English Ambiguous Words and Their Translation.doc

毕业论文(设计)English Ambiguous Words and Their Translation1. Introduction12. English ambiguity and the problems caused by ambiguity in translation22.1 Brief introduction about English ambiguity22.1.1 Phonological ambiguity42.1.2 Lexical ambiguity52.2 Problems and difficulties in translating English ambiguous words82.2.1 Problems and difficulties caused by homonyms82.2.2 Problems and difficulties caused by polysemic words103. Translation of English ambiguous words123.1 The foundation of translating English ambiguous words123.2 Methods in translating English ambiguous words153.2.1 Using the literal translation153.2.2 Keeping English words and adding note173.2.3 Other methods of translating English ambiguous words194. Conclusion21References221. Introduction With the rapid development of cross-cultural communication, people are paying more and more attention to the ambiguity of language. Ambiguity is a pervasive phenomenon in natural language. However, this phenomenon has caused difficulties in peoples communication and translation work. The errors in peoples translation or interpretation works are attributed to their misunderstanding the English sentences with ambiguities. Ambiguity is one of the forms of language, including words, sentences, which lacks clearness and has two or more ambiguous meanings in understanding the semantic meaning. It exists in every language, there is no exception to English which has a large number of vocabularies. Kess, F.R. and Hoppe, A.R. (1981) hold the opinion in their monograph Ambiguity in Psycholinguistics that ambiguity is everywhere in language. They say: “upon careful consideration, one cannot but be amazed at the ubiquity of ambiguity in language.”(Kess, F.R. and Hoppe, A.R., 1981) “Translation, essentially, is the faithful representation, in one language, of what is written or said in another language. However, as proved by practice, translation cannot be viewed as a merely linguistic undertaking, but should be regarded as an aspect of a larger domain, namely, that of communication.” (Zhong Shukong, 1997) From the sentences above it can be concluded that a translator or an interpreter should translate the original faithfully, clearly and accurately. However, English has the largest number of vocabularies which differs from the other western languages, including a lot of ambiguous words which are caused by polysemic words and homonyms that attribute to the wrong translations in peoples oral and written translation work. As is known, translation is based on the correct understanding. Therefore, it is wise for translators or interpreters to study the causes of ambiguity so as to solve the problems caused by ambiguous words and get a correct understanding while translating.2. English ambiguity and the problems caused by ambiguity in translation2.1 Brief introduction about English ambiguityAmbiguity is a more complicated and pervasive phenomenon in human language. “In natural languages, ambiguity is the property of expressions that can be interpreted in several ways, or, rather, that can be multiply specified in linguistic description from lexical, semantic, syntactic, and other aspects. Depending on whether ambiguity results from the use of specific lexemes or from the syntactic structure of complex expressions, a distinction is drawn between (a) lexical ambiguity (also polysemy, homonymy) and (b) syntactic ambiguity (also polysyntacticity, constructional homonymy).”(Hadumod Bussmann, 2000: 19) “A word or sentence is ambiguous when it has more than one understanding.” (Fromkin and Rodman, 1983) American linguist Kaplan (1966) says that ambiguity is a common phenomenon of language just as a common cold of pathology. English is the widely-used language in peoples cross-communication, so more and more learners in China have set foot on studying English ambiguity. Qiu Shude points out, “Ambiguity is a special relationship between language structural form and its meaning.”