2.翻译的基本理论术语和几个一般性问题及其常用英文表述

翻译基本理论术语

翻译的标准

The criteria(standard)of translation

信达雅

Fidelity(faithfulness)

Fluency(expressiveness)

Elegance(flair)

透彻的理解

have a thorough understanding

准确的表达

precise(accurate) expression

意译

free (liberal) translation

直译

literal translation

死译

word-for-word translation

活译

dynamic equivalence translation

重译

repetition

增译

(contextual) amplification

减译

omission

词类转移

conversion

词序调整

inversion

分译

division

正说反译

/

反说正译

negation

语态变换

the change of the voice

归化

/

异化

Foreignizing/ Alienation; Domesticating/ Adaptation

对等

equivalence

形式对等

formal correspondence

动态（灵活）对等

dynamic equivalence

意义对等

equivalence in terms of meaning

风格对等

equivalence in terms of style

意合

Parataxis

形合

Hypotaxis

欠额翻译（过载翻译）

under translation

(overloaded translation)

校核

rectification

释义

paraphrase

翻译学

translatology

翻译科学

science of translating

神似

be alike in spirit (be an excellent likeness)

化镜

sublimity (perfection)

已入化境

reach(attain) perfection

和谐

harmonious

和谐一致

in perfect harmony

不仅形似而且神似

be alike not only in appearance(form) but also in spirit

宁信而不雅

It is better to be faithful than to be elegant

宁顺而不信，宁信而不顺

It is better to have a smooth version than a faithful one

Rather be faithful (in thought) than smooth (in language)

保持原文的丰姿

keep the full flavor of the original work

忠实通顺

Faithful(ness) and smooth(ness)

(clear and coherent)

忠实的译文

translation true to the original

忠实于原文

true(faithful) to the original

句子不通

the sentence doesn?t read smoothly

他的翻译通顺易懂

his interpretation is coherent and intelligible

1

（

泰特勒

Tytler

提出的）

翻译三原则：< /p>

1

，

译文应完整地再现原文的思想内容

That the translation should give a complete transcript of the ideas of the original work

2

，

译文的风格，笔调应与原文的性质相同

That the style and manner of writing should be of the same character with that of the original

3

，

译文应象原文一样自然流畅

That the translation should have all the ease of the original composition

Generally speaking, a qualified translator should have

1, a good command of the source language

2, a good command of the target language

3, a wide range and scope of knowledge

4, a high political consciousness

5, a necessary knowledge of basic techniques (skills) used in translation

翻译的几个一般性问题及其常用英文表述

本材料选自不同翻译论著，

全是关于 翻译的几个一般性问题的常用英文表述方法，

语言较为通俗易懂，

在

讨论翻译时也较为常用，涉及下面六条内容：

1

．何谓翻译

2

．外语学习的目的和翻译的重要性

3

．译者的必备条件

4

．翻译标准

5

．直译和意译

6

．我国翻译史简介

要说明的是，

英文材料的段落后有

(1)

，

(2)

，

(3)

，

(4)

或

(5)

等编号时，

这编号指本章后

Referen ces and Further

Reading

项下的书目 编号，说明此编号前所引引文的出处。

Some Views on Translation in General

1. What Translation Is

Translation is an art, a bilingual art. Like painting, translation enables us to reproduce the fine thought of

somebody, not in colors, but in words, in words of a different language. It is no easy job, not so easy as it is supposed.

Do not think that any one who knows a foreign language, say English, can invariably translate and translate well. No,

not at all. Many can speak and write English well, but they cannot translate. And this difficulty is greatly multiplied

by the wide difference in vocabulary and sentence construction between the Oriental and Occidental languages.

Translation is difficult to be mastered. Many experienced translators complain that they have had insurmountable

difficulties in their work. Indeed, few people can translate a book without more or less making mistakes. Very few

translated works can be recommended and taken as models. Strange to say, it is rather easy for one to translate an

article from C

hinese into English than to translate an article from English into Chinese, if one?s English is good

enough to do translation work.

