The process of English-Chinese translation includes two important stages: understanding and expression. Only on the basis of correctly understanding the meaning of the words in the original text, can the original text be expressed correctly. The following is what I have organized for you for your reference.

Sample Essay 1: Context Analysis and English-Chinese Translation

Thesis Introduction: translation is a kind of cross-linguistic and cross-cultural communicative behavior. Context has a close relationship with translation. This paper discusses context analysis and translation in the process of English-Chinese translation. Context, context analysis and English-Chinese translation.

Keywords: translation, context, context analysis

Translation is a kind of cross-lingual and cross-cultural communicative behavior. Context has a close relationship with translation.

Contextcontext, that is, the speech environment in which a language text is placed once it is used. Bronislaw Kaspar Malinowski, a British social anthropologist and one of the founders of the functional school of thought, first put forward the concept of context in 1884-1942, and pointed out that context is the only factor that determines semantics, and there is no meaning without it.

John Rupert Firth, a British linguist and the founder of the London School, inherited and developed this viewpoint, believing that meaning is the function of linguistic components in context. Firth took Malinowski's concept of linguistic environment and expanded the suite by stating that in addition to the context of the language itself, the entire social environment, culture, beliefs, identity and history of the participants, and the relationships of the participants, in addition to the activities people engage in the environment in which the language occurs, all form part of the linguistic environment.

Linguistic context is the first contextual factor to be considered in English-Chinese translation. This paper discusses the context analysis and translation in the process of English-Chinese translation.

1. Lexical Context

The phenomenon of multiple meanings of words is very common in our English learning, and it is very difficult to determine the meanings of these words if they are detached from the utterance and context. In specific sentences, it often happens that the original meaning of the word is not well understood, resulting in translation errors. In this case, it is necessary to select the specific meaning of the polysemous word according to the context, to eliminate the interference of homonyms, and to explore the real meaning of the word in a particular context.

The word context was first used to refer to a particular word, the words before and after it, i.e., the relationship between the front and back of words, phrases, and segments. The influence of left and right neighboring words on the meaning of a word is one of the most common phenomena, which determines the meaning of a word and the choice of words for translation. For example, the word "head" in English has several meanings:

From head to foot

A head of state

One hundredhead of sheep

One hundredhead of sheep

A head of state

One hundred heads of sheep

One hundred heads of sheep

One hundred heads of sheep

Use your head

Two headsare better than one

From the point of view of pragmatics, there are two types of pragmatic use: implicit and explicit. The former refers to the underlining semantic meaning, and the latter refers to the literal symbolic meaning. The semantic core of "head" is the symbolic meaning of "head" literally, but this symbolic meaning is not equal to the semantic meaning of the context. If the translation does not take into account the association of the word with its neighbors, i.e. the sentence, the translated sentence will be hard and dull. Can only be said to be similar in form, but not to achieve the perfect realm of God-like.

2. Sentence context

In actual translation, the translator must often launch the meaning of words from the sentence context. Everyone knows that like means "to like". Look at the following set of sentences:

1He likes maths more than physics.

He likes math more than physics.

2 Like charges repel, unlikecharges attract.

Same charges repel, unlikecharges attract.

3 In the sun beam passing through the window there are finegrains of dust shining like gold.

In the sunbeam passing through the window there are finegrains of dust shining like gold. Free Essay, Context.

4 Like knows like.

Heroes know heroes.

The same symbol like in these four sentences has different meanings because of the different contexts in which it is placed. Depending on the context, it should be translated as: "like", ""the same", "like", "hero". ". It can be seen that, away from the specific context of the sentence, remember like is "like", "like" is like, it is difficult to understand the translation of the above sentences.

3Context

In actual translation, sometimes it is difficult to determine the exact meaning of a word from a sentence, often need to get the meaning from the whole paragraph or the whole article. Chapter and paragraph is usually an organic whole, the language coherent statements associated, in fact, is a context, the translation must be understood in the context to grasp the whole text. Free essay, context.

Last week I went to thetheatre, I had a very good seat. The play was very interesting I didn't enjoyit. A young man and a young woman were They were talking loudly.Last week I went to thetheatre to see a play. I had a very good seat. The play was very interesting too. But I didn't have fun. A young woman and a young man were sitting behind me.