(Qiu Shude, 1998) He studies it from four cases: phonemic ambiguity, semantic ambiguity, grammatical ambiguity and pragmatic ambiguity. “Ambiguity is the phenomenon that some words or expressions have two or more meanings,” said by Zhu Li,(Zhu Li, 2005) who concludes ambiguity into the following aspects: phonological ambiguity, lexical ambiguity, syntactic ambiguity, deixis ambiguity and pragmatic ambiguity. “Ambiguity is an idea, statement or expression capable of being understood in more than one sense.” (An Yan, Li Shaofeng, 1995) In their essay “A Brief Analysis of English ambiguity”, they discuss ambiguity in the following four cases: phonetic ambiguity, lexical ambiguity, grammatical ambiguity and transcultural ambiguity. Due to different purposes in the study of ambiguity, different people have different understandings which result in the study from different aspects. This paper aims at discussing English ambiguous words and their translations, so the English ambiguity in two forms, phonological ambiguity and lexical ambiguity will be discussed below.2.1.1 Phonological ambiguityPhonological ambiguity is mainly caused by two kinds of homonyms: perfect homonym and homophone. Homonymy is a type of lexical ambiguity involving two or more different words. (Hadumod Bussmann, 2000: 210) e.g. found (meaning establish or cast), kitty (meaning fund or cat), scour (meaning polish or search). Such words are called homonym. It contains three kinds of words. The first kind is perfect homonym which has the same pronunciation and spelling but different meanings, e.g. ear1: the organ of hearing (耳朵) ，ear2: the head of a grain-producing plant such as corn or wheat (穗), ear3: (sing.) an ability to recognize and copy sounds well (灵敏的听力，辨音力)；the second one is homophone which has the same pronunciation but different spellings and meanings，e.g. sun (太阳)-son (儿子)，sight (视力)-site (地基)，meat(肉)-meet (遇见)， right (正确的)-rite (仪式)-write (写); the last one is homograph which has the same spelling but different pronunciations and meanings, e.g. lead1led: a chemical element (铅), lead2li:d: a long piece of leather chain or rope used for holding and controlling a dog (牵狗用的皮带,链条或绳索); tear1 : a drop of liquid that comes out of your eye when you cry (眼泪), tear2: to damage something by pulling it apart or into pieces or by cutting it on something sharp; to become damages in this way (撕裂，撕碎). No matter which kind of homonymy, it will cause phonological ambiguity in peoples translation work. For examples:(1) I have got some flour (flower)(2) They eat what they can, and can what they cannot. (An Yan, Li Shaofeng, 1995)In example (1), the pronunciation of the word “flour”(面粉 “a fine white or brown powder”) is just the same as that of the word “flower”(花 “the colored part of a plant from which the seed or fruit develops ”). It will easily cause ambiguity in oral translation. In example (2), the first “can” is a modal verb, means “能”(it is possible for somebody or something to do something, or for something to happen) ；the second “can” is a verb, means “装罐头”(to preserve food by putting it in a can) . Such kinds of ambiguous words will cause ambiguity in the interpretation because they all have the same pronunciation. It is hard to distinguish which word it is in oral English. Therefore, the wrong interpretation comes.2.1.2 Lexical ambiguityLexical ambiguity is caused by homonymy and polysemy. One speaks of polysemy when an expression has two or more definitions with some common features that are usually derived from a single basic meaning. (Hadumod Bussmann, 2000:371) For example: there are 15 meanings of “hand” and 12 meanings of “face” in Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current English with Chinese translation. Such kind of words is called polysemic words which have more than one meaning. Therefore, they are ambiguous when translated into Chinese, which causes lexical ambiguity.Most English words are polysemic words. For the nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbial words, the more frequently they are used, the more meaning they have. The origin of polysemy is the words derivation. In the cause of derivation, the original meaning is divided into a new meaning, and then the two or more meanings co-exist in one word which forms the polysemic words. For example, the adjective “light” means “not dark” or “not heavy”, the verb “light” means “to move fast” or “to direct or manage”, and the noun “bank” means “financial institution” or “the edge of a river”. Some examples below will well illustrate lexical ambiguity.(1) The food isnt hot. (An Yan, Li Shaofeng, 1995)(2) Let me drive you to the bank.