Abstract: There are many differences between English and Chinese in vocabulary and grammatical structure. Therefore, in the process of English-Chinese translation, it is impossible to translate word for word. On the one hand, most Chinese words are one word, while many common English words are multi-words, and some even have as many as five categories. On the other hand, a word in Chinese can serve as more sentence components, and generally does not need to change the part of speech; In English, however, a word can serve as a less sentence component, so it is necessary to change the part of speech to serve as a different component. When translating, some English parts of speech can be appropriately adjusted on the premise of being faithful to the original intention. For example, English nouns can be converted into Chinese verbs, adverbs and adjectives; English verbs can be converted into Chinese nouns and adverbs.

Keywords: English-Chinese translation; conversion of part of speech

Anyone who has studied English knows that English belongs to Indo-European language family and Chinese belongs to Sino-Tibetan language family. There are many differences between English and Chinese in vocabulary and grammatical structure. Therefore, in the process of English-Chinese translation, some sentences can be translated word for word, and some sentences cannot be translated word for word because of the different expressions in English and Chinese. In translation, in order to make Chinese translation smooth and natural, some words in the original text need to be converted into parts of speech, that is, some words in the original text can be converted into other parts of speech in Chinese, without sticking to the surface structure of the original text. The conversion between the four main English parts of speech and Chinese parts of speech is introduced as follows:

Transformation of English nouns

(A) English nouns translated into Chinese verbs

Compared with Chinese, English has more verbs, and only one predicate verb is used in English sentences, while several verbs can be used together in Chinese sentences. Therefore, in some cases, English nouns can be translated into Chinese verbs, which mainly includes the following two situations:

As the subject of idioms, nouns can often be transformed into verbs. For example, the word "rest" in "take a break", the word "mention" in "don't mention", the word "attention" in "attention" and the word "care" in "care" are all the central words in the phrase. Although these words are nouns, several phrases express an action. Moreover, resting, mentioning and caring can be used as both nouns and verbs, so these nouns with action meaning can be translated into Chinese verbs. Therefore, nouns in these English phrases can be translated into Chinese verbs to rest, mention, pay attention and take care of them.

Many nouns in English are derived from verbs. The words abortion, connection, conclusion, treatment and detection are derived from verbs such as abortion, connection, conclusion, treatment and detection respectively. When these nouns are translated into Chinese, their verb parts of speech can be restored. For example, in the sentence "drugs are used to treat cancer", the noun "treatment" is needed as the preposition object, which can still be used as a verb-treatment when translated into Chinese. Of course, the original sentence can also be translated into: this medicine is used to treat cancer, and the treatment is still translated into nouns. But the former obviously sounds smoother and more natural than the latter.

(B) Some English nouns with abstract meanings can be translated into Chinese adverbs.

I remember that Mr. Smith is a director of this company. In my impression, Mr. Smith is the chairman of the company. In this sentence, the original sentence has an appositive clause to modify impression, which is rarely expressed in Chinese, so impression can be translated into adverbs in Chinese. This kind of translation is usually used to translate appositive clauses in English.

(3) Some nouns with indefinite articles in English can be transformed into adjectives in Chinese, and nouns derived from adjectives can also be transformed into adjectives.

For example, nouns such as necessity, stupidity and depth are all derived from adjectives such as necessity, stupidity and depth. Independent thinking is absolutely necessary in learning. Although the original sentence can be translated as "independent thinking is absolutely necessary in learning", this Chinese translation sounds unnatural and does not conform to Chinese expression. Therefore, the translation should conform to the habits of China people and translate English nouns into Chinese adjectives.

Transformation of English adjectives

(A) adjectives with definite articles, adjectives can be translated into nouns.

In English, some adjectives with definite articles can represent a class of people, and these adjectives can be translated into nouns. Such as poor, young, rich and blind; In addition, adjectives used to express characteristics or properties can be translated into nouns according to Chinese habits.

For example, (1) they did their best to help the sick and wounded. (They try their best to help the sick and wounded) (2) The more carbon steel contains, the harder and stronger it is. The higher the carbon content of steel, the greater the strength and hardness.

The patient number and the wounded in the example (1) represent two kinds of people with the patient number and the wounded respectively, so they can be translated into the patient number and the wounded. The adjectives hard and strong in Example (2) are used to express two properties of steel, namely strength and hardness. The adjective religion in Example (3) is used to describe the religious beliefs of the Smiths, so it can be translated into nouns.

(b) When English nouns are translated into Chinese verbs, adjectives that usually modify nouns are usually translated into Chinese adverbs.

For example, (1) There is a heated discussion about his achievements everywhere. We attach great importance to friendly relations with developing countries. We attach great importance to friendly relations with developing countries. The English nouns discussion and value in example (1)(2) are translated into Chinese verbs "discussion" and "cherish" respectively. Because only adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives warm and upper can be translated into Chinese adverbs "warm" and "high" to modify verbs respectively.

