Chinglish in Chinese-English Translation.doc

上传人:豆**** 文档编号:29892946 上传时间:2022-08-02 格式:DOC 页数:18 大小:101.50KB
返回 下载 相关 举报
Chinglish in Chinese-English Translation.doc_第1页
第1页 / 共18页
Chinglish in Chinese-English Translation.doc_第2页
第2页 / 共18页
点击查看更多>>
资源描述

《Chinglish in Chinese-English Translation.doc》由会员分享,可在线阅读,更多相关《Chinglish in Chinese-English Translation.doc(18页珍藏版)》请在taowenge.com淘文阁网|工程机械CAD图纸|机械工程制图|CAD装配图下载|SolidWorks_CaTia_CAD_UG_PROE_设计图分享下载上搜索。

1、汉英翻译中的中式英语Chinglish in Chinese-English TranslationContents1. Abstract.12. Introduction23. Definition of Chinglish.24. Features of Chinglish35. Problems on Chinese-English translation.46. The main sources of Chinglish and possible solutions of it.9Linguistic differences9Cultural factors13Thought patt

2、erns.13Comprehension factor14Translation strategy .15Other reasons of Chinglish15 The importance of Chinese-English translation in China.16 Anti-Chinglish campaign.17 Conclusion17 Reference.17Chinglish in Chinese-English Translation摘 要:汉英翻译中经常出现两种倾向:一是一味追求通顺流畅、文辞优美,而偏离原文本意;一是过于拘泥原文字句,译文生硬晦涩,不符英语习惯用法

3、,带有明显汉语痕迹。后者即是通常所谓的Chinglish(中式英语)。中式英语是英语学习中普遍存在的一个问题,也是影响译文质量的主要问题之一,是当前最需要、也是最难解决的问题之一。解决这一问题,从理论上进行研究是必要的,但更急需的是如何在实践中去求得解决。本文通过许多实际工作中的例子,探讨Chinglish产生的原因、表现形式以及如何减少和避免这种现象。Chinglish问题的解决,可以使英译文更地道、更符合英语习惯,从而达到信、达、雅这一最高境界。 关键字:中式英语 汉英翻译Abstract: Two tendencies often occur in Chinese-English tra

4、nslation. One is going after easy and smooth reading and beautiful language at the expense of the true meaning of the original. Another is rigidly sticking to the original words, and the translation turns out to be obscure and hard to understand. It reads more like Chinese than English. This is what

5、 is usually known as Chinglish. It is a common problem in English study and it is one of the major factors adversely affecting the quality of translation, while it is among the stickiest problems that cry out for solution. Of course, it is necessary for us to make a theoretical study of how to tackl

6、e it, but there is even a greater need to address it in practice. This thesis is an attempt to discuss its causes and manifestations by citing a number of examples in translation and also to explore ways of how to reduce or avoid it. Once Chinglish is rectified, Chinese-English translation would rea

7、d more like idiomatic English and come nearer to a higher standard, namely, faithfulness, smoothness and elegance.Key words: Chinglish Chinese-English Translation Chinglish in Chinese-English TranslationI. IntroductionIt is well known that Chinese and English are poles apart. However, when Chinese s

8、tudents who are lacking a “real” English environment learn English, they easily tend to ignore the differences between the two languages. This is particularly the case with translation. The Chinese students are so familiar with their habit of studying in Chinese practice that they often put it into

9、practice in English learning. The result is so-called Chinglish, it is one of the major problems that affect the quality of Chinese-English translation and its existence influences Chinas foreign economic and cultural exchanges and weakens Chinas publicities to the outside world. As an interlanguage

10、, it is systematic, with its own features, reflecting the interference of Chinese language. Chinglish, produced by the translators who are interfered by Chinese thought pattern and culture, is not in conformity with English usage and culture. Because Chinglish is not idiomatic English, reflects the

11、influence of Chinese language and damages the communication, in order to reduce or avoid it and get a translation come nearer to a higher standard, namely, “faithfulness, smoothness and elegance”, it is necessary for the translators to make a theoretical study of the nature and sources of Chinglish.