The above example is a story from New Concept English, Book 2, which is very concise in content and text. However, it is possible to translate "I didn't enjoy it" into "I didn't enjoy it" without focusing on the whole chapter, without taking into account the author's intention and the context of the language. I didn't enjoy it". But such a translation would be a complete departure from the original intent, because the author did not dislike the play, but was too distracted by the two young men behind him to enjoy it.

4. Situational Context

Situational context refers to the time and place of speech, language, and speech events. Free Essay, Context. All social activities in the world are carried out in a certain time and space. Language, a social activity, is no exception, and every discourse act is carried out in a specific time and space.

The lexical and discursive meaning of a word is often determined not only by its linguistic elements, but by the situation in which the word and the discourse occur. In the "we looked for a long time before we found a spring". In the sentence. The word "spring" has different meanings in different contexts: when installing a bedspring, it means a spring. When fixing a watch, it means the spring. Free Essay, Context. If a couple of travelers say this when they finally find some water to drink in the desert, they are referring to a spring. The meaning of "spring" is quite different from the first two cases.

No language activity can be separated from its specific linguistic environment. The time and place of the language activity, the subject matter of the communication activity, the interrelationship of the participants and other situational context factors determine the real meaning of the words. For example, Ronald Reagan, the former president of the United States, said when he was informed of Margaret Thatcher's demise and recalled the cordial relationship between the two: "It was clear to me that we were soul- mates when it came to reducing government and expanding economic opportunity". expanding economic opportunity". In this sentence, "soa1-mates" means "people of similar temperament", "close friends"; "lovers", "lovers". ", "lovers" two meanings. Reagan here to express the old friend down to the field of comfort, combined with the scene, there is no doubt that the former for the meaning of the sentence, the sentence can be translated as: "Obviously, when it comes to the issue of reducing *** intervention and expanding economic opportunities, we are a little bit of the same heart".

5. Cultural Context

Language is the carrier of culture, and culture is the soil of language. Translation involves the communication and transplantation of two cultures. Cultural context refers to the cultural, historical, and social background on which the source language and the translated language depend. It also refers to the specific social norms and customs of a particular speech community. Free Essay on Context. Due to the different ecological environment, socio-political, economic system, historical background, customs, values and behavioral patterns of each ethnic region and the formation of their unique cultural characteristics, in the cross-cultural translation often encountered, such as misunderstanding of the original text, translated vocabulary vacancies and other situations. Since it is difficult to compensate for the complexity of culture with translation skills, it is necessary to have a comprehensive and thorough understanding of the cultures of the source language and the translated language in order to deal with this kind of translation. To translate from one language to another, it is necessary to understand the cultural context of the two languages. For example, in Dream of the Red Chamber:

Originally, the son is a wolf in the mountains, and when he gets his way, he goes wild.

Translation: For hu *** andshe will have a mountain wolf. His object gained he ruthlessly beratesher.

This context is in the fable. Zhongshan wolf" from the Ming Dynasty Ma Zhongxi's "Mountain Wolf Biography" tells the story of a wolf on Zhongshan Mountain who, after being hit by an arrow, wants to eat his rescuer, Mr. Dong Guo, and it is implicitly used to mean that Sun Shaoqi is avenging his wife's mistreatment of her. Mr. Hawkes, a British sinologist, borrowed the Hanyu Pinyin to translate "the Zhongshan wolf" as "the Zhongshan wolf". In the absence of footnotes, western readers are likely to be at a loss and feel confused: is "Zhongshan" a species of wolf or a place of origin, and what is so special about this kind of wolf? Mr. Yang Xianyi, a translator in China, has adopted the technique of translation augmentation and made some adaptations, translating "Zhongshan wolf" as "mountain wolf". The translation of "mountain wolf" as "mountain wolf" makes the relationship between husband and wife clear and highlights the special meaning of "ungrateful", which basically realizes the linguistic intention of the original work. If the translator does not know the Chinese cultural background well, it is incorrect to translate a text whose semantics deviate from the original context. Therefore, translators must consider the cultural context of the translation in order to make fewer or no mistakes in cross-cultural communication.

Look at the following sentence which is easy to be mistranslated:

He has no mercury in him.

If you take "mercury" in its most basic sense, the sentence would be translated as "There is no mercury in him. In fact, ancient Western philosophers regarded "mercury" as the vitality of everything on earth, so the word "mercury" can still be used to refer to vitality or spirit. Free essay, context. Only after correctly understanding the meaning of "mercury", we will be able to translate the correct sentence.

