Chapter 1 Basic Concepts of Translation 4.邓先生原本立志在去年成出满十本书。 5.许多人会对我外纯的急罐变化不能近应 6我想少不了要挨顿打骂，格后秦铺盖走路，但经理即十分平静。 7.旅凑的日子，地醉心于画画，作的主题依丛是她一生竹最爱：岸陆」 8。他与夫人种装的是。回归家庭生活， 9,单身者不能免除其社会青任，但是某西社会对单身女性却相与不 友。 0,这本书提供给你一个参哈。它不能引导你交向未来，但即会提醒你 一些潜在的危险及可能出现的问题
Chapter 2 Some Comparisons between English and Chinese In the previous chapter we discussed some basic concepts and issucs of translation.Before we get into the practical skills,however,we still need to understand a bit more about the process.Since most of the problems encountered in translation are caused by the differences between the languages involvedin this case,Chinese and English-some comparisons will be helpful in finding more precise and effective solutions.Of course, comparison means looking at both similarities and differences,since no translation is possible if the two languages have nothing in common.The purpose of this comparison is to identify the differences and similarities at various levels: .pronunciation and writing systcms 。words sentence structures or syntax .discourse structures In this chapter,we will briefly compare the two languages on these four levels but will focus on those that have a direct bearing on translation.A full comparison falls outside the scope of this book
Chapter 2 Some Comparisons between English and Chinese Pronunciation and Writing Systems There are many differences between Chinese and English.For example. Chinese is strictly monosyllabic (one word/one character/one syllable). English is both monosyllabic and polysyllabic (one word/several syllables): Chinese has four tones,English has none.If a writer of Chinese employs these specific features to express meaning,the translation of the text will become extremely difficult.if not impossible.For example,Chinese tongue-.twisters are untranslatable:四十四只石w子can be translated for pure meaning into "forty-four stone lions"but the"tongue-twisting"part represented by the pronunciation of the characters is impossible to convey. As soon as sounds become part of the central meaning.the text becomes virtually untranslatable.Such different sound systems mean that the transator must sometimes pay specaatetotransliteration(rendering only the sounds)and to the rendering of rhyme and rhythm Transliteration is mostly used for names of people,places and products. In the past it was also used for new words,for instance,德律风for"tele- phone,"and"kowtow"for.This is now less common. The difference in sound systems also makes the exact transliteration of words impossible.as there isno way to convey the four Chinese tones in English.The names王洪宝and王供豹are phonetically both written“Wang Hongbao”even though the characters宝and豹have completely different tones.People's and place names in Chinese are transliterated syllable for syllable into English,asin"Bcijing”(北京)arnd“Cao Xueqin'"(喜雪芹)， but the reverse is not necessarily true:"San Francisco"has four syllables, but it is translated as (three characters,with the last character serving both as an approximate sound equivalence and also rendering the meaning "city").Of course,the numbers of syllables are often identical:"Denver" becomes丹佛and“Rena"冠.Some sounds don't exist in Chinese at al,such as the“h"in"Martha“which becomes玛花，wih秒a phonetic
Introduction to Chinese-English Translation approximation.A table of English sounds with their Chinese equivalents (See Appendix in The English-Chinese Dictionary)can be used to achieve a measure of consistency in transliteration. An area that is often neglected is the use of rhyme and rhythm,and a writer often reviews and edits his own work on the basis of fluency,sound, and rhythm.All languages take these into account,since communication very often includes more elements than merely pure meaning.In poetry,for example,the lines are written down,yet how they sound is just as important s what they mean,and sometimes even more so,since the soul of poetry is rhyme and rhythm.It is also interesting to note that speakers of various languages re spond similarly to the effect of nd For example,repetition is ofenay ing If"jingle bells"is repeated too many times,the result is monotonous,so the song's lyrics vary the formula:"ingle bells,jingle bells,jingle all the way. Understanding the differences between Chinese and English is extremely important to the translator.An effective way to do so is by using the concepts of hypotaris and parataxis.Parataris means a rhetorical and syntactic arrangement in which clauses are placed together in a series without subordination or obvious links:我们唱联，我们跳舞，我们狂 Hyporaris,on the other hand,involves the syntactie subordination of one clause to another:"As we ran,we sang and told jokes."English is a hypotactic language,Chinese a paratactic one.In some ways,this can be traced to their different rhymes and rhythms.A hypotactic language,like English,sceks a close-knit structure and concise meaning and therefore may sacrifice rhyme and rhythm.Consider the following example:"A new kind of aircrafsmall,cheap.pilotless-is attracting increasing attention."If the translation follows the source text's form strictly,it will become 新型飞机一体积小，便宜、无人驾驶一正在引起越来越多人的注 but if we take into account the rhythm that is so essential in Chinese.we will change things:便宜will become造价低，which is both more accurate 20
Chapter 2 Some Comparisons between English and Chinese in meaning and has three characters like The result is far more pleasing to the ear:一种新型飞机正在引起越来越多人的注意，这是一种体积小. 造价低的无人驾驶型飞机 Though we frequently make the mistake of thinking that rhyme and rhythm are only important to poets and do not apply to other types of writing,the paratactic nature of Chinese is apparent in other types of texts as well.Many novice translators working from English to Chinese produce Chinese texts that are correct in meaning but lack the polish of rhyme and rhythm.Working in the reverse direction from Chinese to English can also produce very awkward-sounding English(Chinglish).For example,the four- character poctic line老骥伏枥is a well-known idiom that rolls off the tongue easily and smoothly,but if translated as "an elderly hero still cherishes high aspirations,"the effect is cumbersome and wordy,totally devoid of any of the rhythm or rhymes of the source text.Due to these different language systems,except for cases of a few specific kinds of poems,the translator neither ean nor needs to match phonctically the sounds of the original.A language that places a greater premiumon formal logie (English)will ofen follow the line of thought at the expense of rhyme and rhythm,whereas one that emphasizes imagery(Chinese)will tend to put more store on rhyme and rhythm at the expense of strict logic.Even something as prosaic as a set of instructnshows this inherent diffr:车未停稳，请勿下车can be translated"Do not get off before the vehicle stops."The hypotaxis of English requires the link word "before,"and the number of words and their rhythm are less important than the message,but in Chinese the balance of the two sets of four characters is just as important as the meaning Finally,any student of translation must pay attention to the very obvious differences between the two writing systems.English is an alphabetic language made up of phonemes.The letters convey sounds,not meaning, and are strung together into words.Chinese,on the other hand,is made up