A New Concept Course in Two-way Translation between English and

Chinese

Presented by Liuyongquan

Of English Department of BTVU

E-mail:liuyq@mail.btvu.org

Nature of Translation

Translation is a science.

Translation is an art.

Translation is a craft.

Translation is a skill.

Translation is an operation.

Translation is a language activity.

Translation is communication

Principles of Translation

Three characters “ 信，达，雅”（ faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance ）—严复《天演论》Three characters “ 信，达，切” (faithfulness, expressiveness and closeness)— 刘重德《翻译十讲》Summary: 忠实与通顺

Faithfulness of Translation(1)

Strictly speaking, faithfulness is the generalization of the principles of translation.That’s to day, true translation demands that the translator be faithful to the content, language and style of the original at the same time.

Faithfulness of Translation(2)

Eg. 1.War, pestilence and famine consumed one million people.

战争，瘟疫和饥馑毁掉了一百万人。2.The prize winner wears his honours modestly.

1 ）荣获者带着他的荣誉谦逊地。2 ）获奖者谦逊地对待他的荣誉。3 ）获奖者虽尊不傲。

Faithfulness of Translation(3)

1.avoid translating word by word()Eg. Milky Way( 误译牛奶路 )---The pale white band of stars and clouds of gas that can be seen across the sky at night.Eg.No, I didn’t.A) Did you go to see the film last night?B) Didn’t you go to see the film last night?

Faithfulness of Translation(4)

Eg.Greatest compensation for wrongful imprisonment.1. 对错误监禁的数额最大的赔偿。2. 最大数额的冤狱赔偿金 .Eg.The chief criminals shall be punished without fail.1. 主要罪犯将绝对受到惩罚2. 首恶必办 .

Faithfulness of Translation(5)

2.Avoid the cultural misunderstanding

Eg. Love me, love my dog.

Eg. Every dog has its day.

Eg. Talk horse

Eg. Lock the stable door after the horse is stolen.

Eg.Like a cat on hot bricks.

Faithfulness of Translation(6)

Eg. He became dissatisfied with modern life and man’s selfish wish for private wealth, so he went and joined a Hippie commune.

3.avoid the misunderstanding of idioms

Spill the beans

E Faithfulness of Translation(2) g. You can’t trust him to keep a secret, he is sure to spill the beans before long.

Faithfulness of Translation(7)

Eg. Who wears the trousers in your family?4.convey the implied meaningEg. You hold the office, but you don’t govern.Eg. Go & ComeGo bad, go deaf.&come loose,come true

Faithful to the structure

Eg. I hope you have a happy future before you.How so you have the face to say such things?Notes:1) 不能只看表面形式 , 要看句子所起的作用 .Have you had your breakfast?/Where are you going?2) 不能只追求形式上的一致而犯形式主义的错误 .

Faithful to the structure

Eg. In New York, it is referred to as “Saint John the Unfinished”

Eg.Pieces of stained glass dated before AD 850, some possibly even to the 7th century, were excavated by Professor Rosemary Cramp, which were placed into a window of that date in the nearby St. Paul’s Church.

Faithful to the structure

Come, well, here, thereCome, John, don’t be so cross.Come, cheer up!Well, well! I should never have guessed it.My friend here was a witness of the accident.

Faithfulness of Translation(8)

Eg. 1.Look, it has come green.

2. Look, it has gone green.

Faithful to the style

Formal&informal

Positive/negative, deep/plain, humorous/ rigid

(1) 冷淡的或演说性的 (2) 正式的或慎重的 (3) 商量的 (4) 随便的 (5) 亲密的等 . 从谈话方式上来看又分为有修养有文化人讲的标准语 , 口语 , 和未受过教育的人所说的粗话 , 俗话 ; 正式场合使用的语言和非正式场合使用的语言 .

Faithful to the style

For all the tea in China( 用来表示强烈的拒绝 )

That man was so rude to me. I wouldn’t go back to that job for all the tea in China!

1. 那人对我太无礼了 , 我无论如何也不再去做那份工作了 .

2. 那家伙对我太无礼了 , 十八抬大轿来请 , 我也不去做那分工作了 .

The process of translation

Three stages:

1.Understanding

2.Re-expressing

3.Editing

Understanding

1.Understanding the meanings of dictions in the context.( 在上下文中理解词义 )

A) Draw a line from A to B.

B)The ship crossed the line.

C) Cooking is more in your line than mine.

D) They were given their marriage lines after the registration.

E)She bought an overcoat lined with silk.

Understanding

Eg. Interrupted only briefly by the swearing-in of a new senator, Senator Strom Thurmond spoke against the Civil Right Bill for 24 hr 19 min on 28---29th,1957.2.Understanding the background( 了解原文所涉及的事物和与原文有关的背景 )< 水浒 >--- 东京 (Tokyo)

Understanding

潺潺长江水悠悠远客情 .落花相与恨 ,到地一无声 . ----- 韦承庆 < 南行别弟 >Mournfully, mournfully roles the long River,Saddened, ah saddened, the stranger’s breast.The flowers as they fall his fate recall,As each flutters down in the earth to rest. -----Fletcher

Understanding

Yangtze River& Long RiverCountry-house问题Question,problem,trouble,point,issue当时我们正在长征的路上 , 每天行军一百多里 .We were on the Long March. Every day we marched a hundred li or more.

