Chapter 2 Some Comparisons between English and Chinese following of cohesive rules and the use of linkages,which do not necessarily function in the same way in Chinese sentences expressing the same meaning.The result will be a different way of arranging the text and its sections.In English,a topic sentence is placed at the start of the paragraph. which usually ends with a concluding sentence.This is a deeply ingrained structure that children eam in primary school.In Chinese,in contrast,the topie sentence will often come in the middle or at the end of the paragraph. This difference can give Chinese learners of English and their teachers a lot of headaches.An English-language teacher will emphasize that the topic sentence must come at the beginning,to be followed by the other sentences that expand or explain it.This,however,feels very awkward for a Chinese writer,who will usually end up putting down one English sentence after another without using any cohesive devices such as conjunctions or pronouns.Thus,translation between these two language systems,one more linear,the other more circular,raises the issue of whether to transfer the original compositional order.Keeping the source text order retains the cognitive process of the original but may be confusing for target text readers.On the other hand,restructuring it to suit the target text will mean imposing an alien cognitive process on the source.Overall meaning may not be affected,but is this a"faithful"rendering of the original?Clearly, there are no easy answers.Whatever the translator decides to do must take into account these differences.which may seem merely structural but in fact reflect different ways of sequencing sentences,(i.e.,meaning),and are the result of very different cognitive processes.The specifie circumstances of the translation play a major role in the actual decision of whether to reorder In regard to cognitive differences,it is belpful to compare English and Chinese more broadly.The following are some general differences between Indo-Europen anguages and Chinese that are reflected in written texts:
Introduction to Chinese-English Translation Indo-European Languages Chinese From inner to outer from outer to inner From small to big from big to small From near to far from far to near From micro to macro from macro to micro From individual to whole from whole to individual From conerete to abstract from abstract to concrete Such differences are ubiquitous,even in practical conventions,such as the way an address is written on an envelope.In English,the name of the addressee comes first,then the street,the city,the state,and then the country (from small to big): John Smith 389 Pine St. Fresno.CA U.SA. But in Chinese,the order is completely reversed (from big to small): 中国北京 黄河大街十一号 李海林先生收 So when translating an addressed envelope,which usage should be followed,the source or the target? 28
Chapter 2 Some Comparisons between English and Chinese Another aspect of discourse is formulaic expressions,which may or may not go beyond the sentence level.These expressions consist of several linguistic components,more often clauses or sentences.They look like regular sentences,but are culturally bound,or"frozen,"with a fixed sequence of language components.Polite language formulac are a good example.When we say"I am sorry to be asking again,but you haven't yet replied to my question,"the required conjunction bur links the two sentences in a specific way ("sorry.but.")that marks this as a formulaic structure xpressing politeness.Native peakers of English routincly usc but after whereas in Chinese this is not required.Translating the above sentence as 对不起，又问你这个问题了，但是你还没有回答我呢，maintains the English order of coherence but is awkward and confusing in Chinese,which would omit the conjunction altogether or use instead.Translation of formulaic language tends to emphasize meaning and tone over form. Now that we have discussed the basic concepts of translation and compared the two languages,let us examine some of the skills most frequently used in translation. Comparison Exercises Translate the following sentences,paying attention to how Chinese and English express the same idea. Chinese-English Exercises 1,除了用镜头说话，林光生也书力笔树 29
Introduction to Chinese-English Translation 2.一路走来，总是到了山穷水尽绝才发现新的可能性。 3.争先生的劳力有了成果 4.很多电影导演的作品都是反驶他们的生活臂景。 5。电影让林先生托到了向己，让一位父亲我到了几于。 English-Chinese Exercises 1.With so large a population on so small an island,the best parts of the coast are inevitably rather crowded during the summer. 2.Most big companies have been built up by a process of mergers and takeovers. 3.In Britain,rainfall is not that heavy,winters not that cold nor the summers that hot,and there are seldom violent storms or winds. 4.Potatoes are an important source of starchy food in temperate countries, as are bananas in the tropics. 5.In spite of many stories of prosperity in the United Sttes,not only does poverty exist,but crimes of various types have been increasing at an alarming rate. 30
Part Two Basic Techniques