(3) He is going to marry Jane at the church. (Huang Huijun, 2002)In the above-mentioned examples, it is clear that each sentence has two translations. “Hot” can be put into “热的”(having a high temperature) and “辣的”(containing pepper and spices and producing a burning feeling in your mouth), for “hot” is a polysemic word, and each meaning seems right in the example. “Bank” and “marry” are also polysemic words, therefore, “bank” can be translated into “银行”(a financial organization) or “河岸”(the side of a river) , and “marry” can be rendered into “与(某人)结婚”(to become the husband or wife of somebody; to get married to somebody) or “为(某人)征婚”(to perform a ceremony in which a man and woman become husband and wife). Thus, the ambiguity caused by the polysemic words comes.(4) The tourists passed the port at midnight. (Zhang Hong，2007) “Port” is a homonym, meaning “港口”(a place where ships load and unload goods ) as well as “葡萄酒” (a strong sweet wine, usually dark red). When translated into “港口”, the sentence means “旅游者半夜里经过了港口”(The tourists passed a place where ships load and unload goods at midnight.); when in “葡萄酒”, the sentence means “旅游者半夜里传葡萄酒” (The tourists passed a strong sweet wine at midnight.). Therefore, it has caused lexical ambiguity here.From the illustration above, it can be concluded that homonymy and polysemy are the two main causes of phonological ambiguity and lexical ambiguity and homonyms and polysemic words are called ambiguous words which will cause ambiguity when translated or interpreted. However, the phonological ambiguity and lexical ambiguity caused by such kinds of words will cause problems and difficulties in translation.2.2 Problems and difficulties in translating English ambiguous words2.2.1 Problems and difficulties caused by homonymsHomonyms are the words which have the same form (pronunciation or spelling) but different meanings. It is one of the causes of wrong translation or interpretation. the following examples show the difficulties in translating homonyms.: (1) Top-of-the range training shoes now cost about $100 a pair.(2) They served pear and almost tarts as desserts.(3) The luxury tax wont really do much to pare down the budget. (Wang Rongpei, Lu Xiaojuan, 1997)“Pair”, “pear” and “pare” in the above three sentences are homophones, they have different spellings and meanings but the same pronunciation. It is hard to distinguish them in the interpretation because of the same pronunciation in oral English.(4) She cannot bear children.a. 她不能生育小孩。(She cannot give birth to a child.)b. 她不能忍受孩子们的吵闹。(She cannot accept childrens noise.) (Qiu Shude, 2003:53)(5) She didnt take his tip.a. 她没有接受他给的小费。(She didnt take the extra money he gave.)b. 她没有听他的告诫。(She didnt listen to his advice.) (Qin Ling, Chen Xinyan, 2005)The two examples above both have two translations because they contain polysemic words “bear” and “tip”. “Bear” is one of perfect homonyms, which means “生育” (to give birth to a child) as well as “忍受” (to be able to accept and deal with something unpleasant), “tip” is also a perfect homonym, meaning “小费” (a small amount of extra money) as well as “告诫” (a small piece of advice). (6) “How is bread made?” “I know that!” Alice cried eagerly. “You take some flour” “Where do we pick flower?” the White Queen asked. “In a garden or in the hedges?” “Well, it isnt picked at all,” Alice explained, “its ground” “How many acres of ground?” said the white Queen. (Alices Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carrol)In example (6), the words “flour” and “flower”, “ground” and “ground” are homonyms. “Flour” means “面粉” (a fine white or brown powder) while “flower” means “花” (the colored part of a plant from which the seed or fruit develops)；the first ground is an adjective, means “磨的” (cut or crushed into very small pieces or powder)while the second one means “土地” (the solid surface of the earth). Though it is the writer who uses these homonyms intentionally to get the effect of humor, it will also cause difficulties in interpreting such works into Chinese because it is hard to choose the suitable meaning.From the examples above, it can be found that homonyms will cause ambiguity because they have different meanings though they have the same form. It is hard to choose the correct meaning to translate them. If the wrong meaning is chosen, the wrong translation or interpretation will come.2.2.2 Problems and difficulties caused by polysemic wordsPolysemy, with more than one meaning, is a common phenomenon in language. So it is difficult for translators to choose the suitable meaning because of its meanings more than one. For example: a student has translated the sentence “Martin Luther was a poor German minister” into the wrong one “马丁.