(3) Adjectives expressing mental state are often translated into Chinese verbs as complements after linking verbs.

Such as self-confidence, certainty, care, caution, anxiety, certainty, fear, doubt, happiness, etc. These adjectives are often used as complements to express psychological state and can be translated into verbs. Another example is that I am sure that the meeting will be a success. I'm sure this meeting will be a success. The adjective sure in the sentence indicates a state of mind and can also be understood as an action in the heart, so it can be translated into Chinese verbs. In addition, the Chinese word "yes" often constitutes a judgment sentence, while the English copula verb be can constitute a judgment sentence or follow a complement clause. Therefore, in the case of complementary clauses, adjectives expressing psychological state after be are often translated into Chinese verbs, which makes the translation conform to Chinese habits.

Conversion of English verbs

(1) English verbs derived from nouns can be transformed into Chinese nouns.

Many verbs in English are derived from nouns, and some nouns can also be used as verbs. When translating these words, it is often difficult to find the corresponding verbs in Chinese, or there are no corresponding verbs at all. At this time, verbs can be converted into Chinese nouns. For example, the first characteristic of (1) electronic computer is its accuracy and fast calculation. The main feature of an electronic computer is that it can calculate quickly and accurately. It is shaped like a ball. What's that? It is shaped like a ball. In example (1)(2), characters and shapes are converted from noun characters and shapes respectively. However, it is difficult to find the corresponding verbs in Chinese. If we have to translate them according to verbs, we can only translate very poor Chinese. Therefore, in order to make Chinese sound natural, representations and forms can only be translated into Chinese nouns and used as subjects.

(B) verbs in English passive sentences can be translated into "experience to…+ nouns"

Some verbs in English passive sentences can be translated into the structure of "being(experience)to…+ nouns". This is also a translation skill of English passive sentences.

His image as a good student has been seriously damaged. His image as a good student has been greatly damaged.

(3) Some verbs in English have the meaning of Chinese adverbs and can be translated into Chinese adverbs.

I succeeded in persuading him. (I succeeded in persuading him) Although the sentence succeeded is a verb, the meaning of the verb is not obvious. Only the result is emphasized in the sentence, and the real verb meaning should be persuasion. Therefore, successful is translated into Chinese adverb "successfully" to modify the verb persuasion.

Transformation of English Adverbs

Adverbs are frequently used in English, and there are many kinds, some of which indicate time, place and way, and are used to modify verbs. Some express degree, which is used to modify adjectives or other adverbs; Some play a connecting role in guiding clauses; Some are used to modify the whole sentence. English adverbs are also flexible in the position of sentences, sometimes at the beginning of sentences, sometimes before and after verbs, and sometimes in the middle of words. When translating, we should first make clear its modifying relationship and correctly understand its meaning, and then deal with it flexibly according to Chinese habits.

(A) into a verb

That day, he got up before sunrise. (He got up before sunrise that day) Although up is an adverb, it expresses an action, so it has verb meaning and can be translated into the verb "get up" according to the meaning of the whole sentence.

(B) into a noun

He is physically weak, but mentally healthy. Although physically is an adverbial, it expresses the weakness of the subject, so it can be translated into the noun "body". Similarly, it is translated into "thought" in spirit.

(C) into adjectives

He was deeply impressed by what they did at the critical moment. He was deeply impressed by their behavior at the critical moment. ) the adverb deep expresses the degree in the sentence, and the verb impress is translated into the Chinese noun "impression", so deep can be translated into adjectives as an attribute to modify "impression".

Transformation of English Prepositions

(a) indicates the collocation relationship between words, which can be omitted when collocating with verbs.

English prepositions are flexible in meaning and complex in collocation, so they should be handled flexibly in translation according to their collocation and context. Generally speaking, prepositions with verbs can often be omitted and not translated. For example, in these four phrases, prepositions only play a collocation role, which is a lexical need, so they are omitted in translation.

(2) English prepositions or prepositional phrases with action meaning are often translated into Chinese verbs in translation.

For example, riding a bike to a letter to Tom, the preposition by indicates the way to go; For means to whom, so both prepositions can be translated into verbs. After midnight, we drove home, crossed the river and passed through the lovely sleeping town. The prepositions over and through in this sentence can be translated into Chinese verbs "fruit" and "fruit" respectively.

In short, in English-Chinese translation, the conversion of parts of speech is very flexible and there is no fixed format. If you copy mechanically, you can only deviate. Language is the main way for people to communicate, and it is also an art. In language translation, the conversion between parts of speech should aim at communication.

References:

Zhang Peiji. English-Chinese Translation Course [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 1980.

[2] Lv Ruichang. Chinese-English translation course [M]. Taiyuan: Shanxi People's Publishing House, 1983.

[3] Yang Lili. English-Chinese Translation Course [M]. Kaifeng: Henan University Press, 1993.

[4] Fan Zhongying. Practical translation course [M]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 1994.

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