that "the rest of my life" is not much more accurate than "my life", and the rest of my life in Chinese often refers to the old age of the elderly, or the life saved by luck after the disaster, which is far from the original intention.
It is as important as cricket.
This matter is as important as cricket.
Analysis: Many people think this translation is "easy to translate", but it is not. Whether you have translation obstacles depends on the purpose of translation and who the recipient is. If the recipient's cultural level is not high or he doesn't know much about cricket, then this expression is of course difficult to understand. But in Britain, cricket is the most popular sport, and cricket is a matter of concern to men, women and children, so sometimes such foreignization translation can convey exotic customs better.
The third review stage
Revision is the later stage of further comprehensive verification after the initial translation of the original text. Careful reading of the draft translation can not only identify, verify, modify and determine the faithfulness of the content, the practicality of the problem and the readability of the target language, but also further solve the problem of inconclusive understanding and expression. Newmark believes that translators should spend 50-70% of their translation time to modify their own translations according to the difficulty of the text.
Through the above analysis of some manifestations of translation diseases in various stages of translation, we can see that although the causes of translation diseases are fundamentally the result of the comprehensive effects of the above three stages: the understanding stage is not thorough, the expression is one-sided emphasis on loyalty, the formal copying of the original text ignores the characteristics of Chinese wording and sentence making, and the revision work is not serious.
Thirdly, how to reduce and avoid translation diseases.
Find a sentence in the article and a word in the sentence.
1, understand the original text thoroughly. To understand the original text, you can't see the words without the sentence, and only the tree can't see the forest, which needs to be combined with its text context, situational context and social context. In addition, there are considerable differences between English and Chinese in terms of system, cultural background and thinking habits. Translators must strengthen their sense of responsibility and abandon the style of muddling along from the beginning.
2. Reproduce the original text with the thinking and expression of China people. On the basis of thoroughly and accurately expressing the original text, we should get rid of the literal constraints of English, fully consider the differences in expression between English and Chinese, and reconstruct the translation with Chinese thinking and expression.
Second, we should master reasonable translation skills.
Scientific and reasonable translation skills can reduce the occurrence of translation diseases in a short time.
First of all, we should grasp a reasonable translation standard. The occurrence of translation syndrome makes translation standards go to extremes. Loyalty and fluency are two aspects of a contradictory unity, and we must make overall plans and give consideration to both size and size.
Secondly, we should use various translation techniques flexibly, such as transitivity, deformation, addition and ellipsis, so as to achieve the purpose of seeking trust and seeking common ground in change.
Third, develop good proofreading habits.
Revision is an important link in translation, and the translator must be careful and do this work well. Translators are advised to take some time to re-examine their own translations. If not, they can ask others for help.
Four. conclusion
Translation is not only a science with certain rules to follow, but also a restrictive artistic creation. To avoid translation syndrome fundamentally, it is necessary to improve the translator's comprehensive quality, especially the language quality. We should read widely and broaden our knowledge. We should not only get nutrition from Chinese classics, but also read some British and American literary classics in a comparative way. At the same time, translation is also a skill, which can be acquired through teaching or practical learning. Therefore, theoretical study and continuous practice are necessary means to reduce translation diseases.
the second
On English-Chinese Translation Skills
Abstract: English and Chinese are two different languages, each with its own expression. In daily life, you will encounter such a situation. Some people can read and speak English well, but they can't write. The translated words are unsatisfactory, illogical, grammatically confusing and foreign accents. Lack of necessary understanding of translation methods. Knowing the common English-Chinese translation methods and discovering the differences between the two languages through translation practice will help learners to master English better.
Keywords: English translation teaching skills
Understanding is the premise and decisive role of translation. No matter how beautiful the translation is, it will be futile if the original text is not understood correctly. First of all, we should understand the translation process, including 1, understanding the full text, expressing in Chinese, and checking and polishing.
I. Understanding the full text
Understanding includes understanding the grammatical structure of the original text and understanding its meaning. The confusion of grammatical structure and the inability to accurately grasp the meaning of words are the two "enemies" of English-Chinese translation. Compared with Chinese, English has a more rigorous grammatical structure and far more function words than Chinese. English sentences are formed by connecting words through grammatical means. When translating, especially when translating complex sentences, it is necessary to analyze the grammatical components and structure of sentences and master the grammatical knowledge involved. In this way, when translating specific language items, there will be a clear framework for easy arrangement. On the other hand, polysemy is very common in English, and translation should determine the specific meaning of words in the text according to various information and contexts.
Second, Chinese expression.
Chinese expression is to convey the information expressed in the original text in Chinese on the basis of understanding. On the basis of a thorough understanding of the original text, stand further, get rid of the shackles of the original form, and flexibly explain the original content in Chinese.
Third, check the retouching.
If you don't have a deep understanding of the original text, you will easily make mistakes in the translation process. Due to the influence of the words and structure of the original text, English-style Chinese is easy to appear in Chinese expression, and the translation reads with a foreign accent. Therefore, after the translation is completed, we must carefully check and polish the text so that the translation can faithfully and smoothly express the original content. Translating English sentences into Chinese is nothing more than two indispensable words and sentences.
Next, we will focus on the translation of English and Chinese words and sentences. First of all, the first step in translation expression is how to translate English words into appropriate Chinese words. General methods: determination of word meaning, conversion of part of speech, addition, repetition and subtraction.
Determine the meaning of a word
English and Chinese belong to two different languages, and their vocabulary is quite different. It is difficult to find words with complete one-to-one meaning in two languages. When translating, we must first determine the exact meaning of words in the context.
He is a diligent student and all the teachers like him very much. He is a diligent student and all the teachers like him very much.
He studied physics and published many academic books. He is an expert in physics and has published many academic works.
In English, student has two meanings, one is "student" and the other is "scholar expert", and both words are nouns, so the specific meaning needs to be determined from the context when translating.
He bought three English books yesterday.
He bought three books about English yesterday.
Tom booked two tickets last week. Tom booked two tickets last week.
In English, book can be used as both a noun and a verb, but their meanings are completely different. The first sentence is obviously a noun and should be translated into "book"; The second sentence is a verb and should be translated as "reservation".
Transformation of two parts of speech
In English-Chinese translation, nouns cannot be simply translated into nouns, and verbs are often translated into verbs, which often requires part-of-speech conversion.
1. English nouns are translated into Chinese verbs: there are noun pairs in English vocabulary, but there are many verbs in Chinese. In English-Chinese translation, especially when translating nouns derived from verbs, the phenomenon of noun-to-verb conversion is very common.
The child imitates his mother's speech. The child imitated his mother's speech.
2. Translation of English prepositions into Chinese verbs: In English, prepositions are used very frequently. They are used to express the grammatical relationship between words and are a very important "function words" that constitute the grammatical structure. Many prepositions in Chinese are grammaticalized by verbs, and many prepositions have the part of speech of verbs, so we should correctly handle these two kinds of words in translation.
The house is under repair. The house is under repair.
3. English adjectives are translated into Chinese verbs: The following plans may be realized in the next ten years. The following plans may be realized in 10.
In the process of English-Chinese translation, the conversion of parts of speech is flexible. In addition to the above situation, there are also problems of conversion between other parts of speech. Translation should be flexible.
Three-additive morphology
In English-Chinese translation, due to the need of meaning expression or the requirement of Chinese grammar, it is often necessary to add certain vocabulary to make the meaning expressed in the translation complete, accurate and fluent.
1. Many abstract nouns in English are derived from verbs or adjectives, and their Chinese equivalents are almost the same as their corresponding verbs and adjectives. When translating into nouns, sometimes words need to be added, which means abstract nouns are more specific.
Her arrogance led to the failure of her first marriage.
His arrogant attitude led to the failure of his first marriage.
In English, tenses are expressed by changing verbs or adding auxiliary verbs. In Chinese, tenses are often expressed by auxiliary verbs or adverbs of time, so words are often needed in translation.
Some measures have been taken, but without success.
Some measures have been taken, but they are still unsuccessful.
3. In English, the category of "number" is expressed by the grammatical form of noun number, while in Chinese, this category is basically expressed by lexical means, so it is often necessary to add words in translation.
For all these reasons, he can't escape criticism.
Although he has various reasons, he can't escape criticism.