路德是个穷苦的德国部长(Martin Luther was a poor religious leader of German.).” It is just because the polysemic word “minister” has two meanings “部长”(a senior member of the government who is in charge of a government department or a branch of one) and “牧师” (a trained religious leader). There will be puzzlements when these polysemic words are translated. For instance: (1) Have you finished your book?a. 你读完了那本书了吗？(Have you finished reading your book?)b. 你写完了那本书了吗？(Have you finished writing your book?) (Qiu Shude, 2003:61)The verb “finish” means “bring to an end (thing or doing)”, but just as the example shows, it is hard to decide which translation is right because the word “finish” can be understood by “bring to an end of reading or writing”.(2) This is the more original manuscript.a.这是一篇更接近原文的手稿。(This manuscript like the one which produced for the first time most)b.这是一篇更有创造性的手稿。(This manuscript is more creative.) (Wu Zhen, 2003)(3) He is a sweet salesman.a.他是一位糖果推销商。(He is a man who sales sweet food.)b.他是一位可爱的推销商。(He is a lovely salesman.) (Wu Zhen, 2003)In the above-mentioned examples, there are two meanings because the adjective word “original” and the word “sweet” are ambiguous words which have two meanings. “Original” means “原先的，最初的” (existing at the beginning of a particular period, process or activity) as well as “新颖的，有创造性的” (able to produce new and interesting ideas; creative) ; “sweet” means “可爱的”(lovely or attractive)when it is an adjective, but means “糖果” (a small piece of sweet food, usually made with sugar and/ or chocolate and eaten between meals) when it is a noun. Further example is the polysemic word “dog”:(4) High vaulted rooms with cool uncarpeted floor, great dogs upon the hearths for the burning of wood in winter time, and all luxuries befitting the state of a marquis in a luxurious age and country. (A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens)An improper translation is “高拱顶的房间内，没铺地板显得凉爽， 几条大狗趴在冬天烧木炭的几个壁炉台上，陈设着在一个奢侈时代和国家里适合于侯爵身份的一切奢侈品” which makes the readers puzzled, for it can be found that “dog” not only means “狗” (an animal with four legs and a tail, often kept as a pet or trained for work), but also means “壁炉中用以支柴的铁架” (a device for holding up the firewood in fireplace) in a dictionary. And it can be found from the above-mentioned examples that polysemy is the other cause of wrong translation or interpretation. While people translate polysemic words, there are difficulties in selecting a correct meaning. If the wrong meaning is chosen, the wrong translation or interpretation comes.From the above discussion, it is clear that homonymy and polysemy are two main causes of ambiguity which cause difficulties in translating homonyms and polysemic words. When a translator or an interpreter doesnt choose the correct meaning of those ambiguous words while translating or interpreting, the translation or interpretation will be wrong, just as example (4) shows. In order to translate these ambiguous words into the right ones, it is necessary to use context to help to understand them well, and then use suitable method to translate them.3. Translation of English ambiguous words3.1 The foundation of translating English ambiguous wordsContext is a linguistic concept. The word “context” in English came from the latin “contextus” which means “a joining together”. The original definition of “context” is limited, which refers to the words or sentences before or after the right words or sentences people are reading. However, its meaning was expanded since B. Malinowsky put forward the concept of “context of situation” and “context of culture.” Context means the collocation of words, the text in front and behind, even the whole paragraph, passage. (Chen Dingan, 2004:89)The meaning of a word depends on context. A word or phrase is isolated in the dictionary, but if it is put into a specific context, it is a part of the context structure and form the organic coding system with the other words and phrases, which is so-called context. (Chen Dingan, 1998:78)The English translational theorist P