As we know, translation is a representation or recreation in one language of what is written or said in another

language. Strictly speaking, translation is a kind of science because it has a whole set of rules governing it and certain

objective laws to go by in the process of translating just as other sciences do. From an artist point of view, translation

is also an art, a bilingual art, for in translation, certain skills and technique are needed in order to attain clearness of

style, and fluency in language.

English and Chinese are two entirely different languages. Each has an individual and distinct system. On the one

hand, there are some similarities between the two languages, as in the word order of subject and predicate and that of

transitive verb and object. On the other hand, there are lots of dissimilarities between them both in morphology and in

syntax. Because of this, we have to be familiar with both languages, especially with the wide difference in vocabulary,

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grammatical relations and sentence construction between these two languages.

Translation, like painting, enables us to reproduce the fine thought of an author, not in colors, but in words of a

different language. A translator must be quite at home in the two languages concerned and quite familiar with their

characteristics, similarities and differences. He must have a thorough understanding of the original, its artistic features

and the historical situation in which it was written. At times even a word or phrase takes much time to establish in

translation. Yan Eu once said: “It often takes as long as ten days or even a full month to establish a term. “ This i

s the

common experience all veteran translators have shared. So translation requires patience and skillful treatment and

various sorts of techniques...

Whoever has a mastery of the art of translation can certainly produce fine translations. Those who know nothing

about translation theory and techniques will never be able to turn out any satisfactory work. It is because translation is

not only a science with its own peculiar laws and methods but also an art of representation and recreation.

In his talk on

literary translation published in 1954 Guo Moruo pointed out, “Translation is creative work. Good

translation is as good as writing and may be even better than it. Sometimes translation is more difficult than writing. A

writer must have experience in life, but a translator has to experience what the writer has experienced. At the same

time, a translator must not only be proficient in his mother tongue but also have a very good foundation in a foreign

language. Therefore, translation is not easier than wr

iting at all. “His analysis is really penetrating!

As you all know, translation is an art, not a science. In science theories or general principles play a very

important role. Not so in art. I?m not saying that they don?t count in art. But I?m sure you wi

ll agree with me when I

say that translation is largely a matter of practice.

2. Aim of Foreign Language Study and the Importance of Translation

What is the object of studying foreign languages? ... A

foreign language is now to be studied, not to serve the

foreign imperialist, but to serve our own people, not for the sake of foreigners, but for the benefit of ourselves. To

illustrate this, let us quote the following:

“Learning a foreign language is not easy but

it is worthwhile. It makes you able to read foreign scientific and

technical literature, and that might be useful. It makes you able to read some of the world?s best writers in their own

languages and this is a great pleasure. But the most important thing is that it gives you a better understanding of your

own language.”

“Engels who knew a number of foreign languages, including Russian, thought that you could know your own

language only if you compared it with other languages.

“N. K. Krupskaya says that

it is wrong to separate the study of for

eign languages from the study of one?s own

language, and that the knowledge of foreign languages makes one?s own lan

guage more flexible and expressive.

Speaking of Lenin who knew five foreign languages and could read dictionaries hour after hour just for

?rest”, she

adds: ?Those who study the language of Lenin know how rich, vivid and expressive Lenin?s language was.”

Thus the study of a foreign language is connected with that of one?s own. And translation is the very course for

foreign language students to meet this end.

Translation is of value to the foreign language learner only when he has in the main mastered the mechanisms of

the source language as well as those of the target language. A translator or an interpreter can hardly meet with success

if he is unable to compare the ways of thinking and the modes of expression of the two languages concerned...

So far as its function is concerned, translation undoubtedly proves a valuable aid to the foreign language learner,

because it gives him a better understanding of the two languages in question.

One knows one?s own language better

only if he compares it with other languages. The knowledge of foreign languages can make one?s own language more

flexible and expressive. Needless to say, actual practice in translation helps a translator or an interpreter brush up his

foreign language used as either the source language or the target language.

