Principles and Methods of English Prose Translation 毕业论文1.doc

principles and methods of english prose translationabstractprose as a literary style, the most important feature is the shape disperses but the spirit does not disperse, and the most fundamental elements are language, lyrical and aesthetic. in the process of translation, content and style should be considered equally. moreover, it requires the translator precisely appreciate the aesthetic factors of the original text on the basis of correct comprehension, and make all effects to convey these factors from perspectives of content of theme and feelings, linguistic features and rhetoric devices. compared with westerns, chinese translators pay more attention on the prose translation, but mainly on the side of prose translation. this thesis consists of three parts. at first, it gives a comprehensive definition of english prose from the aspects of language characteristic, literal style and aesthetic judgement. then based on the basic principles, it tries to explore the principles of english prose translation from the aspects of style characteristic and context. finally, it explores the methods of english prose translation, in order to use translation skills flexibly. its not only translating the shapes, but also conveying the prose spirits.key words: prose; language characteristic; literary style; principle; skill摘 要散文作为文学样式的一种，最主要的特点是“形散而神不散”，最根本的莫过于语言，抒情和审美三端。散文在翻译过程中，要求内容与风格并重，同时要求译者明确英语散文定义的基础上准确的把握其审美要素，从语言特色，文体风格，节奏与韵律等诸方面再现原文的艺术整体效果。中国翻译界对散文翻译的研究较西方为盛，然而主要是就散文翻译的某个侧面开展的研究。本论文共有三个部分。首先从语言特点，文体风格，审美角度对英语散文进行界定，然后基于翻译的基本原则，从语境方面探究英语散文翻译的原则。最后探究英语散文翻译的技巧，灵活巧妙地运用翻译技巧，不仅译其形而且传其神。关键字：散文、语言特点、文体风格、原则、技巧contentsintroduction11 general remarks about english prose21.1 definitions21.2 language characteristics21.3 literary style31.4 aesthetic judgement of english prose42 translation principles of english prose52.1 reflecting the characteristics of prose style52.2 maintaining integrity of overall smooth62.3 selecting precise and appropriate words72.4 translating according to the original context73 translation methods of english prose83.1 translation of words in english prose83.2 translation of sentences in english prose113.3 translation of titles in english prose123.4 translation of idioms in english prose13conclusion16works cited18acknowledgments19ivintroductionprose as a literary art form, its with subjectivity and creativity. before exploring prose translation, we need make clear of essential property of literary translation. it is not the constraints of rhythm and plot, but a flexible and casual, relaxed comfortable style. as a matter of fact, prose translation accounts for a lions share in the translation activities and translators devoted to this area are by no means rare. facts are often repeated and reiterated in various ways so that they are understood by a reader but the excessive use of this technique can often make a serious piece of writing seem like a polemic. compared with translation studies of other literary genres, those concerning prose translation have been less intensive. there are many reasons. in my opinion, the fundamental reason is that prose is too general a concept, including too many forms of writings. it is as hard to study translation methods of the prose as a whole as to define so vast a territory the prose covers. on the other hand, the prose language is often mistakenly regarded as inferior to that of poetry. mary snell-hornby thinks that translation is to create (22). liu miqing preseats the idea of limited creativity (13). zhang peiji suggests the original is performance, translation is reproduction (16). it seems that prose translation can be attributed to artistic recreation. prose authors can express their own minds directly and freely, while literary works are as humans. so it is not enough to express meaning only, but also pay attention to maintaining the original feeling, flavor, mood and style. literature is a kind of art, and its translation should also be a work of art. the thesis first gives the definition of english prose and analyses the literary characteristics of english prose with examples. then it tries to explore the principles of english prose translation from the aspect of style characteristic and context. and the last part explores the methods of english prose translation. this thesis aims at achieving an integral artistic effect, it requires the translator precisely appreciate the aesthetic factors of the original text on the basis of correct comprehension, and make all effects to convey these factors from perspectives of content of theme and feelings, linguistic features and rhetoric devices. it will list as followed.1 general remarks about english prose english prose has its own characteristics. thus, it has different principles and skills in english prose translation. in this section，it will discuss some more details about english prose.1.1 definitionsprose is writing distinguished from poetry by its greater variety of rhythm and its closer resemblance to the patterns of everyday speech. the word prose comes from the latin prosa, meaning straightforward. this describes the type of writing that prose embodies, unadorned with obvious stylistic devices. prose writing is usually adopted for the description of facts or the discussion of ideas. although some works of prose may happen to contain traces of metrical structure or versification, a conscious blend of the two forms of literature is known as a prose poem. similarly, poetry with less of the common rules and limitations of verse is known as free verse. poetry is considered to be artificially developed. the best words in the best order (jia 97), whereas prose is thought to be less constructed and more reflective of ordinary speech. pierre de ronsard, the french poet said that his training as a poet had proved to him that prose and poetry were mortal enemies. the status of prose has changed throughout its history. 