12、 To sum up, Chinglish, as an interlanguage, with its own features, is systematic and unavoidable for Chinese learners of English. Chinglish easily steps forward in Chinese-English translation, which requires the translators not only to master Chinese and English, but also to be familiar with the lan

13、guage usage, thought patterns and life background of the people of English-speaking countries.II. Definition of Chinglish Li Wenzhong (李文中) gives the definition of Chinglish, “中国式英语是指中国的英语学习和使用者由于受母语干扰和影响,硬套汉语规则和习惯,在英语交际中出现的不合规范英语或不合英语文化习惯的畸形英语。” In The Translators Guide to Chinglish, Joan Pinkham p

14、oints out that to one degree or another, the work of all but the most highly trained and experienced among them will inevitably contain elements of Chinglish. “Chinglish, of course, is that misshapen, hybrid language that is neither English nor Chinese but that might be described as” English with Ch

15、inese characteristics.(Joan Pinkham, 2000: 1) The examples of Chinglish presented in her book are authentic. Some were found in published materials,China Daily, the several English language magazines, and so on. For examples, “农业获得丰收” is expressed as “there have been good harvests in agriculture”, i

16、n which “in agriculture” is unnecessary; “生活水平不断提高” is translated into “living standards for the people continued to rise”, in which “for the people” is unnecessary. Either Chinglish refers to the misuse of normative English. Chinese learners of English do not fully master English and use English wo

17、rds to express themselves in light of Chinese grammar, sentence pattern, or culture.III. Features of Chinglish3.1 Words and phrasesThe most difficult thing in translation is the translation of words. Often, a translator has to rack his or her brain for days in order to render a word adequately.3.1.1

18、 Unnecessary wordsUnnecessary words are the hallmark of Chinglish. Almost every text that has been translated into English from Chinese, or that has been written directly in English by a native speaker of Chinese, contains unnecessary words. Draft translations are commonly full of them, and even pol

19、ished versions are seldom free of them (Pinkham, 2000: 1). For example, promoting the cause of peaceful reunification the first noun announces the category of the second; in this case, it tells readers that reunification falls into the category of cause. That is something they have already known. Ac

20、cordingly, the first noun should be deleted: promoting peaceful reunification. Whatever function the category noun serves in Chinese, in English it is generally useless.3.1.2 CollocationChinese and English are so vastly different that it is not always easy to use English collocation properly. There

21、are some typical wrong collocations, for example, making achievements (attaining achievements). Its wrong collocation, which results in Chinglish. Committing mistakes (making mistakes) is another one. And we dont learn knowledge, we learn English, but we dont learn knowledge, we acquire language. 3.

22、2. Syntax3.2.1 Pronouns and antecedentsPronouns are not always so easy to handle. For native Chinese speakers, the difficulties with English pronouns are compounded by the differences between the two languages. As you know, pronouns are used in many places in English where they are not required in C

23、hinese. Most pronouns in English have more forms to choose from than do the corresponding pronouns in Chinese. For example:A: We have not met with too many difficulties in the course of the reform,and in general the reform is proceeding smoothly.B: We have not met with too many difficulties in the c

24、ourse of the reform, and in general it is proceeding smoothly.Every pronoun must have a clear, logical antecedent. And that antecedent must be a stated word that readers can immediately recognize as the one to which the pronoun refers. Otherwise, they will be either confused or misled. 3.2.2. Dangli

25、ng modifiersThere is another group of modifiers that are illogical not because of faulty placement but because of faulty grammatical relations with other elements in the sentence. Modifiers of this sort are traditionally called unattached or dangling. Mainly, there are four of these: participles, ge

26、runds, infinitives and prepositional phrases. The dangling participle is frequently found in Chinglish. For example:To reach a more objective conclusion, he said, historical, cultural, and other backgrounds of the ethnic groups should be considered when studying religion in China.The implied subject

27、 of To reach is not the same as the subject of the sentence. The sentence is translated from Chinese, with Chinese characteristics. Chinese language is paratactic, while English is hypotactic. Native speaker of Chinese can easily identify the logical subject of the sentence and does not expect that

28、the subjects of different parts are the same, but English reader expects the consistency of subjects. Here is the possible revision, To reach a more objective conclusion, he said, people studying religion in China should consider the history and culture of the various ethnic groups and other aspects

29、 of their background (Pinkham, 2000:321).3.3 DiscourseFirst, let us look at the following example I am a layman in natural science. As my trip to Shanghai coincides with your discussion of a ten-year plan for science, Id like to avail myself of this opportunity to touch on a few questions. The first

30、 sentence leads readers to anticipate something different from what follows. Logically, if a person begins by saying he is a layman, one expects his next remark to be that he hesitates to address this conference of learned scientists. Instead, he says something contradictory: that he wants to talk a

31、bout it. Readers have the uncomfortable sense that somewhere they missed a turn in the road (Pinkham, 2000). It is because the translator failed to post a sign informing the reader that the second idea would stand in opposition to the first. All it would have taken to set them on the right path was