< 高级英汉双解词典 >:march:walk as soldiers do, with regular and measured steps.

〈朗曼当代英语词典〉 : to walk with regular,esp.forceful steps like a soldier.

March—walk.

Re-expressing

1.improving Chinese ability( 要注意提高中文修养 )Cotton fells soft.棉花使人感到柔软。棉花摸上去柔软。2.getting rid of the bound of original words( 表达时既要忠于原文，又要跳出原文 )

Eg.They hoped to free themselves from the degraded position.

Eg.The cathedral was built in Spanish Gothic style.

Eg.He was weak and old.

3.mastering some skills

Editing

1. 第一遍应对照原文，句句复审，重点查内容，注意发现和解决对原文理解上的问题。2. 第二遍要脱离原文，细读译文，重点是译文文字的润色和句子结构的调整，把好译文的语言关。3. 要再次对照译文 , 通读一遍 , 做进一步的检查 .

Skills of Translation

1.Extension(引申法 )2.Conversion(转译法 )3.Addition(增词法 )4.repetition( 重复法 )5..Omission(减词法 )6.Mutual transformation of affirmative and negative expressions( 正反和反正译法 )7. Translation of Clause and Passive Voice( 分句法和被动语态译法 )8.Translation of Attributive Clause(定语从句译法 )

Extension( 引申法 )

Eg. Mr. Smith is one of the most durable teachers at this university.

史密斯先生是该大学任教时间最长的教师之一 .

The maximum dimensions of the Church of St.Peter are overall: length 11.5m,breadth 61.86m.and height 30.98m.

圣 .彼得教堂的外围尺寸分别为 : 长 161.5米 ;宽61.87米 ; 高 30.98米 .

一 . 词义的抽象化Eg.The ancient tower tells us stories of the past 2000 years.

古塔诉说着两千来的风风雨雨 .

As a boy, I hated going to school.

我还是个孩子的时候 , 不喜欢上学 .

Eg.He(Ghandhi) gave our modern world an electrifying vision of the potential of peaceful resistance, and young men like Martin Luther King,Jr, took him as their model. Albert Einstein said, “Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.” 我们现代人从他 (甘地 )身上看到了和平反抗的潜力 ,象马丁 . 路德 . 金等青年都效法他的榜样 .爱因斯坦说 :“ 我们后代的子孙恐怕很难相信 ,世界上真有过这样一个人 .”

二 . 词义具体化Eg.He found a losing battle.

他打了一个败仗 .

Eg. The Earth is a wonderful place. It is full of great beauty.

地球是一个奇妙的地方 ,奇观美景无处不在 .

Eg. “Bertiem, you must marry!” Aunt Agatha had said, “you want somebody strong and sensible.”

阿加莎姑妈曾对我说 ,“伯提 ,你一定要结婚 ,你该娶个健壮懂事的姑娘 .”

Conversion( 转译法 )

一 .名词转译为动词 .(noun---verb)

Eg. One of the leading newspapers called for the severest punishment of all who had been concerned in the conspiracy.

一家主要报纸要求严惩所有与该阴谋有关的人员 .

We are looking forward to the early arrival of our guests.

我们期待着客人早日到来 .

The enemies hastened their preparations for an attack.

敌人加紧准备进攻 .

二 .介词转译成动词Eg. Without a word, the general rose, spread his huge bear’s hand against the man’s chest and expelled him into the corridor.将军一言不发 ,站起来 ,伸出一只熊掌似的大手向那男人的胸口一推 ,把他推到了甬道上 .

Eg.I went outside, ran around the corner, up the alley, into the back yard and wormed through the cellar window.

我走出门外 ,跑步拐了个弯 ,奔向后巷 ,进了后院 ,蜷着身从小窗口钻入地窖 .

I voted for Reagan because I think he can lead us out of this terrible economic slump.

我投了里根的票 ,因为我觉得他能领导我们摆脱经济萧条 .

三 . 形容词转译成动词 .(prep---v.)

Eg. I’m sure he’ll be here on time.

我肯定他将按时到达 .

How many people were present at the meeting?

有多少人出席会议 ?

Eg. We are very anxious about his health.

我们非常担心他的健康 .

四 .副词转译成动词 .(adv.—v.)

Eg.The meeting will be over before we arrive if we don’t hurry.

假如我们不快点儿的话 , 不等我们到达会议就结束了 .

He was already up when I called him.

我叫他时 , 他已经起床了 .

Puck removed the harmful charm from Lyander, and so led the lover about in the woods.

帕克为里斯兰解除了有害的魔力 ,领着两对情人在林中兜来兜去 .

五 .动词转译成名词 .(v.—n.)

Eg.My car has been behaving well since it was repaired.

自从修理之后 , 我的汽车状态良好 .

I aim to be a writer.

我的目标是当作家

Who heads the government, the Queen or the Prime Minister?

谁是政府的首脑 ?是女王还是首相 ?

We nearly forgot to tip the taxi-driver.

我们差点忘了给出租车司机小费 .

Don’t forgot to date your letters.

别忘了在信上填写日期 .

The mosque is now largely ruined.

清真寺现在几乎沦为废墟 .

The “scores” of air aces in both wars are still hotly disputed.

对于在两次世界大战中王牌飞行员击落飞机的数目仍存在很大争议 .

He appeared on the stage and was warmly applauded by the audience.

他登台了 ,观众报以热烈的掌声 .