1.2 language characteristics the types of literary style include literature style, technical style, design style. although prose belongs to the literature style, it has the widespread theme, comprehensive and rich language characteristics. so if we want to translate prose correctly, we need understand the characteristics firstly.the most basic language feature of prose is dispersal, but actually the shape disperses but the spirit does not disperse, therefore when we carry the prose translation, as translation standards faithfulness, expressiveness, elegance, which can be generalized into two characters: accurate and smooth. generally its called faithfulness and smoothness for short. accuracy is the translation writing style that is consistent with original text content. smooth translation includes linked up language, clear context and level. in the prose translation, as to the two translation standards, translators have no difference in principle in understanding, but they have different standards when it comes to different points. 1.3 literary style the style of prose is the characteristic manner of expression of this literary pattern. and the study on the prose style is helpful to the appreciation and translation of english prose. when it comes to a good prose style, we must understand the meaning of style firstly. the term style applies to a variety of art forms, including literature, music, painting, and architecture. lots of scholars on the literary style give it different interpretations. weiliansite lenk said: the article full of vitality should be concise. the sentence should not have extra words, while the paragraph without extra sentences( qtd. in newmark 57). simplicity and accuracy of words related to the use of nouns and verbs, and many famous writers are good at mastering the nouns and verbs. in the text youth, written by joseph conrad, we can find such a description:day and day and night after night there was nothing round the ship but the howl of the wind, the tumult of the sea, the noise of water pouring over her deck. there was no rest for her and no rest for us. she tossed, she pitched, she stood on her head, she sat on her tail, she rolled, she groaned, and we had to hold on while on deck and cling to our bunks when below, in a constant effort of body and worry of mind. （qtd. in anderman79）in this text, the author uses the phrase how, tumult, noise and several other terms lively described the dangerous natural environment of the sea, and with a series of verbs like toss, pitch, stand, sit, roll, groan described people that were in depressed and desperate state. his accurate and lively description gave the readers a great imagination space, and helped them put in the scene.1.4 aesthetic judgement of english proseenglish prose language is both expressive features and aesthetic function. prose translation is an aesthetic practice, not only to convey the original texts formal beauty, but also to convey the beauty of original content and style.1.4.1 formal beauty of prose translation usually, the aesthetic characteristic of formal language is intuition, which concretely performs the formal beauty of composite structure and the music beauty of phoneme composite. at first, a good text gives readers a sense of word beauty. therefore, it reflected in the writers words and sentences, the performance of the phonology and rhythm, it is also manifested in a variety of different aesthetic rhetoric. for example:(1)燕子去了, 有再来的时候; 杨柳枯了, 有再青的时候; 桃花谢了,有再开的时候。“swallows may have gone, but there is a time of return; willows trees may have died back, but there is a time of regreening; preach blossoms may have fallen, but they will bloom again.” （qtd. in anderman56）(2)洗手的时候,日子从水盆里过去;吃饭的时候,日子从饭碗里过去;默默时,便从凝然的双眼前过去。the days flows away through the sink when i wash my hands, wears off in the bowl when i eat my meal, passes away before my day dreaming gaze as i reflect in silence. （qtd. in anderman56）as we can see, the translation and the original both use aesthetic rhetoric in parallelism structure, reflecting the beauty of music, symmetry and balance. the beauty of language formal will be harmonized.1.4.2 content beauty of prose translation the successful prose translations attract the readers, which rely on formal beauty and content beauty. if the translation separates from the original content, no matter how beautiful of its form, there is no aesthetic value at all. the unity of content beauty is conveying the original content, to avoid distortion of information content. translation is like a painter painting, first to seize the objective character shape and demeanor, and then draw it. similarly, the translator always master a language to express thoughts and feelings, style, and then use translation skills to convey it by another language. the beauty of content mainly reflected in the thoughts( feng 17)translators also use personification, expressing the original authors mind clearly. the total translation doesnt distort original ideas and information content, the content beauty conveyed completely.2 translation principles of english prosethe basic principle of translation is “faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance”. at first, the english prose translation should obey the basic principles, but because of its difference with the common translation, it has its own principles of translation.2.1 reflecting the characteristics of prose style these two translation language styles must keep in consistent. these two translation language styles must keep in consistent. any translation of an articles smoothness involves the consistent of kinds of language style. as a literary form, prose has its unique language style, namely freedom and elegance. translation of the original conveys his ideas, not only the surface meaning of the word faithful, but also achieving the standard requirement of trust, smooth of prose translation, which reflected the original language style in the translation. will style can be translated? it has been a vexed question of the translation community. one view is that style belongs to the form relative to content, it can not be translated. others think that language content and style are mutually consistent. if the translation delicate original style completely, therefore, it can make the full article lively. as bernard shaw said, idea expressed, style followed( qtd. in green 42).the following is an example to illustrate this： (3) high in a smooth ocean of sky floated a dazzling majestic sun: fragments of powdery cloud, like spray flung from a wave crest sprinkled the radiant, like blue heaven.