翻译概论

翻译概论

一、名称解释

1

、

The

linguistic

turn---

Since

1950s,

some

linguists

paid

close

attention

to

the

issue

of

translation and published a series of works that were

fundamental to the translation studies, such

as

Introduction

to the

Theory

of

Translation

composed

by

A.V

.Fedorov

in

1953,

Les

problemes

theoriques

de

la

traduction

written

by

famous

French

linguist

Georges

Mounin

in

1963,

and

A

Linguistic

Theory

of

Translation:

An Essay

in

Applied Linguistics

composed

by d

in

1965. These researches were the representatives of the linguistic turn of the translation

in 1950s

and

1960s, which

lead

translation

from

the

technical

and

practical

studies

to

theoretical

studies

and started to explore the underlying issues such as the essence of translation.

2

、

Strictly speaking, in western world, the first translated work is the Latin version of Homer’s

epic Odyssey, which was translated by Andronicus in the middle of 3rd century from Greek.

3

、

The theologist and translator St. Jerome, who has translated numerous Greek theological works,

is named

“

the father of translation study

”

by today

’

s western translation scholars.

4

、

Luo Xinzhang summarized the process of the traditional translation as four key words, namely,

original text, fidelity, alikeness in spirit and perfection.

5

、

In

his

work

Contemporary

Translation

Theories

(2001)

,

Edwin

Gentzler

classified

contemporary translation theories into five schools as school of T training, T science school, early

T

research

School, Poly-system

and

deconstructivism,

all

of which

began

in the

mid-1960s

and

continue to be influential today.

6

、

Apart from the methods proposed by Nida to distinguish the meaning of the words,

also suggested that the meaning of the word could be classified as referential meaning, intralingual

meaning and pragmatic meaning.

7

、

Dynamic equivalence and formal equivalence are terms for methods of translation coined by

Eugene

Nida.

The

two

terms

have

often

been

understood

as

fundamentally

the

same

as

sense-for-sense

translation

and word-for-word

translation

respectively.

His

original

definition

of

dynamic equivalence was: the translator should translate so that the effect of the translation on the

target reader is roughly the same as the effect of the source text once was on the source reader.

Formal

equivalence

----

Formal

equivalence

attempts

to

render

the

text

word-for-word

(if

necessary, at the expense of natural expression in the target language). Formal equivalence focuses

attention on the message itself, in both form and content. It is concerned that the message in the

receptor

language(

译语

)should

match

as closely

as

possible

the

different

elements

in

the

source

language

（原语）

.

Dynamic equivalence --

- dynamic equivalence (also known as functional equivalence) attempts

to

convey

the

thought

expressed

in

a

source

text

(if

necessary,

at

the

expense

of

literalness,

original

word

order,

the

source

text's

grammatical

voice,

etc.).A

translation

of

dynamic

equivalence aims at complete naturalness of expression, and tries to relate the receptor to modes of

behavior relevant within the context of his own culture.

8

、

Semantic /Communicative Translation:

Semantic

T

ranslation---

It

was

proposed

by

Peter

·

Newmark

in

his

book

Approach

to

Translation

.

Semantic

translation

attempts

to

reproduce

the

precise

contextual

meaning

of

the

original

within

the

constraints

of

the

grammatical

structures

of the

target

language.

But

it

also

takes account of the aesthetic value of the source language.

Communicative

T

ranslation---

In communicative

translation,

the

translator

should

produce

the

same

effect

on

the

TL

readers

as

was

produced

by

the

original

on

the

SL

readers.

So

in

communicative

translation,

the

translator

has

greater

freedom

to

interpret

ST

and

will

consequently smooth over irregularities of style, remove ambiguities and even correct the author’s

factual errors.

9

、

rewriting---

This theory is proposed by Andre Lefevere in his work Translation, Rewriting and

Manipulation

of

Literary

Frame.

He

defines

translation

as

a

rewriting

of

original

text.

In

his

opinion, translation is not an isolated

activity. It serves a special purpose or many purposes at the

same

time

and

each

time

it

has

been

shaped

by

a

certain

force,

power

or

reason.

The

idea

of

translation as rewriting is that the translation is not merely a replacement or a reproduction of an

original text but as a rewriting also connected with poetics, power and ideology.

10

、

3 factors in rewriting

1)

Professionals

with

the

literary

system

including

critics

and

reviewers,

teachers

and

translators themselves.

2) Patronage

outside

the

literary

system:

the

powers

that can further

or

hinder

the

reading,

writing and rewriting of literature.

3) The poetics which is the dominant concept of what literature should be, or can be allowed

to be in a given society.

11

、

Skopos

theory---

The

Skopos

theory

is

an

approach

to

translation

put

forward

by

Hans

V

emeer

and

developed

in

Germany

in

the

late

1970s.

The

word

“Skopos”

is

from

Greek which

means

“

purpose

”

.

This

approach

to

translation

stresses

the

purpose

of

the

translation

and

determines the translation

strategies. It allows the possibility of the same text being translated in

different

ways

according

to

the

purpose

of

the

TT

and

the

commission

which

is

given

to

the

translator. Developed in Germany in the late 1970s, it reflects a general shift from predominantly

linguistic and rather formal translation theories to a more functionally and socioculturally oriented

concept of translation.

12

、

General rules in Skopos theory

1) Skopos rule: human action, including translation is determined by its purpose, for example

the clients

’

needs. The skopos is largely constrained by TT user and his/her situation and cultural

background.

2) Coherence rule: TT must be sufficiently coherent for the intended users to comprehend it,