32、a single wordbut, I am a layman in natural science. But as my trip to ShanghaiChinese translators working into English do not always use the expressions correctly, such as also, in addition, but, meanwhile, because, as a consequence. Expressions of this kind indicate the direction the writers though

33、t is about to take, making it easy for the reader to Chinese language freely omits some elements that in English are considered essential. Chinese readers understand a text without these clues, but native speakers of English need and expect more help from the writer. Accordingly, the translator must

34、 make explicit certain terms that in the original are only implied. Problems on Chinese-English Translation The rapid progress of civilization led to a succession of new policies and a mushroom growth of new words and expressions. Translation must keep abreast of our times and meet new challenges. T

35、ranslation is the recreation of a translator, so we should pay enough attention to translators comprehensive ability. A qualified translator should have a profound understanding of the linguistic difference concerning phonetics, morphology, syntax, semantics and rhetoric between the source language

36、and the target language, and he must have a distinct understanding of the linguistic-aesthetic effects peculiar to the target and source language respectively. Any mistranslation can cause great suffering. The following are some of the new problems that have arisen from Chinese-English translation.1

37、. Translation doesnt correspond with the original EnglishIf we translate Chinese into English according to its verbal meaning, we create new English. Thats Chinglish, Chinglish fails to get message and causes communication breakdown. Wed better try to avoid the use of clinches, jargons, slangs and u

38、se idioms, subtle connotations, tone of voice and short-hand phases carefully. For example, Chinese word “胶水” should be “glue” in English, but in some magazines it was translated into “glue water”. In Oxford Advanced Learned English-Chinese Dictionary (OALECD), the English interpretation of glue is

39、“thick sticky liquid used for joining things”. Glue itself can fulfill be the meaning of Chinese word “胶水”, so “water” is redundant here. Lets see the translation of Chinese words “不准拍照”, it was written on public advertisement board as “dont take picture”, which has signification of command and it i

40、s impolite in original English. We all know the saying of “No smoking” in English, so it is better to be translated into “No photographs” in English. Following this form, Chinese words “当心碰头”should be translated into “mind/lower your head”, not “be careful of your head”. Translation is very difficul

41、t. It should be precise as well as clear, or it will cause misunderstanding or perplexity. For example, Chinese words “拳头产品” is translated into “fist product”, in OALECD “fist” means “hand when closed tightly with the fingers bent into the palm”, and it doesnt have the meaning of strength. So profes

42、sor Ding thought it should be translated into “market-penetrating product” or “product with a competitive edge”.We should pay attention to not only verbal meanings of Chinese, but also its connotation and deep meanings.2. Clearly and fully translate some short-hand phrases with Chinese characteristi

43、csThe rapid development of our times lead to new policies and guidelines with Chinese characteristics, so how to correctly translate them is vital to advancement of society and quality of “opening-up and reform”, at least, it should properly transmit the information of Chinese words. With a view to

44、the translation of “Mao Zedong thought” and “Deng Xiaoping Theory”, Chinese “三个代表” is translated into “Three Represents”, thought and theory are nouns while represent is a verb, which may confuse readers, in view of English expression “dos and donts”, represent can be used here. It is hard to find a

45、 better word to replace represent here. When we first mention “Three Represents”, we should thoroughly explain it, that is to say, fully translate its contents. It should be “Three Represents (The Communist Party of China represents the development trend of advanced productive forces, the orientatio

46、n of advanced culture, and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of people in China)”. This can help original English readers understand the spirit of “Three Represents”.We notice that verbal translation is common and widespread, especially in non-official magazines and newspapers.

47、Word to word translation, ignoring deep meaning of words with Chinese characteristics; just translate its superficial meaning. As we all know, one Chinese word may have several meanings, and one character has different meaning in different phrases and sentence structures. When translating them, we s

48、hould pay enough attention to their certain meanings into his usage and clearly translate them into English.3. Ignorant of differences between China and west on culturesTranslation means transforming source text into an equivalent target one, which can lay claim to the same authority as the original. Equivalence between a translation and its original

展开阅读全文
相关资源
相关搜索

当前位置:首页 > 教育专区 > 小学资料

本站为文档C TO C交易模式,本站只提供存储空间、用户上传的文档直接被用户下载,本站只是中间服务平台,本站所有文档下载所得的收益归上传人(含作者)所有。本站仅对用户上传内容的表现方式做保护处理,对上载内容本身不做任何修改或编辑。若文档所含内容侵犯了您的版权或隐私,请立即通知淘文阁网,我们立即给予删除!客服QQ:136780468 微信:18945177775 电话:18904686070

工信部备案号:黑ICP备15003705号© 2020-2023 www.taowenge.com 淘文阁