A Course in English-
Chinese Translation
(basic ideas,skills
and practice)
Course Description
? Purpose,basic ideas,basic skills,translation ability
? Textbook and references (books to read)：
?, 英汉语篇翻译,,李运兴，清华大学出版社,2003
?, 英汉翻译教程,,张培基，上海外语教育出版社,1980
?, 实用翻译教程,,范仲英，外语教育与研究出版社,1994
?, 英汉翻译技能手册,,刘宓庆，上海外语教育出版社,1987
?, 英汉翻译教程, （自考），庄绎传，外语教育与研究出版社,1999
? Teaching Plan：
? Chapter 1 – 3,in detail Chapter 4 – 6,briefly One text,one week
? Demand：
? Finish every task on time
? Be active in discussion
? Hand in your translation homework on time (I will choose some to check,at least 5
times for each person)
? Evaluation：
? Class participation,5%; Class discussion,5%; Homework & research,40%
? Final examination,50% (if there will be no exam,homework & res,will take 90%)
Chapter One
Some concepts about translation
?Questions to Discuss
? What is translation?
? What is a text?
? What is the translation in a textual perspective?
? What is the standards of translation?
? What is the process of translation?
What is translation?(1)
? The term translation itself has several meanings,it can refer to the
general subject field,the product ( the text that has been translated) or
the process ( the act of producing the translation,otherwise known as
translating)
? Categories of translation are as follows:
? Intralingual translation,or ?rewording?,an interpretation of verbal signs by
means of other signs of the same language
? Interlingual translation,or ?translation proper?,an interpretation of verbal
signs by means of some other language
? Intersemiotic translation,or ?transmutation?,an interpretation of verbal signs
by means of signs of non-verbal sign system,
? What is generally understood as translation involves the rendering of a
source language (SL) text into the target language (TL) so as to ensure
that the surface meaning of the two will be approximately similar and
the structures of the SL will be preserved as closely as possible but not
so closely that the TL structures will be seriously distorted,This
corresponds to interlingual translation,
What is translation?(2)
? Nida,Translating consists in reproducing in the receptor?s language the
closest natural equivalent of the source language messages first in
term of meaning and secondly in term of style,(1969)
? Meetham & Hudson,Translation is the replacement of a representation
of a text in one language by a representation of an equivalent text in a
second language,(1972)
? Bell,Translation is the expression in another language (or target
language) of what has been expressed in another,source language,
preserving semantic and stylistic equivalences,(1991)
? Some key concepts:
? Source (second) language / target (receptor?s/one) language
? Meaning (semantic) / style (stylistic)
? Product / process
? Equivalent (equivalence)
? Text
? message
What is a text?(1)
? Look at the following example,Is it a text? Why or why not?
? E.g,Tom?s wife is female.
? Grammatically speaking,a text consists of sentences; a sentence
consists of clauses; a clause,phrases; a phrase,words,But Halliday
and Hasan thought,the word text is used in linguistics to refer to any
passage,spoken or written,of whatever length,that does form a
unified whole…,It may be anything from a single proverb to a whole
play,from a cry for help to an all-day discussion…,A text is a unit of
language in use,It is not a grammatical unit…,It is not defined by its
size…,A text is best regarded as a semantic unit,a unit not of form but
of meaning,Thus it is related to a clause or sentence not by size but by
realization.” So we can say a text is a communicative unit,It does not
only consist of sentences,it is also realized by sentences which must
be meaningful.
? The example is grammatically correct,but it means nothing,The
sentence is not informative,it is not a text.)
What is a text?(2)
A text in linguistics
Text realized in
Paragraph ↓
Sentence
Clause
Phrase ↑
Word controlled by
Translation in a textual perspective
(strategic decision making ranks)
Text logic among clauses
Paragraph and sentence
(operational ranks)
Sentence decode and encode the information
Clause and reconstruct sentences
Phrase collocation
word
Standards of translation(1)
(What is a good translation?)
? a good translation to be,That,in which the
merit of the original work is so completely
transfused into another language,as to be
as distinctly apprehended,and as strongly
felt,by a native of the country to which that
language belongs,as it is by those who
speak the language of the original work,
(Tytler)
?fidelity and fluency
Standards of translation(2)
(How to realize a good translation?)
