Contrastive Study of EnglishChinese and ChineseEnglish Translation

1、英译汉与汉译英的对比研究contrastive study of english-chineseand chinese-english translationcontentsabstract 1 key words1.introduction 1 1.1. definition 1 1.2. the understanding of translation 21.3. the importance of translation 2.cross-culture22.1. comparison of translation and culture 32.2. the cultural backgr

2、ound of culturally based words and expression42.3. a term in one language that does not have a counterpart in another language 42.4. language and thinking in cross-cultural translation 5. syntax6 3.1. exchange of word order 63.2. sentence punctuating 73.3. sentence transforming 8 3.4. sentence compo

3、unding and sentence condensing 8. rhetoric8 4.1. paragraph dividing9 4.1.1. paragraph dividing in chinese article 10 4.1.2. paragraph dividing in english article 11 4.1.3. methods of demonstration11 4.1.4. analogy applying12 4.1.5. the tone of teaching13. contrastive study of english and chinese14 5

4、.1. definition14 5.2. comparability14 5.3. three aspects of contrastive study14 5.3.1. grammar 14 5.3.2. sentence 15 5.3.3. text16 . spiral and straight16 . parataxis and hypostasis16 . subject ideology and object ideology 16. conclusion17 reference17 contrastive study of englis

5、h-chinese and chinese-english translation摘要： 中英文翻译现状随着中国与世界的交流呈现出不同的看法和态度，但总的来说，国内翻译仍处于不成熟阶段，并与世界先进水平存在很大的距离。这也无形中制约着中国人看世界的视野，影响着世界了解中国的进程。由此而看，如何做好翻译工作可谓是目前中西方交流过程中的重中之重。然而，翻译并不是简单的语言转换，它需要对双方文化有个很全面的理解，并从比较性的角度对不同国家的语言特征以及社会背 景的方方面面进行洞察和研究。只有这样，翻译才算是达到了能使不同国家之间进行充分交流的目的。关键词： 跨文化; 句法; 修辞; 英汉对比研究;

6、英汉互译abstract: different opinions and attitudes toward the present situation of translation mutual english and chinese move with the advancement of communication between china and the world. generally speaking, the domestic level of translation which is still in an undeveloped stage is far away from

7、that of the world. it is in this present condition that the environment of communication between china and overseas fails to obtain its full play, so it is urgent to upgrade the level of translation in our country. however, to translate does not simply mean to convert the word in a mechanical way, w

8、hich requires a deep knowing of cultures between target and original language, a comprehensive observation to the discrepancy of language features and a basic understanding of social background. in doing so, the standard of translation can catch up with the step of communication among countries.key

9、words: cross-culture; syntax; rhetoric; the contrastive study of english and chinese; translation between english and chinese.introduction1.1. definitionaccording to oxford dictionary, the definition of “translation” is the process of changing something that is written or spoken into another languag

10、e.1.2. the understanding of translationfor most people, translation means word-to-word conversion, which is regarded as an easy and mechanical job. nonetheless, once you really manage to translate an article or a long sentence, you will find translation is an artful and deliberative challenge that i

11、s far more than what you originally thought. considering the complexity, here are three laws that need to be followed: (1) the translation should give a complete transcript of ideas of the original work. (2) the style and manner of writing should be the same character with that of the original text.

12、 (3) the translation should have all the ease of original composition.1.3. the importance of translationthere are over 3000 languages in the world, and the environment people live now is getting more and more interactive. everyone must admit a fact that a fully isolated country cannot move forward,

13、so communication among countries becomes necessary and urgent. as a bridge between countries, the existence and advancement of translation have been taken for granted, and the mutual influence of english and chinese that are spoken by a large number of people makes the research on translation betwee

14、n english and chinese flourishing. however, it is intelligent to know that the course of translation is a challenging and risky hard work. it will never be an exaggeration that the hardship of translating will be in vain if a translator do not make a bridge to link both source and target language in

15、 terms of the equivalence of language, the purpose of writer, the main idea of an article and the expression of emotion or sentiment. so in order to create a high-qualified translation text, each translator should not only master the basic skills and essential features of both languages, but more im

16、portantly, know very well of cultural elements, semantics, rhetoric and contrastive studies of the original language and target language. without realizing these, a high-leveled translation text will not be yielded. cross-culture as for cross-culture in translation, it has been widely talked and its

17、 importance has been publicly acknowledged. because of different language families and culture backgrounds, chinese and english have their own different ways of expressing ideas and things with different methods of thinking and standards of value judgment. therefore, before translation, we should pa

18、y attention to the cultural elements. 2.1. comparison of translation and culturethe way of living and thinking in different nations has both same aspects and diversified aspects. to dress, eat, live, and behave are essential to each people, but how to dress, eat, live and behave varies from place to

19、 place. through understanding of the structure, vocabulary, and idioms of certain language, we can figure out the pith and spirit of such national culture. that results from the influence of material environment, and historical restriction of social customs and artificial elements. in order to reapp

