Unit 1

General Introduction

Unit 1 General Introduction

Targets

1. What is translation?

2. What should we do in translating?

Unit 1 General Introduction

Activity 1: Introduction about myself

Ellen Peng ( 彭春萍 )

Email: ellenpeng2004@sina.com

QQ: 183899120

MSN: thenewera2004@hotmail.com

Tel: 62058827

Unit 1 General Introduction

Activity 2: Introduction about the course

Translating consists in reproducing in the receptor (target) language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style

(Nida and Taber 1969:12)

Task 1 What is translation?

Unit 1 General Introduction

Translating is to present a message in one language in another language, for example, to present a Chinese message in English or vice versa. (the nature of translating)

Unit 1 General Introduction

Translating is an efficient way to help two people speaking two different languages to communicate, so that misunderstanding can be avoided as much as possible. (the purpose of translating)

Unit 1 General Introduction

Translating is more a skill than an art. Translators are craftsmen, not artists. (how people value translating)

Unit 1 General Introduction

heart breaking 伤心欲碎

from the bottom of one’s heart 发自内心

kind-hearted 心地善良

stone-hearted 铁石心肠

lose one’s heart 灰心

Unit 1 General Introduction

无风不起浪 : no smoke without fire

他瘦得像猴子 : he is as thin as shadow

对牛弹琴 == cast pearls before swine

teach one’s grandmother to suck eggs == 班门弄斧

Don’t judge a book by its cover! 人不可貌相

Unit 1 General Introduction

It is not easy to choose the right reproduction of the source language in target language. There is no absolute translation.

Unit 1 General Introduction

Think twice next time someone asks you for “five minutes of your time”--- it could cost you more than you think.

-- 下次当有人再向你借五分钟的时间时，你得重新好好考虑一下了 ---- 过五分钟的时间内损失的恐怕比你所想象的要多。-- 下次有人请求你给他五分钟时间时，你得三思。因为它有可能比你想象的时间要长。-- 当下次有人要你花他五分钟的时间为他办事时，你要三思而行。因为五分钟的价值比你所想的要贵重的多。-- 如果下次有人叫你抽出五分钟时间，你得再三考虑 ---- 它的耗费会超出你的想象。-- 如果下次有人向你要“五分钟”时，好好考虑一下 ---- 这五分钟比你想象的要多。-- 下个时间有人要求你抽出你时间里的五分钟想两次，你会发现你想的时间超过了五分钟。

Unit 1 General Introduction

Task 1: Words sharing the same designative（指称意义） and associative （联想意义） meanings

Proper names: 美国 (the United States of America) 、德国 (Germany) 、上海 (Shanghai) 、北京 (Beijing) 、南极 (South Pole), etc.

Technical terms: chip, electric current, etc.

The names of some everyday objects: towel, handkerchief, toothbrush, etc.

桌子： desk （书桌 / 办公桌） , table （餐桌） , office table椅子，凳子： chair （椅子，单人靠背椅） , armchair （扶手椅） , stool

Unit 1 General Introduction

Task 2: Words not sharing the same meanings

Marry 嫁、娶Sister 姐、妹Brother 兄、弟Mother-in-law 婆婆、岳母Grandparents 祖父母、外祖父母Aunt 叔叔、舅舅Uncle 婶、姨Morning 上午、早晨Niece 侄女、外甥女Nephew 侄子、外甥Cousin 表兄弟姐妹、堂兄弟姐妹

Unit 1 General Introduction

Task 3: English words with more than one meaning

Hard rocks 坚硬的岩石Hard drugs 易成瘾的烈性毒品Hard currency 硬通货Hard evidence 确凿的证据Hard times 艰难岁月A hard smile 冷酷的笑Hard work 辛苦的工作 / 努力工作A hard blue 刺目的蓝色Hard sounds 清音Hard water 谁知较硬的水A hard winter 严寒的冬天Hard on somebody 对某人严厉Think hard 认真思考A hard question 让人难以回答的问题

Unit 1 General Introduction

下班： get off work / knock off下半辈子： the latter half of one’s life下策： an unwise decision / a stupid move下厨房： go to the kitchen (to prepare a meal)下蛋： lay eggs下饭： go well with rice下岗： go off sentry duty / laid off 下课： finish class / the class is over. / get fired 下列： listed below下坡路： a downhill path下棋： play chess下属： subordinate下乡： go to the countryside 下旬： the last ten-day period of a month下意识： unconsciousness

Task 4: Chinese words with more than one meaning

Unit 1 General Introduction

He wore a pair of dark glassed and a thick gray overcoat.

他戴着墨镜，穿着厚厚的灰外套。

I just had a glass of milk and a piece of bread for my breakfast this morning. I got up late.

今天早上我只喝了一杯牛奶，吃了一片面包。我起晚了。

He was a good Christian, a good father, a good husband, and a good employee.

他是虔诚的教徒、慈爱的父亲、尽职的丈夫、优秀的员工。

Task 5: Co-occurrence with other words

Unit 1 General Introduction

He wore a pair of dark glassed and a thick gray overcoat.

他戴着墨镜，穿着厚厚的灰外套。

I just had a glass of milk and a piece of bread for my breakfast this morning. I got up late.

今天早上我只喝了一杯牛奶，吃了一片面包。我起晚了。

He was a good Christian, a good father, a good husband, and a good employee.

他是虔诚的教徒、慈爱的父亲、尽职的丈夫、优秀的员工。

Task 5: Co-occurrence with other words

Unit 1 General Introduction

He wore a pair of dark glassed and a thick gray overcoat.

他戴着墨镜，穿着厚厚的灰外套。

I just had a glass of milk and a piece of bread for my breakfast this morning. I got up late.

今天早上我只喝了一杯牛奶，吃了一片面包。我起晚了。

He was a good Christian, a good father, a good husband, and a good employee.

他是虔诚的教徒、慈爱的父亲、尽职的丈夫、优秀的员工。

Task 5: Co-occurrence with other words

During the one week we stayed in HK, we got into the streets, shops, parks, theatres and restaurants.

我们在香港的那个星期，遛了大街、逛了商店、游了公园、上过剧场、下过饭馆。

As students of his, we have all benefited a lot from his great knowledge, experience, wisdom and humor.

作为他的学生，我们都从他广博的学识、丰富的经验、卓越的智慧和诙谐的幽默中受益匪浅。

Unit 1 General Introduction

Unit 1 General Introduction

Activity 3 Resources for this course

Books for your reference: Newmark, Peter. 1988. A Textbook of Translation.

Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.

孙致礼 .2003. 新编英汉翻译教程 . 上海：上海外语教育出版社 .

孙万彪 .2000. 高级翻译教程 . 上海：上海外语教育出版社 .

陈宏薇 .1998. 汉英翻译基础 . 上海：上海外语教育出版社 .

Unit 1 General Introduction

Activity 4: Requirement of this course

1 ． Dictionary ( 英汉双解词典 )

2 ． www.baidu.com 注册，每周一练

3 ． Exercise book in hand in class (one in class and the other for homework)

See you next week!