万里晴空,像水波不行的大海,威严的烈日射出炫目的光芒,几片碎云,像从浪峰中喷出的火花散落在蔚蓝色的天空,闪烁着银灰。in this section, the sentence in english developed by rhetorical means of flip-start which by two parallelism simile sentence. as to this, more people feel the splendor of spectacular that the limitless expanse of the sky.2.2 maintaining integrity of overall smooth the expression of language to be translated should be consistent with the target language habits as much as possible, which is the necessary requirement of prose translation. the translator should get rid of the original constraints, analysis and understand the general characteristics of the original text, namely, the structure of text, subject, rhetorical means, the effects of atmosphere and emotional. the following is an example for analysis this:(4) the years season in the sun has run it course. nature begins to prepare for winter. the litter of autumn will become mulch, then humus for root tender seed. the agency of growth is ended for another year, but life itself is hoard in root and bulb and seed and egg. 阳光下,九月健步走完它的旅程,大自然开始进入冬季。秋日的馈赠覆盖在大地上,沃土滋养着根茎和幼嫩的种子。生长的冲动中止，静待来年，但是生命本身却藏身于根茎、籽卵之中，永无止息。 this is a lyrical prose with simple word structure, and fresh tone. this translation fully takes care of the texts consistency, fluency and elegance. sequence in line coincides target language habit, because nature change dominated by the sun and the moon. the sun is placed in the beginning of a sentence, the original attributive according to the target language out of the adverbial. at the end of paragraph, the translator adds 永无止息 according to the meaning of the entire paragraph. adding word is to reproduce the original implication, while act on the role of commanding the whole paragraph. as a result, conducting translation couldnt use applied mechanically, dead translated or indiscriminate translated，but regrouping and re-creation, translation can be fluent. of course, the structure changed does not mean that the meaning can be changed.2.3 selecting precise and appropriate words words are the basic unit of the article. the translator should take serious care of every word choice, except for style, fluent writing. according to the characteristics of prose, the use of words must be consistent with the original situation, and the choice of words must be based on the status of words in the text to make words coinciding with the situation. in a sense, clear and appropriate words are the key to success. the following is an example to illustrate: (5) there was less work for the mules and horse after a tractor came to the farm. they spent much time in idleness, munching the summer grass.拖拉机开进农场后,这些骡子和马的工作就少多了。它们大部分时间都无所事事,只顾嚼着夏季的青草。 looking at the whole paragraph, although this text is not difficult, translators have carried out careful consideration of words and phrases by choosing the corresponding language translation of target language and idiom. just like the oral word “开进”, idioms of “无所事事” which are elegant and impressive. the word “只顾” together with “嚼着夏季的青草”convey the original taste ingeniously suitably.in the process of translation, the translator spends a lot of time thinking about the word meaning and finding the most appropriate match vocabulary in the target language.2.4 translating according to the original contextcontext is the language situation expressed by words, phrases, sentences into a unified ideological constraints of mutual behavior, interrelated, interacting, also is the language field which conveys the meaning of language content. owing to context is the language field that determine the language meaning. see the following example: (6) there exists in the united states at this time a powerful group of persons who are specializing in the pursuit of crime on an orgnized scale. they utilize the latest technologies and scientific know how in the counduct of their operation, which span the continent from coast to coast.in english, the word operation is polysemy, it can mean the operation, run, action and management or effect and so on. but to determine the terms specific meaning in this field should refer to the context. after reading this material, we learned that the paragraph talking about the gang crime in the united states. they make use of high-tech trick to commit a crime. therefore, we should translate the word operation into their criminal activities however, if the word appears in the operations of the u.n. troops failed to achieve its targets, because of the limited un troops we can only translate it into military operations. thus, to identify a specific word or phrase is intended to context.in other words, context is one of the important theories of pragmatic. it is not only in research of significance in pragmatic, but also it plays an extremely important role in translation. 3 translation methods of english prose there are many methods of english to chinese translation skills, including words, long sentences, paragraphs and so on. when it comes to words, it related to translation skills of nouns, verbs, preps and so on. but the translation of english p