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山东财经大学

本科毕业论文(设计)

范文1

题目: 论转换法在英汉翻译中的应用

学 院 外国语学院

专 业 英语

班 级 英语0802 (注意原山经、原山财班级名称不同) 学 号 2008110107

姓 名 刘 潇

指导教师 李文涛

山东财经大学教务处制

二O一二年五月

山东财经大学学士学位论文

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On Application of Conversion in English-Chinese Translation

by

Liu Xiao

Under the Supervision of

Li Wentao

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts

School of Foreign Studies

Shandong University of Finance and Economics

May 2012

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Acknowledgements

Upon the completion of the thesis, first of all, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisor Prof. Li Wentao, for his enlightening guidance, incessant encouragement and careful modification throughout the process of writing this thesis. Without his patience and prudence, I could not have brought my thesis to its present form.

Besides, I am also greatly indebted to other beloved teachers in the School of Foreign Studies of Shandong University of Finance and Economics, for their valuable and informative courses which have benefited me a lot during my college years.

Last but not the least, I am also much obliged to all my friends who have helped me with my thesis.

L. X.

(名字的第一个字母)

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ABSTRACT

On Application of Conversion

in English-Chinese Translation

Liu Xiao

Due to the great differences between English and Chinese in grammar and expression style, translators may adopt the approaches of changing the word classes and sentence components in English-Chinese (E-C) translation. As a frequently-used translation technique, conversion enables translators to achieve a natural, fluent and accurate translation that not only conveys the original text’s information but also fits the idiomatic usage of Chinese.

The thesis consists of three chapters. The first chapter examines the conversion of word classes in E-C translation such as conversion from English nouns or prepositions into Chinese verbs. The conversion of word classes usually results in the conversion of sentence components, so the second chapter discusses the conversion of sentence components. The third chapter explores the approaches of how to convert the English perspectives into the corresponding ones conforming to Chinese culture and thought pattern.

Key words: conversion; word classes; sentence components; perspectives; E-C translation

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摘要

论转换法在英汉翻译中的应用

刘潇

由于英汉两种语言在语法或表达习惯上存在巨大差异, 在英汉翻译的过程中, 译者往往需要改变原文的词类或句子成分。作为英汉翻译中常用的翻译技巧,转换法可以使译文自然、流畅、准确,既传达原意又符合汉语的表达习惯。

本文共分三章。第一章介绍了英汉翻译过程中几种常见的词性转换方法,如原文中的名词或介词转换为译文中的动词。词性的转换通常会引起句子成分的改变,第二章分析了句子成分的转换现象。第三章讨论了如何将英语思维视角转换为相应的符合汉语文化和思维模式的视角。

关键词:转换法;词类;句子成分;视角;英译汉

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgements…………………………………………………ii Abstract………………………………………………………….…iii Abstract in Chinese………………………………………………iv Introduction…………………………………………………………1 Chapter One Conversion of Word Classes…………...…………3

I. Conversion into Chinese Verbs…………………………………3 II. Conversion into Chinese Nouns………………………………5 III. Conversion into Chinese Adjectives…………………………6 IV. Conversion into Chinese Adverbs……………………………7

Chapter Two Conversion of Sentence Components…...………..9

I. Conversion into Chinese Subjects………………………………9 II. Conversion into Chinese Predicates…………………………10 III. Conversion into Chinese Objects……………………………11 IV. Conversion into Chinese Attributes…………………………11 V. Conversion into Chinese Complements…………………12 Chapter Three Conversion of Perspectives……………………14

I. Conversion of English Impersonal Subjects…………………14 II. Conversion from the Abstract into the Concrete…………….17 III. Conversion from the Stative into the Dynamic………………17

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IV. Conversion from the Passive into the Active………………18 V. Conversion between Negative and Affirmative………………18 Conclusion…………..……………………………….……………20 Works Cited……………………………………………………..…21