20、ear the culture of source language and eliminate cultural diversity, each translator should notice: firstly, they should manage to create a translation text which is concord with the semantic meaning of original work and reflects the cultural points of that. secondly, if consideration can not be giv

21、en to both intention and culture, the translator must give up the reciprocity of form. thirdly, if the semantic intention and culture of the original work fail to be satisfied by the changed form, we can illustrate or instruct the deep meaning of the hidden intention by the directive and simple phra

22、se so that the meaning between original work and translation text can be consistent. in a short, there are three aspects can be concluded as translation skills in chinese “化异”, “归化”, “释义”, “视点转化”, and “同化”. for example:靠山吃山 to live on what you have around (释义)破釜沉舟 to cross rubicon (化异)山高皇帝远 the moun

23、tain are high and the emperor is far away (归化) 明日黄花 day after the fair (化异) 东山再起 to stage a comeback (释义)； to return a precious stage (同化)七十二行 all walks of life (化异)上梁不正下梁歪 fish begins to stink at the head (化异)黄粱美梦 a fools paradise (化异)； a pipe dream (释义)福兮祸所伏，祸兮福所依。 misfortune goes with fortune and

24、 fortune lies in misfortune (归化)cats paw 替人火中取栗 (释义)curtain-lecture 枕边风 (视点转换)to have an ax to grind 别有用心 (释义) （冯庆华 2002）in these examples, cultural features in translation between chinese and english are clearly emerged. “东山再起” in chinese means that the power, influence or leadership comes back, wh

25、ich corresponds to the english translation version “to stage a comeback”. in chinese culture, “east” stands for hope, future, and the revivification of life, so “the eastern mountain piles up again”(东山再起) can convey a comparatively understandable meaning of which some withered or died things get ano

26、ther chance to survive or flourish. however, for english people who dont have the same definition of “east”, they will not correctly understand the meaning of “东山再起” unless the translator can find out a proper phrase in english which can explain what “东山再起” tells. therefore, “to stage a comeback” is

27、 the most effective to make english people understand “东山再起”. such method of translation doesnt follow the reciprocity of form, but it can explain the deep meaning of the hidden intention by a simple phrase and the aim of translation is to some extent obtained. 2.2. the cultural background of cultur

28、ally based words and expression there are many words that represent different meaning and reference in different language. they may be commendatory here, but derogatory there. for example:phoenix in western culture, this bird is regarded as an immortal bird, with a samsara of 500 years. however, in

29、china, it is respectively called as the queen of all birds, and stands for wealthy and royalty. dragon in western countries, it delegates evil and wickedness. nevertheless, in china, its meaning is quite different. historically, dragon is the mark of imperial family for thousand years, and its shape

30、 is embodied on the rope of emperor. consequently, chinese people take dragon as the totem of chinese nation, and a power that is surging foreword.running dog i believe chinese people absolutely hate running dog, because people who is called as a running dog played a bad role in past wars. usually,

31、running dog means lackey or those who are good at licking sbs boots and flattering in china. however, in english, running dog becomes peoples lovely pet, which is their best friend in their eyes.(冯庆华 2002)2.3. a term in one language that does not have a counterpart in another language as a result of

32、 different histories of china and english countries, some special things cant be found at the same time. therefore, that challenges translators to give a correct translation. when we meet such word, we have two choices: to explain the meaning or to translate phonetically.二胡 erhu琵琶 pipacowboy 牛仔landi

33、ng 两楼梯间的平台hippies 嬉皮士 yuppies 雅皮士revival meeting 一种感情极为激发的福音会bingo part or game 西方为了很快地认识来参加聚会的人们而设计的一种认识人的配对游戏 (金惠康 2003)2.4. language and thinking in cross-cultural translationall of us have admitted a fact that language is the center of culture. meanwhile, we should recognize that the relationshi

34、p between culture and thinking is quite clear and effective each other. in the process of language learning, we have not only grasped the basic knowledge, but more importantly, absorbed the idea of what the language conveys. so in translation, the influence of thinking is directly embodied in langua

35、gelanguage gives expressions to the thinking. in particular, vocabulary can most sensitively reflect the change of social life and humans thoughts. when people intend to communicate with each other about something, they will first choose the proper words to organize this conversation. since language

36、 or vocabulary is greatly affected by its culture, the expression of language or vocabulary will definitely attach to the implication of culture and the meaning of what culture extends, and the application of vocabulary generally has something to do with the culture, politics, geography, religion, a

37、nd value tendency. in my opinion, when we undertake some translation jobs, we had better respect the thinking of what the original work transfers, and not change it in order to solely cater to readers tastes.the language spoken by a little kid will steer his way of observing and explaining the world

38、. considering that, we can summarize that the environment of culture directs the basic experience of handling affairs and the method of language communication. language and culture have a powerful guidance to our thinking activity on social problems and phenomena. no one lives in a closed world, and

