On-E-C-Translation-of-American-Presidential-Inaugural-Addresses-美国总统就职演说词的汉译研究

iiiI.IntroductionAsweknow,Americaisaleadingcountryintoday’sworld,itspolicynomattertowarddomesticorabroadshouldbegivenmoreattention.However,AmericanpresidentialinauguraladdressesareanimportantpartofAmericapoliticallife,doingaresearchabouttheseaddressesisnecessaryforChinese,especiallyabouttheChinesetranslation,whichwillgiveChineseaccesstoknowAmericanpoliticaltendencyaswellasstrengthentwocountries’relationship.1.1TheDomesticandForeignSituationofResearch1.1.1Domesticsituationofresearch：ProfessorXuZhenzhongpublishedAHumbleOpinionaboutEnglishSpeechin1990,inthisarticle,firstlyhecomprehensivelysummarizedthevarietycategoryofspeechaswellasadvantagesanddisadvantagesofspeech,whichcomefromvariousschoolsindifferentwesterncountries.Thenheusedampleexamplesofrealspeechtocometoaconclusionthattheformalstylederivedfromwrittenstyleandtheinformalstylederivedfromspokenlanguagestyle,thefieldandtenorthatanoratorusedinhisspeechdeterminedthatspeechisaspokenlanguageanditisusedtomakeoralpresentationsatthemeetingoratamassrally.However,thespeechisusuallypreparedinadvance,fromthemodeitused,thespokenlanguageisanon-naturallanguageforitispossessedwiththefiguresofwrittenstyle.In1995,professorXupublishedanarticlenamedtheReligiousColorsofEnglishPoliticalSpeech.Inthispassage,theauthorsummarizedtheconcreteembodimentofreligiouscolorsineverypresident’sinauguraladdressesasthreetypes:thefirstone,beforethebeginningofthespeechthanksforGod’sgiftwhichhasbeenbestowedalreadyandattheendofthespeechpraysGodtoblesshiscountryunceasingly,thustheechobetweenbeginningandendingisformed.Thesecondone,directlyquotedfromBibletomakeanexplanationforthepresident’spointsofviewandcourseofpolicy.Thethirdone,fromtheperspectiveofreligiouspreaching.IngeneralthispassagehasmadegreathelpforthetranslatortotranslateAmericanpresidentialinauguraladdressesandthereadertounderstandit,inaddition,theotherwesternleaders’religiouscolorsininauguraladdresseshasalsobeeninvolvedattheendofpassage,whichmadethearticlemorecomprehensiveaswellasmorepersuasive.Butthepassagedidn’trefertothereasonswhyreligiouscolorswereformedininauguraladdresses,whichwouldmakethereaderwholackrelatedbackgroundpuzzled.ThroughthecomparisonofdifferenttranslationversionofAmericanpresidentialinauguraladdresses,professorWangXinfoundsomefaultsinChinese-Englishtranslationversionandhepointedoutthedifficultiesthattexttranslationpracticeandtranslationversionanalysishavefaced,first,thereexistednospecifictextthatcorrespondstheinauguraladdresses,aspecialtext.Second,fromtheperspectiveofphonetics,lexisandgrammaticalstructures,ChineselanguageandEnglishlanguageembodieddifferentstylefeature.Ofcourse,thereasonsofmakingthetranslationinappropriatearedifferent,butthemosthighlightedreasonisthedifferencesinculturalbackgrounds,lexis,grammaraswellasrhetoricalskills,amongthesereasons,professorWanggaveadeepanalysisaboutlexisthatrespectivelyfromthreeaspects,semantic,rhetoricalcolorandlogicofcorrelatives.ProfessorWang’sdiscussionwasofstrongpragmatism,butthedeficiencieswerethathedidn’tcomeupwithamethodtoreviseafterpointingouttheexistingproblems.DuringtheperiodofprofessorLuoYi’sresearchaboutthegenresofAmericanpresidentialinauguraladdresses,theresearchobjectivehasbeenextendedfrom1789to2001,thisimportantbreak-throughmadeamendsofpre-articles,whoseresearchrangewasnarrow,soithasagreatimprovementintermsofresearchsignificance,researchrangeaswellasresearchaccuracy.BeforeLuoYi,therewerefewerpassagesorarticlesthatmadeadiachronicresearchaboutAmericanpresidentialinauguraladdressesthroughcomparison,butLuoYi’spassagemadeupthisgapthroughtheexplorationoflanguagestyleandlanguagevarietyofAmericanPresidentialinauguraladdresses.Atthebeginningofhisarticle,LuoYiofferedthreehypothesis:1,Theselectionofaspeechisdeterminedbythespecificlanguagecontext,ithasthecharacteristicsofbothoralandwrittenEnglish.2,Forspecificpurposesinspecificoccasion,speechisdifferentfromdailydialogueintermsofitslanguageorganizationandmeansofexpression.3,From1789to2001,theAmericanpresidentialinauguraladdresshasstrideovermorethantwohundredyearsandcoupledwiththesocialprogressandeconomicdevelopment,thelanguageitselfwouldchangeaccordingly.1.1.2Foreignsituationofresearch：TheforeignresearchaboutAmericanpresidentialinauguraladdressesemphasizedonstylisticfeatures.George.A.Kennedyadoptedamethodnameddiscourseanalysistodoaresearchaboutcommunicativegoalsandintroducedstructureandrhetorictotheconstructionofinauguraladdresses’genres,heprovidedsomecluesaboutinauguraladdresses’researchbythewayofcombininggenresanalysiswithanalysisofinauguraladdresses,butinordertoanalyzeefficientlyaboutinauguraladdressesatspecificoccasionorbackgrounds,itisnecessarytoexpandtherangeofresearchratherthanrestricttotheanalysisofgenres.InNewHistoryofClassicalRhetoric(1994),George.A.Kennedymadearesearchaboutthearrangementofrhetoricandpointedoutthatintroductionandnarrationwerebestsuitableforspeech,foreachofthemhasitsownfunctionsandfeatures.In1999,inthepublicspeaking;strategiesforsuccess,DavidZarefskypointedoutthatspeechwasanartnotadisciplineandwhatmadeaspeechexcellentwasnotbecauseitfollowedcertainrulesbutbecauseitcancopewithspecificsituationefficiently,thus,DavidZarefsky’sresearchstillpaidmoreattentiontodiscourse,heheldthatapublicspeechisaprocessofmakingachoicebyhighlightingtheword“strategy”.ThisbooktookexamplesofAmericanpresidents’inauguraladdresses,suchaspresidentWashington,Jefferson,Lincoln,KennedyaswellasReagantoillustratethatthestrategyofspeechisjustachoice.Readingthroughthewholebook,itwaseasytofindthattheauthorlaidstressonlistener-orientationandadaptationofsituationrationally.Usingtherealexamplestotestifytheoryandusingtheorytoperfectrealexamplesarethemajorfeaturesofthisbook.Stylometryconsistsoflexis,sentences,rhetoricanddiscourse,however,thisbookonlyemphasizedtheinfluenceofsituationondiscoursewithoutinvolvinginotheraspects.InChinese,speechiscategorizedintoargumentation,whichbelongstoappliedwriting.However,inEnglish,therestillexistsdisputeaboutthecategoryofspeech.TheBritainscholarDavidCrystalandDerekDavy,intheircollaboratedwork,InvestigatingEnglishStyle,dividedEnglishvarietyintofiveaspects:thelanguageofreligion,thelanguageoflegaldocuments,thelanguageofconversation,thelanguageofnewspaperreportingandthelanguageofunscriptedcommentaryandtheyconsideredpresidentialinauguraladdressesasthelastcategory,thelanguageofunscriptedcommentary,forthereasonsthatintheiropinion,speechispossessedwithfeaturesofspokenlanguageanditisacompletelycolloquialform,butactuallyitisnotthewholestory,asweallknow,speechisdeliveredtothelistenersbytheoralform,butnotallspeechesaretheorators’impromptuutterance,mostpartsofthespeeches,especiallypoliticalspeecharepreparedcarefullyinadvancebytheoratorbeforeformalspeech.Uptonow,thefifty-sixAmericanpresidents’inauguraladdressesarepreviouslypreparedinwrittenform,sowhencategorizingthespeeches,thebookInvestigatingEnglishStyleignoredthatspeechalsopossessedthefeaturesofwrittenform,whichwasthedeficiencyofthisbook.1.2ThePurposeandSignificanceoftheThesisWiththedevelopmentoftechnology,oursocietymakesapacetowardsmoredemocratic,morescientificandmoreliberal.Therightofspeechgraduallygainedmoreandmoreattention,asthemanuscriptdeliveredattheimportantoccasionormassrally--thespeech,whichplaysanimportantroleinpoliticallifeofthepublic.TaketheAmericapresidentialinauguraladdressesasanexample,itnotjustfocusesonsomecertainpublicfiguresbutitisrelatedtoeveryAmericancitizen.BeinganepitomeoftheUnitedStates,itcoversalltheaspectsofAmericansociallife.Americaisthebiggestpowerfulcountryintoday’sworld,itwillmakeinfluencesonothercountriesmoreorlessasthereexistanymovement,thusitiseasyforustomakeacomprehensiveunderstandingofAmerica,especiallyitsforeignpolicyifwedoadeepresearchaboutthetranslationofAmericanpresidentialinauguraladdresses.ChinaisthebiggestdevelopingcountryintheworldanditsdevelopmentwithAmericaisinseparable,soasaChinese,tomaketherelationsbetweenthetwocountriesdevelopsmoothly,havinganacquaintancewithAmericanhistory,politicsaswellaseconomicbackgroundisnecessary.Howeverthepresidentialinauguraladdressesreflectthesocialideologyandallaspectsofpoliticallifeataspecifichistoricalsituation,sodoingaresearchabouttheChinesetranslationisofsignificance.IITheCharacteristicsofthePresidentialInauguraladdresses2.1LexicalfeaturesWordisagrammaticalunitwhichislessthanasentence,thispaperwilldoaresearchfromtheaspectofword.Lexicalwordsrefertothosewhichhavelexicalmeaning,thatis,thosewhichrefertosubstance,actionandquality.Thelexicalwordscarrythemaincontentofalanguage,sothelexicalwordsarealsocalledcontentwords.Astolexicalfeatures,differentstylehasdifferentlexicalfeatures.HereIjusttaketheinauguraladdressesasanexampletodiscussitslexicalfeatures.2.1.1TheuseofbigwordWordisaunitofexpressiondespiteinorallanguageorwrittenlanguage.peoplewhospeaksnativelanguagehasaintuitiveabilityoflanguageidentification.Thewordofdailydialogueiscasualandsimple,thelawdocumentisstrictandaccurate,theofficialdocumentisformal,thediplomaticwordisserious.Therefore,thechoiceofworddependsoncommunicationpurpose,communicationoccasion,individualstyleofspeakeraswellasotherfactors.ThroughthereadingofAmericaninauguraladdresses,itiseasytofindthattheuseofbigwordisfrequent,suchas“bestow,grievance,emanate,civility,apathy,momentum,enterprise,bicentennial,accumulate,triumph,maneuver,proliferateThereasonsareasfollow:Firstly,Americaninauguraladdressesisexpressedbyoralformanditincludesjustseveralthousandwords,butintermsofinauguraladdressitself,itcoversmanyaspects,forexample,politics,economy,culture,religionandhistory.Itistheorator’scarefulpreparationbeforemakingaspeech,everyword,everysentenceischosencarefullyandstrictly.Soinalargesense,itispossessedwithwrittenlanguagecharacteristics.However,thebigworditselfiscomplicatedasforstructure,whichjustmeettheneedsofaddresses’tonethatisformalandstrict.Secondly,withthedevelopmentofnewtechnology,thelistenerofAmericaninauguraladdressesisnolongerlimitedtotheAmericalocalcitizens.Theculturalbackground,thelifeexperience,thereligiousbeliefamongthelistenersaredifferentandtheinauguraladdressesisnotjustdesignedforsomecertaintypesofpeople,sothechoiceofitswordandsentenceshouldmeetthedemandsofalldifferentclassessothatitcanshowthewordanewandvigorousimageaswellasreceivethelocalcitizens’support.Lastly,inauguraladdressesisthebestplatformforthenewly-selectedpresidenttostatehispoliticalopinion.Thereisnodoubtthataneloquent,passionateandlogicalnewpresidentwillgetthesupportandrespectofhiscitizens.2.1.2TheuseofpronounSuperficially,inauguraladdressesisjustasingleprocessofconvey,butactuallyitisnot,theinteractionbetweenlistenerandspeakerisparticularofgreatimportance.Ifthespeakerwouldliketocatchthelisteners’attentionandgettheirsupport,thebestwayistoletthelistenersfeelthattheyarenotjustareceiverbutaparticipator.So,duringtheprocessofmakingaspeech,itiseasyforustofindsomepronounssuchas“I”“We”whichareappliedtocreateaneffectofinteractionbetweenthespeakerandlisteners.Generallyspeaking,thefirstperson“I”“Me”“We”“Us”“Our”areusedfrequentlyandthesecondperson“You”“Yours”arelessfrequent,asforthethirdperson“He”“She”“They”“Them”arerarelyused.Theonepurposeofpresidentialinauguraladdressesistostatethepresident’spoliticalopiniontothepublicandintroducehimselftothepublicaswellasgivethepublicachancetounderstandhimself.Sothefirstperson(I,Me)isoftenusedduringtheprocessofaspeech.Thewords“we,us”playasignificantpartinmakingaspeech,fromtheliteralmeaning,“we”isaconceptthatisreferredtotwoaspects,thatisthespeakerandthelistener.Whenthespeakerreferredto“we”,thepsychologicaldistancebetweenhimandthelistenerisgraduallynarrowed,thelistenerwillhaveafeelingthattheyarealwayswiththepresidentsidebysideandtheyarecloselyrelatedtothepresident’severydecision.So,thelisteners’attentionwillbeattractedimmediatelyandtheirpassionwillbemotivatedatthesametime,itstrengthensthepersuasivenessandinfectiousnessoftheaddresses.Inaddition,“we”isaeuphemisticexpressionthatrequiresthelistenerstotakeactionsornotandreceiveacertainopinionornot,whichgiveusaclearideathatallnewly-selectedpresidentsarebecomingmoreandmoreawareoftheimportanceofthecommonpeople.Getclosetothem,narrowthedistanceamongthem,makethepresidenthimselfstandinthecommonsandbecomeamemberofthemarevitaltothecitizens’support,therefortheuseoffirstpersonespeciallyitsplusbecomesoneofthestrategiestochooseword.Thesecondperson“you”oftenrefertothelistenerinthepresidentialinauguraladdresses,whenthespeakersmentions“you”,therewillbeafeelingthatthelistenerisattachedimportancewhichstrengthenhissenseofparticipation.However,thepronounof“you”sometimesmakespeoplefeeluncomfortable,ifusedinappropriately,itwillmakeabadeffectonthelisteners,sothesecondperson“you”isusedlessfrequentlyininauguraladdresses.Thethirdperson“they,them”oftenrefertothepersonorpresidentthatmentionedinthepreviouscontext,weallknowthatthemaincontentofinauguraladdressesisthenewly-selectedpresidentwhogivethepublicanopinionorstrategyaboutthecurrentsituation,somemorizingtheancestorsjusttakealittleproportioninthespeech.2.1.3NominalizationThereexistsmuchnominalizationinAmericanpresidentialinauguraladdresses,theselanguagedifferenceswillcausemuchdifficultiestothelanguagelearnersintheprocessofunderstandinginauguraladdresses,soitisessentialtodoadeepanalysisaboutnominalization.