如有三级标题,可以i. ii. iii. iv. 编写,为简明,建议目录中尽量不要写三级标题,正文中可有三级标题。注意各级标题大小写,确保目录中的标题、页码与正文中的标题、页码保持对应。

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注意每段的首行缩进、行距、字体、字号等要保持全文一致

Introduction

In translation we may go through many procedures to translate the text to make it acceptable for the specific communicative situation. The translating process is explained as follows:

Translation is not the transcoding of words or sentences from one

language to another, but a complex form of action, whereby someone provides information on a text (source language material) in a new situation and under changed functional, cultural and linguistic conditions, preserving formal aspects as closely as possible. (Snell-Hornby 82) 注意引语段格式

According to the explanation, in translating, a translator’s task is to convey the content and spirit of the source text and rearrange them into the target text in a smooth and logical way under the new specific situations and conditions. Additionally, we should remember that “a natural style in translating is nevertheless essential to producing in the ultimate receptors a response similar to that of the original receptors” (Ma and Miao 17). Therefore, effective translation methods and techniques are undoubtedly indispensable in translating activities. 注意文内引文规范。每个文献须在文末参考书目中出现。

Conversion, as a grammatical phenomenon, has been a hot subject in the field of linguistic research. Since source language and target language are quite different in nature and use, and the target text should convey the meaning of the source text in the closest natural manner, conversion becomes one of the most effective techniques to seek in the target language the equivalent information of the source language.

A clear and correct expression of the source text is what really matters in translation, for it is crucial in translation to seek equivalence in content or information, but not absolute formal correspondence. “For most people the informative function is predominantly the major role of language” (Hu 10). A good translator will therefore employ all possible means to reproduce the thought of the author faithfully in another

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language. “Conversion has long been accepted as one of the techniques essential to improving the quality of our version” (Zhong 98), by which the mechanical translation could be avoided; therefore it enables translators to achieve a natural and faithful translation which not only offers information of the source text but also keeps with the expression habits of the target language. In this way, contents of both source language and target language are in accordance with each other, though forms may be somewhat changed.

The thesis argues that, because of the great differences between English and Chinese in grammar and expression style, conversion becomes a frequently-used translation technique, which enables translators to achieve a natural, fluent and accurate translation. In addition to Introduction and Conclusion, the thesis consists of three parts. The first chapter discusses the conversion of word classes in English-Chinese (E-C) translation. The second chapter focuses on the conversion of sentence components, which is usually caused by the conversion of word classes. The third chapter explores the approaches of how to convert the English perspectives into the corresponding ones in Chinese.

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Chapter One

Conversion of Word Classes

In E-C translation, it is difficult to get an appropriate corresponding Chinese word for an English word of the same class all the time. If each word in one language is replaced with words of the same word classes in another, such expressions would sound very awkward or even unintelligible to the reader. Therefore, effective use of word class conversion is crucial and necessary in E-C translation.

I. Conversion into Chinese Verbs

Because one of the most remarkable differences between English and Chinese lies in the use of the verb, conversion into Chinese verbs has become the basic conversion technique used in E-C translation.

i. Converting English Noun into Chinese Verb

As for English, “it seems possible to express ideas with greater precision and adequacy by means of nouns than by means of the more pictorial verbs” (Jespersen 139). That is to say, “English is a language in which nouns are more widely used than those in Chinese, while in Chinese verbs are more frequently used and occupy a dominant position” (Zhou 391), therefore some English nouns are often converted into Chinese verbs in the practical translation. 注意文内引文规范。每个文献须在文末参考书目中出现。

Specifically, an English noun which possesses the property of a verb or was derived from a verb is often converted into a verb when translated into Chinese. Here is an example to illustrate this point.

Example 1: 使用细菌武器显然违反国际法。

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ii. Converting English Preposition into Chinese Verb

It is known that “there are about 286 prepositions and prepositional phrases in English” (Lian 50). Prepositions or prepositional phrases are so widely and frequently used in English that English is sometimes called prepositional language. Prepositions in English, which are very rich and flexible in meaning, have a great power of expression; on the contrary, the Chinese language is verb-oriented, so it is not without reason that English prepositions or prepositional phrases are often converted into Chinese verbs or verbal phrases in E-C translation. There is an example below.