6. Conclusion

In summary, it is extremely important to analyze the context in the process of English-Chinese translation, because the context constrains the translation, and the translation depends on the context. We should be clear in the process of English-Chinese translation that the combination of words and phrases in the language is temporary, and the meanings they produce are relatively temporary, uncertain and potential when taken out of context. Therefore, when translating, one should not limit oneself to translating isolated words or sentences word by word or sentence by sentence, but should place them in a specific linguistic context. Therefore, in the process of translation, only by analyzing the context, grasping the specific linguistic context, mastering the article both macroscopically and analyzing it microscopically, weighing the words and phrases and repeating them over and over again, can the translation be accurate and beautiful.

References:

[1]Firth, J. R .Papers in Linguistics [ C ] Oxford: Oxford University Press 1957.

[2]Pei Wen Modern English Contextualization [[M} Anhui University Press, 2000.

[3]Wang Wen is the author of the book "The Contextualization of Modern English". [3] Wang Jianhua Contextual Hierarchy and Semantic Interpretation [J] Journal of Sichuan Institute of Foreign Languages 1996. 2

[4] Zeng Xu Contextual Analysis and English-Chinese Translation [J] Shanghai Science and Technology Translation 2004. 2

[5] Yang Xianyi, Dai Naidian, A Dream of Red Mansion [ M ]. A Dream of Red Mansion [ M ]. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1994.

[6] Fang Zhugen Talks about Context and Translation [J] Journal of Taizhou Vocational and Technical College 2002. 1

Model Essay 2: Cultural Analysis of English-Chinese Translation_Cultural Factors

Thesis Abstract: Language and culture have a close relationship, and any language embodies a certain cultural characteristics, therefore, cultural factors have a significant influence on the translation of different languages. cultural factors have an important influence on the translation of different languages. This paper analyzes and discusses this issue from the similarities and differences between Chinese and Western cultures, including different lifestyles, cognitive thinking and values, and points out the cultural issues that should be paid attention to in the translation of two languages.

Thesis Keywords: English-Chinese translation, cultural factors, Chinese and Western cultural similarities and differences

1.Introduction

Improving the level of English-Chinese translation involves a lot of factors, but due to the close relationship between language and culture, the cultural factors to a certain extent constrain the communication of the language, and the cultural differences have a significant impact on translation. If we can correctly deal with these cultural factors involved, it will play a great role in promoting accurate and standardized translation.

2. The Concept of Culture

Broadly speaking, culture refers to the sum of material and spiritual wealth created in the course of the historical practice of human society, including literature, art, religion, philosophy and other social sciences, as well as the results of a variety of natural sciences, and reflects the spiritual and material civilization of mankind. [1] Wang Pigeon Ping, 2001: 15 In a narrow sense, culture refers to the ideology of a society and the system and organizational structure that are compatible with it, covering the way of life, values and ways of thinking.

Language is a tool for human communication, and people use different languages due to different regions, occupations, genders, education levels, social status and so on. Different countries have different customs, each with unique cultural characteristics, and thus manifested in language differences. [2] Feng Qinghua, 2002: 122 For example, in the translation of the Chinese language, "Chu Ge on all sides", "Xiang Zhuang Dance of the Sword", "pointing to a deer as a horse", "Hongmen Banquet", etc., if one does not understand Chinese history and culture, the translated text will be puzzling to Westerners and they will not be able to understand it exactly. Similarly, when translating the following idioms: "tocarrycoalstoNewCastle", meaning superfluous, unnecessary, "theTrojanhorse", meaning hidden enemies or dangers, "towerofirony", meaning paradise [3] Zhang Peiji et al. 1991: P161-163, if you are not familiar with these idioms and idioms, you will not be able to understand them. 163 When not familiar with the strong cultural knowledge of national and local colors in these idioms, it is difficult to find Chinese expressions that readers can accurately understand.

The Chinese and Western cultures have their ****similarities. At the same time, Chinese and Western cultures are bound to have differences due to the differences in the conditions under which they were created. It can be seen that in order to become an excellent translator, in addition to proficiency in the corresponding language form, but also a solid study of the cultural knowledge corresponding to the language.

3. The Influence of the ****similarity of Chinese and Western Cultures on English-Chinese Translation

3.1 The ****similarity of human life experiences determines that the two languages not only share the same or similar sayings in their forms of expression, but also that they share similarities in meaning and rhetoric.