原文：Sowithallthecreativeenergyatourcommandletusbeginaneraofnationrenewal.[8]P141原文中名词化部分为:“command”如使用其动词形式可改写为：1.Sowecommandallthecreativeenergy,letusbeginaneraofnationrenewal.Boththeoriginalsentenceandthesentence1havetherelationofcauseandeffectintermsoftheirmainclauseandsubordinateclause,thedifferenceisthatinoriginalsentence,thespeakerisstatinghisownopinion.Infact,“creativeenergyatourcommand”itselfisthespeaker’sindividualopinion,butthroughnominalization,thespeakerconveyshispoliticalopinioninahiddenway,whichisbenefittostrengthenthepersuasivenessofspeech.2.2SemanticFeaturesWhethercangetthelisteners’recognizationisoneofthefactorsthatinfluencethespeech’ssuccessorfailure.Anexcellentspeakerwilldoasurveyaboutthelisteners’mentalitycarefullybeforestartinghisspeechandsticktotheprincipleoflistener--orientationaswellastrydifferentcreativeskillsofspeechcontinually.2.2.1loosesentenceInloosesentence,themaincontentandviewpointshouldbeputintothebeginningofasentence.Ininauguraladdresses,the“loose”actuallymeanstheorator’sthinkingislesslimitedduringtheprocessofcreation,histhinkingisjustinarelaxstate.Asthemainopinionisexpressed,thefollowingmodifiableconstituentcanbeasmuchaspossible,whichwillleavethelisteneralotofimaginationandtheirthoughtwillnotbeburdenedwithmoreinformationofmodifiableconstituent.2.2.2periodicsentenceDifferfromloosesentence,theperiodicsentenceputthemaincontentintotheendingofasentence.Ifthelistenerswanttounderstandthesentencecompletely,theymustwaitthespeakertofinishthewholesentence,sotherewillbesomedifficultiesinunderstandingasentenceifthemodifiablepartsaretoolong,butifthemodifiablepartscanbedealtwithappropriately,itwillformsuspensethatmakethelisteners’thoughtisinthesamedirectionofthespeaker.Addmorediversity,avoidtedium.例如：NoPresident,nogovernment,canteachustorememberwhatisbestinwhatweare.[8]P161Herethespeakerusesthestrategyof先扬后抑,heseemstodenyhimselfsuperficially,butactuallyheadvocatesthenationalspiritoffreedomanddemocracy.Itgivesthelistenersafeelingthattheyareequaltothepresident,afriendlyimageofthepresidentwillcomeintoshapeincitizens’heartautomatically.IIIAnalysesofThreePresidents’FirstInauguralAddresses3.1CommentsonthetranslationofpresidentKennedy’sfirstinauguraladdressesKennedy(1917--1963)Bornin1917inBrooklynofMassachusetts,KennedywasthefirstAmericanpresidentwhoborninthetwentiethcentury.In1960,hebeatNixonandsuccessfullytookthepositionofAmericanthirty-fifthpresident.Kennedy’sinauguraladdresseshasbeenregardedasoneofthemostexcellentaddressesinAmericanhistory.Thetypicalsentences"Letusnevernegotiateoutoffear,butletusneverfeartonegotiate”“Andso,myfellowAmericans:asknotwhatyourcountrycandoforyou-askwhatyoucandoforyourcountry.Myfellowcitizensoftheworld:asknotwhatAmericawilldoforyou,butwhattogetherwecandoforthefreedomofman”[24]P138[24]P1381.Andyetthesamerevolutionarybeliefsforwhichourforebearsfoughtarestillatissuearoundtheglobe--thebeliefthattherightsofmancomenotfromthegenerosityofthestatebutfromthehandofGod.[8]P169译文一：然而，人的权利不是认证的恩赐而是上帝的给予这一信念，这一历代先辈为之奋斗的革命信念，在全球各地却仍然毁誉纷坛，存亡未卜。