Example 2: 我们的目标是使不发达地区的人民最终摆脱贫困。

iii. Converting English Adjective into Chinese Verb

When meeting with such English adjectives that often indicate the human psychology or state of mind, such as one’s consciousness, emotional activities and desires, translators usually convert them into Chinese verbs. Here is an example to illustrate the point.

Example 3:

Advancing into the vastness of space, man is becoming fully of the smallness of his planet. 由于进入浩无涯际的太空,人类已充分意识到本星球的渺小。

iv. Converting English Adverb into Chinese Verb

Some English adverbs, which have an implied meaning of verbs, if necessary, are often converted into Chinese verbs. The following example illustrates this point.

Example 4: 他们发现班纳特先生还没有睡觉。

v. Converting English Gerund into Chinese Verb

Gerund, also called as a verbal noun, often serves functionally as a noun but retains some properties of a verb in the original text. However, there is no such linguistic form

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of -ing in Chinese, so English gerunds are generally converted into Chinese verbs in E-C translation. Here is an example.

Example 5: 把水加热不会改变水的化学成分。

II. Conversion into Chinese Nouns

Nouns account for an overwhelming part of the vocabulary not only in English but in Chinese. Some English words, for example, which are derived from nouns, can hardly be translated literally; they are usually converted into nouns.

i. Converting English Verb into Chinese Noun

Because some English verbs describing the characteristics or properties of the subject are difficult to express in exact corresponding Chinese verbs, they are often converted into Chinese nouns so as to achieve a satisfactory translation. Here is an illustrative example.

Example 6: 在他们看来,他就是绝对权威的化身。

ii. Converting English Adjective into Chinese Noun

Sometimes English adjectives are also converted into Chinese nouns for the smoothness of translation. The following is one example:

Example 7:

Everyday experience shows us that ice is not as as water and it therefore floats. 日常经验告诉我们,冰的密度比水小,因而能浮在水面上。

Generally speaking, a “definite article (the) + adjective” construction indicates people of some kind or abstract concepts, so such adjectives are often converted into Chinese nouns.

Example 8:

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他总是梦想过富人一样的生活。

Here, “the rich” referring to people of some kind is converted into a Chinese noun. Example 9: 最重要的是分清是非。

Here, “the false” and “the truth” referring to abstract concepts are converted into Chinese nouns.

III. Conversion into Chinese Adjectives

i. Converting English Noun into Chinese Adjective

English nouns are much more frequently used and contain a more extended meaning than Chinese nouns, and some abstract nouns are very closely related to their corresponding adjectives in meaning. Therefore, it is necessary to convert such kind of nouns into Chinese adjectives. The following is an example.

Example 10: 我们感到,解决这个复杂的问题很困难。

Some abstract nouns, preceded by an indefinite article, are also usually converted into adjectives in translation for a more appropriate and natural effect. There is an example below.

Example 11: 那个园会真是圆满极了。

ii. Converting English Adverb into Chinese Adjective

As a result of the conversion from some English verbs into Chinese nouns, the adverbs which modify the English verbs are naturally converted into Chinese adjectives to modify the Chinese nouns. Here is an example to illustrate this point.

Example 12:

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他的演讲给听众留下了很深的印象。

IV. Conversion into Chinese Adverbs

There are occasions when some parts of speech in English may be converted into adverbs in Chinese in order to make the Chinese version more expressive.

i. Converting English Noun into Chinese Adverb

The conversion of English nouns into Chinese adverbs is far from being a universal phenomenon in translation. However, some good translations, as illustrated by the following one, demonstrate that the conversion of English nouns into Chinese adverbs makes a more natural and smooth translation in certain context.