39、 no one is contacting with motionless working surroundings. people always follow a society with which language, culture, and thinking are closely connected. the idea that language is only to solve the problem of communication and analyzing is decidedly one-sided. in fact, a real society is built on

40、certain habit of social language overall and there are no two languages that can instruct one society at the same time. one society with its own cultural background leads to one way of thinking, and the different way of thinking leads to a variety of language application. therefore, how to describe

41、the thinking of the original work is a key point to deal with the discrepancy of culture in translation. syntax chinese and english have a great difference in grammatical structure. in translation, how to correct a chinese sentence into an english sentence will go back to the connection of syntax an

42、d translation. (何善芬 2002) syntax serves translation with three contributive methods as followed: (1) exchange of word order, (2)sentence punctuation, (3) sentence transforming, (4) sentence compounding and sentence condensing.3.1. exchange of word order there is a great disparity on the structure of

43、 grammar between english and chinese. in the course of translation, we have to change the order of sentence components in original work. if we merely copy the word order of original work and totally ignore the rules or habit of translation text without any alternation, such inflexible text will be o

44、f course a laughingstock and against the purpose of translation, because it fails to make people understand what the paper tells. therefore, when we carry on a translation job, it is strongly recommended that the word order should be changed based on the language habit of translation text so that th

45、e translation text can be smoothly and enjoyably read on. for example: 1. from the moment they set on the territory of their motherland, they were warmly received by their compatriots. 正：从他们走上祖国土地的那一刻起，他们就受到同胞们的热情接待。 误：从那个时刻他们走上祖国土地起，他们就受到同胞们的热情接待。(order exchange of attributive clause) 2. cheerful,

46、efficient, and warm-hearted, they will do everything to make your journey smooth and comfortable. 正： 他们乐观，能干，热情，总是想方设法的使你路上顺利舒适。 误：乐观，能干，热情，他们总是想方设法的使你路上顺利舒适。(order exchange of adverbial clause)3. 她，一个瘦弱多病的女孩子，以他坚强的毅力写出一部部催人奋进的小说。正：a thin and weak girl susceptible to diseases, she wrote one inspirin

47、g novel after another with her strong will. 误：she, a thin and weak girl susceptible to diseases, wrote one inspiring novel after another with her strong will. (order exchange of appositive clause)4. 发生了这样的事不是你的错。 正：its not your fault that this has happened. 误：that this happened is not your fault. (o

48、rder exchange of subject clause) (汪福祥1998) from these examples, we can see that translation is not just a single process of word-to-word conversion; it requires grasping the sentence or paragraph with a macro-view. 3.2. sentence punctuatingin most cases, it is difficult for readers to analyze and un

49、derstand a long sentence in the process of english-chinese translation. the same thing happened in chinese-english translation too. hence, wed better divide a long sentence into several short parts so that a better understanding can be acquired. for example:1.there is now single accepted pronunciati

50、on for the vast majority of words in ordinary polite use, deviation from which is required either as a provincialism or as a vulgarism. 现在日常社交所用的大多数读音已有了一个公认的统一的标准，/ 不符和这个标准，就被称为方言或者俗语。(punctuating attributive clause)2.because the young man frequently came to this womans room, he was regarded as the

51、 mistresss lover. 这个小伙子经常来到太太的家。因此，别人都认为他是这女主人的情人。(punctuating adverbial clause)3.罗大方从警备司令部转到法院看守所作了三个月的牢，/ 虽然红润的面孔瘦了些，也百了些，但是丝毫看不出有受到挫折后的委靡和困顿，/ 他依然风趣横生，/ 大眼睛滴溜溜地闪动着，拳头不停地挥动着。 luo dafang had been transferred from the garrison headquarter to the lock-up of the district court, where his face was no l

52、onger as plump and ruddy as hitherto, this persecution had not left him downcast./ his spirits were as high as ever./ his big eyes sparkled and he shook his fists as he spoke. (punctuating adverbial clause and compound sentence)(冯庆华2002)translators feel hesitant to deal with a long sentence, because

53、 they do not know how to set about dividing it. we should first single out its subject, predicate, and object, then find out attributive and adverbial components. in this way, we can clearly hold the origin and development of a long sentence.3.3.sentence transforming in chinese, a noun phrase which

54、is used as an adverbial or an attribute often contains a rich semantic intention. usually, it is impossible to convert the content and form of an english phrase into outright chinese. under this circumstance, we have to keep the content instead of the form. in chinese, there are also many such phras

55、es, which are short but rich in meaning. so converting a short phrase to a sentence is necessary to construct a clear and coherent translation text. for example:1.a crashing thunderstorm, with thick rain hissing down from skies back as night, stopped victory henry from leaving the white house. 轰隆隆几声雷响，从漆黑的天空哗哗哗的下起雨来，维克多 亨利无法离开白宫。 (transforming the adverbial into a sentence)2.he had a sound feeling that idiom was the backbone of language and he was all for the racy phrases. 他感到习语是语言