[17]P211译文二：然而，我们祖先为之战斗的这同一革命信念，仍然围绕着地球在争论—这个信念就是：人类的权利并非来自政府的慷慨施舍，而是来自上帝的亲手赠送。[21]P198译文三：但我们的祖先为之奋斗的那些革命信念，在世界各地仍有争论，这个信念就是：人类的权利并非来自国家的慷慨，而是来自上帝的恩赐。[19]Fromtheperspectiveofthewholestructure,thesecondandthirdversionareinlinewithsequenceoftheoriginaltext.Thefirstversionputtheappositiveclausewhichisfollowedafterthedashtothebeginningofthesentence,inoriginaltext,thedashdividesthewholesentenceintotwopartsandtheirsubjectsare“thesamerevolutionarybelief”and“thebelief”respectively,butinfact,thetwosubjectsrefertothesameconcept.Inoriginaltext,Kennedyfirstlystatesthecurrentsituationof“belief”andthenstatestheconnotationof“belief”,onlyinthissequenceofdiscoursecanitconformtothethinkingmodeofwesterners.However,Chinesereaderstendtoinductionratherthantheinferentialthinkingmode.Thesecondandthirdversion,thoughconformtothesequenceoforiginaltext,butatthesametime,theyimposethewesternthinkingmodeonChinesereaders,whichwillmaketheChinesereadersconfused.Thefirsttranslationfirstlymakecleartheconnotationofbeliefandthengivethereaderachancetoknowwhatisthecontentandstatethecurrentsituation,thistranslationapproachisinlinewiththeChinesereaders’thinkinghabitswhichmakethetranslationmoreunderstandableandfluent.3.2CommentsonthetranslationofpresidentNixon’sfirstinauguraladdressesNixon(1913--1994)Bornin1913inCalifornia,Nixonwasthethirty-seventhpresident,heendeduptheVietnamWarsuccessfully,in1974,hewasforcedtoresignbecauseofWatergateScandal.ThishonornowbeckonsAmerica--thechancetohelpleadtheworldatlastoutofthevalleyofturmoilandontothathighgroundofpacethatmanhasdreamedofsincethedawnofcivilization.[8]P135译文一：现在这份殊荣正向美国招手，因为它领导世界走出动乱的幽谷，进入有文明以来梦寐以求的人类和平的高原的机会已经到来[15]P311[15]P311译文二：这一荣誉现在正在召唤美国--这是领导世界最终脱离动乱的幽谷，走向自文明开端以来人类一直梦寐以求的和平高坛的一个机会。[19]P150Inoriginaltext,thedashservesasthefunctionofexplanation,“honor”infactisthereferenceof“chance”,theytwoarethesamerelations.Thefirsttranslationuses“因为”tosubstitutethedashoforiginaltext,whichmakestherelationsofthewholecontextmoreclear,thelogicalitymorerigorous.Thesecondversionuses“这是”tofollowtheprecedingparagraphsandintroducethesequel.Thesetwotranslationshavethesameessenceindealingwiththedash.Astothetranslationof“outofonto...”,thefirstversion使用“走出...进入”“一出一进”thetwoverbscorrelatetoeachothertoformasenseofcompactinspace.Comparedwiththefirstversion,thesecondversion“脱离...走向...”isnotasfluentasthefirstversion.Whentranslatedthewords“valley”and“highground”,thetwoversionsuses“幽谷，高原”and“幽谷，高坛”respectively,theformerarethepropernounsingeography,highandlow,creatingagapinspace.Thelatter,though,alsohasthesameeffectofexpression,buttheword“高坛”makesanconcreteobjectiveabstract,whichisnotaproperwayoftranslation.Theweaknessoffirstversionliesinthemis--translationofthephraseof“atlast”andtheattributeclause“梦寐以求的人类和平的高原机会已经到来”istoolongthatcausesitsstructureisdisorderedandisn’tlinewiththeorderoforiginaltext,“已经到来”isjustthetranslator’sadditionwhichisnotnecessary.3.3CommentsonthetranslationofpresidentReagan’sinauguraladdressesReagan(1913-2004)Borninlllinoisin1913andstartedhispoliticalcareerin1966.Heeventuallywonthepresidentialnominationin1980aswellasgainedthepositionofAmericanfortiethpresident.AftertheWWII,theAmericaneconomywasstagnantwhichmademanyworkersunemployed,inordertosolvethisproblem,Reaganputforwardthefamouseconomyrecoveryplan,stimulatingeconomicgrowth,achievingremarkableresults.Duringhisregime,heexpandedthearmsactivelyandputforwardStrategicDefenseInitiativethatastonishedthewholeworld.