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1.Introduction of Text and Translation
Text,according to Halliday and Hasan(1976),is colloquial or written language in any length with complete meaning.Words and sentences are related with and depend on each other to express meaning in a text.Therefore,the translation of a text equals to recognition and restructuring of the source text to a large extent.
2.Introduction of Personal Reference
Cohesion,put forward by Halliday(2000),a semantic relationship connecting all constituents that are irrelative in textual structure while can’t be separated in meaning,is a method to deliver textual function.It can be divided into two categories:lexical cohesion and grammatical cohesion.Reference belongs to the latter one and can be divided into exophoric reference and endophoric reference,which can be further classified into anaphoric reference and cataphoric reference.
There are three ways in reference,including personal reference,demonstrative reference and comparative reference.Due to the limitation of length,the author will only elaborate on personal reference,which means the application of personal pronouns in a text to achieve cohesion.
3.Differences of Personal Reference between Chinese and English
3.1 Differences in Word Formation
There are numerous similarities shared by English and Chinese personal pronouns.However,some differences also need to be paid attention to.
In English,variations in form can represent gender,number and case of almost all personal pronouns.However,there is no change in form in different case of personal pronouns in Chinese.Moreover,the third person singulars of English and Chinese have different forms representing different genders.In addition,the third person plural of English doesn't have that changes,while that of Chinese has different forms.
3.2 Differences in Usage
According to the previous researches on usage of personal reference in English and Chinese,it is obviously that the personal pronouns are far more frequently used in English than in Chinese.For instance:
(1).When I was fourteen,I earned money in the summer by cutting lawns,and I had built up a body of customers within a few weeks.
(2).我掀開帘子,看见一个小姑娘,只有八九岁光景,0瘦瘦的苍白的脸,0冻得发紫的嘴唇,0头发很短,0穿一身很破旧的衣裤,0光脚穿一双草鞋,0正在登上竹凳去摘墙上的听话器,看见我似乎吃了一惊,0把手缩了回来。
In the example(1),the first-person pronoun "I" is frequently used to ensure natural cohesion of the text,while in example(2),most first-person pronoun and second-person pronoun are omitted,which is called zero anaphoric,to make the text coherent by conforming to regulations of Chinese.This is a prominent distinction in personal reference between English and Chinese:English users prefer to use personal pronouns while Chinese users tend to omit these pronouns as many as possible. In addition to omit the personal pronouns,the Chinese always use the method of using the same noun or synonym to repeat the subject word.In contrary,the English prefers to use personal pronouns to replace the noun for avoiding repetition.For example:
(3).A big nation has its problems while a small nation had its advantages.
(4).译文:大国有大国的问题,而小国则有小国的有利条件。
When looking at the source text in example(3),we can find that the pronoun "its" is used to refer to "nation's",while the subject "國(家)" in the target text in example(4)is repeated.
Apart from differences mentioned above,there is another one should be noticed.In English both anaphoric reference and cataphoric reference are used,which can be demonstrated in example(5)and example(6):
(5).I bought a dress yesterday.It is beautiful.
(6).This is the dress I bought yesterday.
These two sentences are both correct and the first sentence belongs to anaphoric reference as the referent appears in the former sentence while the second one cataphoric as the referent appears in following part.However,it is agreed that the cataphoric reference is not in line with the usages and regulations of Chinese.For example:
(7).他看见了小李的妈妈。
(8).他的妈妈看见了小李。
The word "他” in all sentences can’t refer to"小李",and "小李in each sentence,which clearly shows this difference.
4.The Application of These Differences in Translation
Differences of personal reference in English and Chinese pose challenge to secure equivalent translation.Therefore,cohesion of the target text can be achieved only if a translator understands these differences and applies them in translation.For example:
(10).My uncle made a great effort to control himself....“ He was the only brother that I ever had,” he added,but with no heart in his voice.Then he picked up his spoon and started eating again,but he was still shaking.
(11).译:我伯伯费了很大的劲才控制住0自己。“他是我生平唯一的弟弟,”他又说。但是0语调中却没有一点儿感情。接着,他拿起0勺子继续吃,0仍旧在发抖。
There are personal pronouns---"he","himself" and "his",in example(10),while many of them are omitted in example(11)as personal reference is not common in Chinese.
From all examples given above,it is necessary for a translator to take the different usages of personal reference of English and Chinese into consideration and choose appropriate translation methods according to specific contextual circumstantial.
5.Conclusion
Personal reference plays a crucial part in achieving equivalent translation.As it was used in different ways in English and Chinese,a qualified translator should grasp its regulations of both source language and target language.
List of References
[1] Halliday & M.A.K.An Introduction to Functional Grammar [M].Beijing:Foreign Language Teaching and Researching Press,2000.
[2] Halliday,M.A.K & Hasan,R.Cohesion in English [M].London:Longman,1976.
[3] 王淼.英汉人称照应对比及翻译[J].文学教育,2013(9):126-127.
[4] 王裕坤&汪先锋.英汉语篇中内指照应衔接方式的对比分析[J].学术界,2010(7):151-157.
[5] 杨林.英汉语篇翻译中人称照应衔接的差异与重构[J].商场现代化,2008(33):393-395
作者简介
陈杨(1994.08-今),女,汉族,四川宜宾,硕士研究生,研究方向:商务英语研究
(作者单位:西南财经大学经贸外语学院)
Text,according to Halliday and Hasan(1976),is colloquial or written language in any length with complete meaning.Words and sentences are related with and depend on each other to express meaning in a text.Therefore,the translation of a text equals to recognition and restructuring of the source text to a large extent.