Example 13: 他好心地给我指路。

ii. Converting English Adjective into Chinese Adverb

Since the English nouns may have been converted into Chinese verbs, English adjectives which modify the nouns are accordingly converted into Chinese adverbs to modify the verbs in the translated version. Here is an example.

Example 14: 我们高度地珍视同发展中国家的友好关系。

A few adjectives which modify or emphasize some nouns, if translated into Chinese, are always converted into adverbs, although this conversion is not caused by the result of conversion from English nouns into Chinese verbs. Illustrative examples are as follows:

Example 15: 你的青蛙变成王子的故事完全是胡说。

Example 16:

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他拨错了电话号码。

The above discussion reveals that the conversion of word classes is frequently used to achieve accuracy and expressiveness in E-C translation. Through conversion, English words are often translated into Chinese words similar in meaning but different in word classes. In addition, the conversion of word classes often requires the conversion of sentence components, which will be discussed in the next chapter.

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Chapter Two

Conversion of Sentence Components

It is discussed in the previous chapter that an English word is not necessarily changed into a Chinese word of the same word class in E-C translation. Therefore, in order to achieve the maximal expressiveness, conversion of word classes has become a matter of common occurrence in translation, which often results in the conversion of sentence components. This chapter will discuss the conversion of sentence components in E-C translation.

I. Conversion into Chinese Subjects

i. English Object Converted into Chinese Subject

As some objects of verbs in English are subjects of the sentences in the logical sense, they may usually be converted into subjects in Chinese so as to give prominence to the objects in English. Here is an example to illustrate this point.

Example 17: 这种石头的相对密度是2.7。

ii. English Prepositional Object Converted into Chinese Subject

This is actually a branch of general objects which are converted into Chinese subjects. To complete the phrase, the preposition usually teams up with a noun, pronoun, or gerund, which is called the object of the preposition and they are often converted into Chinese subjects. Here is an illustrative example.

Example 18: 引进了新方法,产品的成本降低了。

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iii. English Predicative Converted into Chinese Subject

In English, the predicative, especially the nominal one, may be in line with the subject in terms of content. Therefore, when rendered into Chinese, such kind of English predicative is often changed into the subject in the target language so that the translation coherence is ensured or the importance of the predicative is effectively stressed. Here is an example to illustrate this point.

Example 19: 黄铜和青铜是两种广泛使用的铜合金。

II. Conversion into Chinese Predicates

i. English Attribute Converted into Chinese Predicate

In English, adjectives themselves can not serve as predicates; however, in Chinese, they could. Therefore, the adjective attributes in English can be changed into predicates in Chinese; accordingly, in some circumstances, the core word in the adjective phrase is turned into subject in Chinese so that the translation is smooth and idiomatic. Here is an example to illustrate this point.

Example 20: 我方盼望与贵方工厂的交易额日益提高。

ii. English Object Converted into Chinese Predicate

In certain cases, an English verb can not be translated into the corresponding Chinese verb, while the English object conveys the meaning of action, such object or the object together with the verb may usually be converted into the predicate in Chinese. Here is an illustrative example.

Example 21: 10

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物理变化不会形成新的物质,也不会改变物质的成分。

iii. English Subject Converted into Chinese Predicate

Some nouns, which serve functionally as the subjects of the sentence in the original English text but retain some properties of verbs, are often converted into Chinese predicate. Here is an example to illustrate this point.

Example 21:

through his office window offers a panoramic view of the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. 从他的办公室窗口可以一眼看到华盛顿纪念碑和林肯纪念碑的全景。

III. Conversion into Chinese Objects

Actually this kind of conversion is closely related to the passive habit in English, which is further elaborated in the next chapter. As “a kind of changed verb forms in English,” passive voice “expresses the logical verb-object relationships between predicate verb and its subject,” and its subject is “actually the receiver of the predicate-verb action” (Yan 116-119). What’s more, “the passive is especially used in English sentences where it is unnecessary or undesirable to mention the agent” (Zandvoort 53). Because sentences using the passive voice are not so common in Chinese, English subjects are generally converted into Chinese objects. Here is an illustrative example.