For example, in the following English-Chinese translation, this similarity between the English and Chinese languages is utilized to straightforwardly apply the synonymous idioms corresponding to the two languages, that is, using the direct translation method in translation. For example: "totraisetotheskies" to hold up to the sky, "tofishintroubledwaters" to fish in muddy waters, "toaddfueltothefire" to pour oil on the fire, etc. There are also some more or less the same figurative metaphors, such as "to laugh offone's head" to laugh off one's teeth, "toshedcrocodiletooth" toshedcrocodiletooth" toshedcrocodiletooth" toshedcrocodiletooth" toshedcrocodiletooth. toshedcrocodiletears "猫哭老鼠, "tospendmoneylikewater "挥金如土, "atsixesandsevens "七颠八倒[2]P162, etc. However, the similarity between Chinese and Western cultures is only relative. However, the similarity between Chinese and Western cultures is only relative and individual, while the ambiguity is absolute and universal. The two languages, Chinese and English, reflect their respective national or local characteristics and differ in certain expressions. When translating each other, the influence of these cultural factors should be taken into full consideration to maintain their unique cultural characteristics, and it is not appropriate to copy the expressions with distinctive national or local colors from the corresponding language to force the translation. For example, "Twoheadsarebetterthanone", although and Chinese idiom "three ignorant cobblers are better than one Zhu Geliang" has the same meaning, but in the translation of the latter can not simply apply. Because Zhuge Liang is a historical figure in China, and the original context will form a contradiction. If it is translated as "one person is not as wise as two people", it is more appropriate, the meaning is close, but also to avoid the contradiction caused by historical and cultural factors.

3.2 Political, economic and cultural penetration of communication and dissemination has led to the emergence of a large number of foreign words in each of the two languages.

These foreign words have changed or transformed the languages of the importing countries to a certain extent. In the Chinese language, which is the backbone of vocabulary, although it does not exclude phonetic translation, it tends to favor the practice of Italian translation as much as possible, while English treats foreign words as mainly phonetic translation. For example, in the English vocabulary, "kang kang", "litch lychee", "jiaozi dumpling", etc. In the English-Chinese translation, some words are simply translated into Chinese. In English-Chinese translation, some of them are simply copied from the original text, such as "VCD, DVD, DNA, CT, SARS", etc. This kind of direct translation method makes the readers feel unfamiliar at the beginning, but once they are familiar with it and master it, it is equivalent to contributing the information in the original vocabulary to another language in a way that almost keeps the original face and enriches its vocabulary, and also promotes inter-ethnic culture and the development of the Chinese culture.

4. The influence of Chinese and Western cultural differences on translation

Due to the differences between Chinese and Western cultures in terms of lifestyles, values, ethics, religious beliefs and ways of thinking, the Chinese and Western languages are different in many ways.

4.1 Impact of lifestyle differences on English-Chinese translation

Because of the geographic location of the English-speaking countries, both in history and in reality, the English-speaking people's life is more and more involved with the sea, and therefore there are a large number of words related to sailing in English; and it is difficult to find the corresponding form of the Chinese language, which is mainly continental, and therefore it is more difficult for the Chinese people to understand the expressions. It is difficult for Chinese people to understand these expressions. For example: "ableseaman", "belefthighanddry", "give *** ...orsth.awakeberth", "avoid from afar", etc.[4]P194-195.

Seeing that most of these proverbs are related to sailing and represent the culture of the islands, while in the traditional Chinese culture, which is mainly on land, "tree", "tree", "tree", "tree", and so on, the Chinese people have a lot of difficulties in understanding these expressions. "Tree", "mole cricket's hole", "road", "the cart in front of you", etc. all reflect the land culture[5] Wang Zhenya, 2000: p138.

On the contrary, there are many idioms in Chinese about rivers and lakes, mountains and rivers, four seasons, farming and so on, and it is difficult to find ready-made counterparts for them in English, so they are usually translated into English by means of Italian translation. For example, "planting melon get melon, planting beans get beans", although the English language "Asousow, soyoumustreap", but not as specific as the Chinese image. Andthencropwaseatenandthenextstillgreen, to takeadvantageofeveryweakness,tobeamwithjoy,tobeamwithjoy,tobeamwithjoy,tobeamwithjoy,tobeamwithjoy,tobeamwithjoy,tobeamwithjoy,tobeamwithjoy,tobeamwithjoy,tobeamwithjoy,tobeamwithjoy,tobeamwithjoy,tobeamwithjoy,tobeamwithjoy In English, they are rare and must be translated according to their actual meaning and context. Many metaphors derived from food and drink do not have English equivalents, but are only transliterated. For example, He'stakenthebreadoutofmymouth or He'stakenmyjobfromme, eat vinegar bejealous.[4]Pan Shaozhong, 2004:P10