Now, . .. the people of all nationalities throughout the country are determined to raise the scientific and cultural

level of the entire Chinese nation. We must strengthen scientific and technical cooperation and academic exchanges

with other countries. Obviously, though we have our own inventions in science and technology, we still need to learn

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from other countries. And there is nothing queer about international academic exchanges. Joseph Needham stated

positively: “Certain it is that no people or group of peoples has had a monopoly in contributing to the develop

ment of

science. Their achievements should be mutually recognized and freely celebrated with the joined hands of universal

brotherhood.”

Karl Marx was fond of saying: “A foreign language is a weapon in the struggle of life.” Now, we Chinese people,

under the leadership of the Party Central Committee, are setting out on a new Long March to achieve the general task

for new period. In order to raise the scientific and cultural level of the Chinese nation and to strengthen scientific and

technical cooperation and academic exchanges with other countries,

we are in need of not only one but, many foreign

languages. Experience over years has proved that to acquire a mastery of a foreign language is not as easy as falling

off a log. Nor would it be practical for each of us to pick up one or two foreign languages in brief space of time.

Hence a great need for translation. The English language has spread all over the globe since 1850. It scores as being

the primary medium for twentieth century science and technology, too. It stands to reason, therefore, that we are to

occupy ourselves with translation from English into Chinese and

vice versa.

Everything is for socialist modernization.

Translation, as it ought to be, is no exception.

3. Prerequisites for a Translator

In a nutshell, in order to achieve genuine (not feigned) competence in translation, we in China must eliminate the

pernicious-

influence of the “doctrine of immediate effect” peddled by Lin Biao and the “gang of four”. We must bear

in mind that translation, too, means honest, solid knowledge, allowing not an iota of falsehood, and that genuine

knowledge comes from practice. We must, in the final analysis, follow conscientiously the instructions given by our

respected and beloved Premier Zhou Enlai

—

to strengthen our “basic training” in the three essential a

spects: the

enhancement of our political consciousness, the betterment of our command of the relevant languages, and the

broadening of the range and scope of our general knowledge.

As translation is a bilingual art, we have to know both languages, if we are going to do translation work with

competence. We have to know the language to be translated from and the language to be translated into. In the case

with the student in the English Department both Chinese and English must be mastered. Many books are said to be

poorly translated because some English terms, idioms, slang or fictions in them are misunderstood or misinterpreted.

Other books are equally poor because they are not well expressed in Chinese. Most of the translators are poor in

Chinese, so they cannot do justice in expression to their translated works, which would contain sentences in Chinese

characters but in English construction, quite contrary to good usage of the Chinese language.

Besides a good knowledge of the two languages, acquaintance with the subject matter covered in the book or

article is also an indispensable factor in doing translation work well. Suppose you are going to translate a textbook on

physics, you have to know something more about the science than the book deals with, otherwise you will run the risk

of making mistakes in the subject matter imperceptibly. Just imagine how much harm your work will do the readers,

who usually take for granted that the book is one hundred percent correct!

To sum up, as a good translator, one has to know well the foreign language, the Chinese language, and the

subject matte

4. Criteria for Translation

Speaking of translation, we tend to think of Yan Fu who advocated for the first time the three words as

translation criteria, namely, “faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance. “ Yan Fu?s “faithfulness” means the full and

complete conveying or trans

mission of the original content or thought. His “expressiveness” demands that the version

must be clear and flowing without any grammatical mistakes or confused logic and sense. So the first two words as

translation criteria are acceptable. But his “elegance” is unadoptable because it refers to the use of classical Chinese

before the Han Dynasty. Yan Fu held that only the language before the Han Dynasty could be considered elegant and

old vocabulary, old structure of Chinese must be used in order to represent the original fully and adequately.

Therefore he can be said to object to the use of the vernacular or popular language of the people. As a matter of fact,

the vernacular began to be in fashion when Yan Fu lived. Facts prove the vernacular or the popular language of the

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