?Consider the style of the text
?Consider the purpose of writing and
translation (writer and reader)
?Consider the relationship between meaning
and structure
?Consider the background and culture
?Consider the skills used
Process of translation
?Understanding,expression,checking
text understanding
paragraph ↓ ↑
sentence ↓ ↑
clause ↓ ↑←checking
phrase ↓ ↑
word expression
Homework
?Read chapter one
?Read the text of chapter two,unit one
Chinese Translation
(basic ideas,skills
and practice)
Course Description
? Purpose,basic ideas,basic skills,translation ability
? Textbook and references (books to read)：
?, 英汉语篇翻译,,李运兴，清华大学出版社,2003
?, 英汉翻译教程,,张培基，上海外语教育出版社,1980
?, 实用翻译教程,,范仲英，外语教育与研究出版社,1994
?, 英汉翻译技能手册,,刘宓庆，上海外语教育出版社,1987
?, 英汉翻译教程, （自考），庄绎传，外语教育与研究出版社,1999
? Teaching Plan：
? Chapter 1 – 3,in detail Chapter 4 – 6,briefly One text,one week
? Demand：
? Finish every task on time
? Be active in discussion
? Hand in your translation homework on time (I will choose some to check,at least 5
times for each person)
? Evaluation：
? Class participation,5%; Class discussion,5%; Homework & research,40%
? Final examination,50% (if there will be no exam,homework & res,will take 90%)
Chapter One
Some concepts about translation
?Questions to Discuss
? What is translation?
? What is a text?
? What is the translation in a textual perspective?
? What is the standards of translation?
? What is the process of translation?
What is translation?(1)
? The term translation itself has several meanings,it can refer to the
general subject field,the product ( the text that has been translated) or
the process ( the act of producing the translation,otherwise known as
translating)
? Categories of translation are as follows:
? Intralingual translation,or ?rewording?,an interpretation of verbal signs by
means of other signs of the same language
? Interlingual translation,or ?translation proper?,an interpretation of verbal
signs by means of some other language
? Intersemiotic translation,or ?transmutation?,an interpretation of verbal signs
by means of signs of non-verbal sign system,
? What is generally understood as translation involves the rendering of a
source language (SL) text into the target language (TL) so as to ensure
that the surface meaning of the two will be approximately similar and
the structures of the SL will be preserved as closely as possible but not
so closely that the TL structures will be seriously distorted,This
corresponds to interlingual translation,
What is translation?(2)
? Nida,Translating consists in reproducing in the receptor?s language the
closest natural equivalent of the source language messages first in
term of meaning and secondly in term of style,(1969)
? Meetham & Hudson,Translation is the replacement of a representation
of a text in one language by a representation of an equivalent text in a
second language,(1972)
? Bell,Translation is the expression in another language (or target
language) of what has been expressed in another,source language,
preserving semantic and stylistic equivalences,(1991)
? Some key concepts:
? Source (second) language / target (receptor?s/one) language
? Meaning (semantic) / style (stylistic)
? Product / process
? Equivalent (equivalence)
? Text
? message
What is a text?(1)
? Look at the following example,Is it a text? Why or why not?
? E.g,Tom?s wife is female.
? Grammatically speaking,a text consists of sentences; a sentence
consists of clauses; a clause,phrases; a phrase,words,But Halliday
and Hasan thought,the word text is used in linguistics to refer to any
passage,spoken or written,of whatever length,that does form a
unified whole…,It may be anything from a single proverb to a whole
play,from a cry for help to an all-day discussion…,A text is a unit of
language in use,It is not a grammatical unit…,It is not defined by its
size…,A text is best regarded as a semantic unit,a unit not of form but
of meaning,Thus it is related to a clause or sentence not by size but by
realization.” So we can say a text is a communicative unit,It does not
only consist of sentences,it is also realized by sentences which must
be meaningful.
? The example is grammatically correct,but it means nothing,The
sentence is not informative,it is not a text.)
What is a text?(2)
A text in linguistics
Text realized in
Paragraph ↓
Sentence
Clause
Phrase ↑
Word controlled by
Translation in a textual perspective
(strategic decision making ranks)
Text logic among clauses
Paragraph and sentence
(operational ranks)
Sentence decode and encode the information
Clause and reconstruct sentences
Phrase collocation
word
Standards of translation(1)
(What is a good translation?)
? a good translation to be,That,in which the
merit of the original work is so completely
transfused into another language,as to be
as distinctly apprehended,and as strongly
felt,by a native of the country to which that
language belongs,as it is by those who
speak the language of the original work,
(Tytler)
?fidelity and fluency
Standards of translation(2)
(How to realize a good translation?)
?Consider the style of the text
?Consider the purpose of writing and
translation (writer and reader)
?Consider the relationship between meaning
and structure
?Consider the background and culture
?Consider the skills used
Process of translation
?Understanding,expression,checking
text understanding
paragraph ↓ ↑
sentence ↓ ↑
clause ↓ ↑←checking
phrase ↓ ↑
word expression
Homework
?Read chapter one
?Read the text of chapter two,unit one