Example 22: 火柴燃烧时发出光和热。

IV. Conversion into Chinese Attributes

i. English Subject Converted into Chinese Attribute

Since there may be close relationship between subject and object, or the object itself is part of the subject, the subject in the source language is occasionally converted into an attribute for the sake of naturalness of Chinese. Therefore, it can be coherent in

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meaning as well as in logic despite the change in the word order. Here is an example to illustrate this point.

Example 23: 各种材料的磁特性有很大不同。

Here, the sentence construction of the rendered version is different from that of the original, but it conveys the exact meaning in English.

ii. English Adverbial Converted into Chinese Attribute

Certain prepositional phrases, mostly adverbials of place and time, serve as adverbials in the form, but they are actually connected closely with certain nouns. Such adverbials may be converted into attributes in Chinese. Here is an illustrative example.

Example 24: 全世界的石油消耗量正在迅速增长。

V. Conversion into Chinese Complements

It is known that, in English, adverbials most commonly take the form of adverbs, adverb phrases or prepositional phrases to modify verbs. However, Chinese sentences are typically concerned with the result and direction of a verb, which is sometimes referred to by Western texts as double verbs. The active verb of a sentence is followed by a second verb which indicates either the result of the first action, or the direction in which it takes the subject.

A complement of result usually indicates either an absolute outcome or a possible outcome. To illustrate, in the expression 听得懂 (“to be able to understand something you hear”), the verb听 (“to listen”) will serve as the active verb, and 懂 (“to understand”) will serve as the complement of result. Another illustrative example is as follows.

Example 25: 12

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分子间的吸引力小得可以忽略不计。

To illustrate the complements of direction, we may take as examples the two simple directional complements, 去 (“to go”) and 来 (“to come”), which may be placed at the end of a verb to indicate that it moves somehow away or towards the speaker, respectively.

Example 26: 他走上来了。

The above discussion shows that, along with the conversion of word classes, the conversion of sentence components can help achieve the naturalness and accuracy in E-C translation. Translators should be flexible in changing the sentence components. Actually, conversion of word classes and sentence components are subject to not only differences in linguistics factors but also differences in cultural perspectives, which will be analyzed in the following chapter.

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Chapter Three

Conversion of Perspectives

As discussed in the previous chapters, it is not difficult to find that conversion of word classes and conversion of sentence components are actually subject to the vast differences between English and Chinese, which often produce barriers for intercultural communication. At times people from different cultures approach the same thing from different perspectives, so it is necessary to explore the translation technique of conversion by focusing on different perspectives in English and Chinese.

I. Conversion of English Impersonal Subjects

It is asserted that “formal written English language often goes with an impersonal style, i.e., one in which the speaker does not refer directly to himself or his reader, but avoids the pronouns I, you, we” (Leech and Svartvik 25). This phenomenon is also vividly described by some scholars as “the writer and the readers are out of the picture, hiding them behind the impersonal language” (Lian 76). While Chinese are actually going with the personal style, it is necessary in the E-C translation to convert the English impersonal style into the Chinese personal one.

i. Converting Impersonal Subjects into Personal or Other Subjects

There are more impersonal subjects in English than in Chinese. Although English sentences with impersonal subjects sound objective and fair, they are often rhetorically flavored with personification or euphemism; therefore, converting English impersonal subjects into Chinese personal or other subjects is necessary in the E-C translation.

Example 27: 我兴奋地什么话也说不出来。

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Example 28: started with a morning visit to the modern campus of the 22000-student University of Michigan in nearby Ann Arbor, where the Chinese table tennis team joined students in the cafeteria line for lunch and later played an exhibition match. 星期五那天,中国乒乓球队一早就到安亚伯附近去参观拥有22000名学生的密歇根大学现代校园。他们和该校学生在校内自助餐厅一起排队取午餐,然后举行了一场表演赛。

ii. Converting Impersonal Subjects and Split English Simple Sentences into Chinese Complex Sentences

In English, impersonal subjects and simple sentences are very common, but in Chinese there are fewer simple sentences. Furthermore, sometimes “English modifiers are too long to be placed before the word being modified in the Chinese version” (Xu 164), so it is necessary to convert impersonal subjects and split English simple sentences into Chinese complex sentences. Here is an illustrative example.