4.2 The Influence of Differences in Emotional Psychology and Cognitive Styles between Chinese and Western Nationalities on Language Translation

Chinese culture is accustomed to look at the problem from the whole, intuitively, and emphasize the value of the association and the collective, while British and American culture is accustomed to logical analysis, and emphasize the individual-centeredness, thus making it more difficult for people to understand the meaning of the word "say". analysis, emphasizing individual-centeredness, thus leading to various differences in language expression. For example, in the expression of name, time, address, the way the two languages in the line clearly reflects the difference in this way of thinking, Chinese culture from big to small, from the whole to regional; and Western culture is just the opposite.

4.3 The Influence of the Difference in Values between Chinese and Western Cultures on English-Chinese Translation

Values refer to the notion of people's ideology, ethics, religious beliefs, as well as customs and other norms for dealing with people in the world. They are generally regarded as the core of a particular culture and way of life, and their expression in two languages can cause many obstacles to language understanding and translation, enough to draw the attention of translators.

Chinese culture is dominated by Confucianism, and its racial kinship and social relations are expressed very clearly and strictly, not the slightest ambiguity and sloppy; while the English-speaking people who advocate Protestantism and individual cultural values, the kinship relationship is much more generalized and loose. Performance in the two languages, English generally only uncle and aunt to express the non-direct lineage of the long generation of the name, to the younger generation only with nephew and niece, and to the same generation, not divided into young and old with brother and sister, and even not divided into men and women called cousin, which is not allowed in the Chinese language, because of the Chinese language on such relationships in great detail. Therefore, in English to Chinese translation, to find the corresponding words in Chinese, we must first clarify the generation and kinship, social relations. And in Chinese to English, these complex kinship words should be appropriately simplified.

The English-speaking people advocate individualism, and personal supremacy is a characteristic of Western culture. Embodied in the language, for example: AnEnglishman'houseishiscastle Englishman's home is their castle, meaning that there is no reason not to go to disturb others for no reason or without an appointment not to visit someone hastily; Evenreckoningmakelongfriends clear accounts, friendship long; Tellmoneyafteryourownfather亲父子明算账[5]王振亚, 2000: P128, etc. All these show the individualistic values of Westerners.

Modesty is a virtue in Chinese culture, so praise and compliments from others are often ritually denied. For example, "YouspeakexcellentEnglish", Chinese people often say "no, no"; while Westerners advocate self-struggle, and will often be happy to accept the praise of others and thank you, positively answer "Thankyou!

Chinese and Western cultures have a long history of different religious beliefs, which determines the differences between the two languages in many ways. The British and Americans have a deep-rooted Christian tradition, while the Chinese have long believed in Buddhism and Confucianism. Therefore, the different religious beliefs of each should be taken into account when translating, especially words with religious meanings. For example: Manproposes, Goddisposes谋事在人，成事在天，MillsofGodgrindslowbutsure天网恢恢恢，疏而不漏，Godhelpthosewhohelpthemselves自助者天助之[3]张培基等，1991：P188等。

5. Conclusion

It should be said that, when engaging in English-Chinese translation, we must pay attention to the close liaison between language and culture, grasp the similarities and differences between Chinese and Western cultures, and correctly deal with the cultural factors involved in the translation, so as to promote the improvement of the quality of the translation in a more standardized and accurate way.

References

1 Wang Pigeon Ping. On the Translation of Nouns in Chinese Cultural Profile [A]. Language, Literature and Culture [C]. Beijing:Intellectual Property Rights Publishing House,2001.

2 Feng Qinghua. Practical Translation Course [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2002.

3 Zhang Peiji et al. English-Chinese Translation Course [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 1991.

4 Pan Shaozhong. The cultural factors in Chinese-English translation[J]. Chinese Translation,2004 3.

5 Wang Zhenya. Language and Culture[M]. Beijing: Higher Education Press,2000.

6 Lu Ruichang et al. Chinese-English Translation Course [M]. Xi'an: Shaanxi People's Publishing House, 1985.

6 Ruichang Lu et al.