“Withtheidealismandfairplaywhicharethecoreofoursystemandourstrength,wecanhaveastrongandprosperousAmericaatpacewithitselfandtheworld.[8]P141译文一：只要坚持构成我们我们制度核心的理想主义和公正主义，就能建立一个自身稳定而且能与全世界和平共处的强大，繁荣的美国。[15]P332[15]P332译文二：我们制度和力量的核心是理想主义和公正态度，有了这些，我们就能建立起强大，繁荣，国内稳定并同全世界和平相处的美国。[23]P234“With”isanindependentstructureinoriginalsentence,thefirstversionadoptsfreetranslationandaddconjunction“只要...就...”,whichmakesthewholesentenceintooneentirety.Thesecondversionusesliteraltranslationtotranslateitinto“有了这些”,thistranslationisnotaccurate,thefirstversiontranslates“fairplay”into“主义”,whilethesecondversiontranslatesitinto“态度”.Asweknow,“主义”meansacertainofviewpointortheory,“态度”meanstheevaluationandactiontendencyofanobjectwhicharebasedonmoraloutlookandvalues,sothechoiceofwordinfirsttranslationisnotappropriate,inaddition,astothetranslationofattributeclause,Chinesetranslationmis-translated“ourstrength”3.4TheProblemsexistingintranslationAccordingtothecomparisonoftwoChineseversions,itiseasytofindthatthetranslationisalmostconformtotheoriginaltext,butduetothevariousdifferencesonlanguageorculturalaspects,theproblemsintranslationstillcan’tbeavoided.Amongalltheproblems,therearethreeproblemsthataremostobviousandserious,theyareimpropertranslation,over-translation,mis-translation.3.4.1ImpropertranslationTakingtheEnglishword“die”asanexample,thebasicChinesemeaningis“死”,butthereareotherexpressionabout“死”inChinese,suchas“猝，亡，故，去世，归西，圆寂，一命呜呼，与世长辞，寿终正寝...”so,thedifferencesbetweentwolanguagerequirethetranslatortohaveanabilitytodealwiththetargetlanguageonthebaseofhavingarightunderstandingoftheoriginaltext.原文：Inthrowingwidethehorizonsofspace,wehavediscoverednewhorizonsonearth.[8]P135译文：在广泛的太空探测中，我们也发现了地球的新领域。[15]P311TheChinesetranslation“地球的新领域”isambiguous,fromtheprep“on”,wecanknow新领域is“on”earth,inaddition,thecollocationbetween“广泛”and“探测”isnotproper.Myversionis“由于广泛开辟了太空天地，我们在地球上也发现了新的天地。”3.4.2Over-translationItishardtofindtheexactexpressionintargetlanguagefortranslation,inotherwords,theoriginalauthorandthetranslatortendtohaveadifferenthabitoflanguageexpression.原文：United,thereislittlewecannotdoinahostofcooperativeventures.Divided,thereislittlewecando--forwedarenotmeetapowerfulchallengeatoddsandsplitasunder.[8]P129译文：只要我们携手并肩，共谋万业，我们几乎能无事不成；如果我们一盘散沙，那简直就无事能成。面对咄咄逼人的凌厉挑战，我们怎敢反复争论不休，各自独守一隅？[17]P211Inoriginaltext,Kennedyusesomission,thenormalsentenceshouldbe“ifweareunited...,ifwearedivided...”Takingthebackgroundintoconsideration,thisomissionshowstheintimaterelationsbetweenAmericaanditsoldallies.Thewholeinauguraladdressesdeveloparoundsixdifferentobject’scommitment.OnlyinthepromisetooldalliesdidKennedyuseomission.Nowlet’smovetothetranslation,itistranslatedaccordingtothenormalsentence,complementedtheomittedparts,withoutdoubt,itmakesmoreconvenienttothereader.Butiftheomittedpartsarenotaddedup,theunderstandingoforiginalsentencewillnotbeinfluenced,either.Myversion,translate“united”and“divided”into“团结一致”和“一盘散沙”respectively,thatistosay,translationismorecommunicationbetweenthoughtsthanconvertbetweenwords.3.4.3Mis-translationMis-translationisaincorrectevendistortedtranslationduetothetranslator’smisunderstandingoforiginaltex