2.Introduction of Personal Reference
Cohesion,put forward by Halliday(2000),a semantic relationship connecting all constituents that are irrelative in textual structure while can’t be separated in meaning,is a method to deliver textual function.It can be divided into two categories:lexical cohesion and grammatical cohesion.Reference belongs to the latter one and can be divided into exophoric reference and endophoric reference,which can be further classified into anaphoric reference and cataphoric reference.
There are three ways in reference,including personal reference,demonstrative reference and comparative reference.Due to the limitation of length,the author will only elaborate on personal reference,which means the application of personal pronouns in a text to achieve cohesion.
3.Differences of Personal Reference between Chinese and English
3.1 Differences in Word Formation
There are numerous similarities shared by English and Chinese personal pronouns.However,some differences also need to be paid attention to.
In English,variations in form can represent gender,number and case of almost all personal pronouns.However,there is no change in form in different case of personal pronouns in Chinese.Moreover,the third person singulars of English and Chinese have different forms representing different genders.In addition,the third person plural of English doesn't have that changes,while that of Chinese has different forms.
3.2 Differences in Usage
According to the previous researches on usage of personal reference in English and Chinese,it is obviously that the personal pronouns are far more frequently used in English than in Chinese.For instance:
(1).When I was fourteen,I earned money in the summer by cutting lawns,and I had built up a body of customers within a few weeks.
(2).我掀開帘子,看见一个小姑娘,只有八九岁光景,0瘦瘦的苍白的脸,0冻得发紫的嘴唇,0头发很短,0穿一身很破旧的衣裤,0光脚穿一双草鞋,0正在登上竹凳去摘墙上的听话器,看见我似乎吃了一惊,0把手缩了回来。
In the example(1),the first-person pronoun "I" is frequently used to ensure natural cohesion of the text,while in example(2),most first-person pronoun and second-person pronoun are omitted,which is called zero anaphoric,to make the text coherent by conforming to regulations of Chinese.This is a prominent distinction in personal reference between English and Chinese:English users prefer to use personal pronouns while Chinese users tend to omit these pronouns as many as possible. In addition to omit the personal pronouns,the Chinese always use the method of using the same noun or synonym to repeat the subject word.In contrary,the English prefers to use personal pronouns to replace the noun for avoiding repetition.For example:
(3).A big nation has its problems while a small nation had its advantages.
(4).译文:大国有大国的问题,而小国则有小国的有利条件。
When looking at the source text in example(3),we can find that the pronoun "its" is used to refer to "nation's",while the subject "國(家)" in the target text in example(4)is repeated.
Apart from differences mentioned above,there is another one should be noticed.In English both anaphoric reference and cataphoric reference are used,which can be demonstrated in example(5)and example(6):
(5).I bought a dress yesterday.It is beautiful.
(6).This is the dress I bought yesterday.
These two sentences are both correct and the first sentence belongs to anaphoric reference as the referent appears in the former sentence while the second one cataphoric as the referent appears in following part.However,it is agreed that the cataphoric reference is not in line with the usages and regulations of Chinese.For example:
(7).他看见了小李的妈妈。
(8).他的妈妈看见了小李。
The word "他” in all sentences can’t refer to"小李",and "小李in each sentence,which clearly shows this difference.
4.The Application of These Differences in Translation
Differences of personal reference in English and Chinese pose challenge to secure equivalent translation.Therefore,cohesion of the target text can be achieved only if a translator understands these differences and applies them in translation.For example:
(10).My uncle made a great effort to control himself....“ He was the only brother that I ever had,” he added,but with no heart in his voice.Then he picked up his spoon and started eating again,but he was still shaking.
(11).译:我伯伯费了很大的劲才控制住0自己。“他是我生平唯一的弟弟,”他又说。但是0语调中却没有一点儿感情。接着,他拿起0勺子继续吃,0仍旧在发抖。
There are personal pronouns---"he","himself" and "his",in example(10),while many of them are omitted in example(11)as personal reference is not common in Chinese.
From all examples given above,it is necessary for a translator to take the different usages of personal reference of English and Chinese into consideration and choose appropriate translation methods according to specific contextual circumstantial.
5.Conclusion
Personal reference plays a crucial part in achieving equivalent translation.As it was used in different ways in English and Chinese,a qualified translator should grasp its regulations of both source language and target language.
List of References
[1] Halliday & M.A.K.An Introduction to Functional Grammar [M].Beijing:Foreign Language Teaching and Researching Press,2000.
[2] Halliday,M.A.K & Hasan,R.Cohesion in English [M].London:Longman,1976.
[3] 王淼.英汉人称照应对比及翻译[J].文学教育,2013(9):126-127.
[4] 王裕坤&汪先锋.英汉语篇中内指照应衔接方式的对比分析[J].学术界,2010(7):151-157.
[5] 杨林.英汉语篇翻译中人称照应衔接的差异与重构[J].商场现代化,2008(33):393-395
作者简介
陈杨(1994.08-今),女,汉族,四川宜宾,硕士研究生,研究方向:商务英语研究
(作者单位:西南财经大学经贸外语学院)