Example 29:

The image of a sudden wall of dark water carrying the man and his car away in an instant is still imprinted on my mind.

顷刻之间,滚滚的浊水像堵墙一般压了下来,一股脑儿连人带车都冲走了。这情景,直到现在还印在我的脑海里。

iii. Converting Impersonal Subjects into Chinese Adverbials or Prepositional Phrases

Impersonal subjects lend simplicity and vividness to the English sentence. Nouns indicating time, place or natural phenomenon are often used in this kind of sentences, serving as the impersonal subjects.

Example 30: 19xx年3月,我在一家小型建筑公司工作。

Here, the subject in the original English sentence is converted into the Chinese adverbial. The form of the Chinese version is quite different from that of the English one, but the translation fully conveys the content of the source language and expresses it

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in a legible way in the target language.

Example 31: 在美国国土上,没有一座城市曾经遭受过如此严重的破坏。

Here, the subject in the original English sentence is converted into the Chinese prepositional phrase, which provides information about the place where the event happened. Thus a successful translation is achieved through the reorganization of the sentence.

iv. Converting Impersonal Subjects and Split English Sentences, Simple or Complex, into Chinese Compound or Run-on Sentences

As we know, a compound sentence consists of two or more simple sentences. Additionally, a run-on sentence in Chinese refers to running together of two independent clauses without a conjunction or even punctuation, though the so-called run-on sentences are considered as incorrect forms in English. “As Mr. Lv Shuxiang indicates, there are many run-on sentences in Chinese spoken language, with one small sentence after another, and even many parts can be broken” (Wang 141). Therefore, by means of conversion, we may convert English impersonal subjects into Chinese personal ones and split English sentences, simple or complex, into Chinese compound or run-on sentences.

Example 32:

The happiness — the superior advantages of the young woman round about her, gave Rebacca inexpressible pangs of envy. (W. Thackeray: Vanity Fair)

丽贝卡看见她周围的小姐那么福气,享受种种优越的权利,却又说不出的眼红。 v. Converting Impersonal Subjects into Chinese “Extra-position Elements” In Chinese, sometimes, two words or phrases which mean the same are put apart in two places, with one as the sentence composition and the other outside the sentence, and the outside one is often a pronoun called extra-position. Nevertheless, this phenomenon is not frequently seen in English. Therefore, some elements of English sentences are usually converted into the extra-position in Chinese, as is shown in the following

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example.

Example 33: reached at Helsinki has earned them the condemnation of freedom-loving people everywhere. 他们违反在赫尔辛基达成的协议,在国内侵犯基本人权,这已受到各地热爱自由的人们的谴责。

II. Conversion from the Abstract into the Concrete

“An excessive reliance on the noun at the expense of the verb will, in the end, detach the mind of the writer from the realities of here and now, from when and how and in what mood the thing was done, and insensibly induce a habit abstraction, generalization and vagueness” (Gowers 79). English people are good at abstract thinking, and therefore, abstract nouns are more frequently used. Chinese people, however, pay more attention to image; so a large number of concrete images are used to illustrate abstract concepts.

Just as noted by Flesch, “while English people fill their talk with masses of empty syllables and words, Chinese keep their feet on the ground and says everything in the most concrete, specific words. They have to; there are no other words in Chinese” (15-16). Therefore, conversion from the English abstract into the Chinese concrete often seems necessary. Here is an illustrative example.

Example 34: 那时他们最渴望的就是结束这摇摆不定的局面。

III. Conversion from the Stative into the Dynamic

Chinese tends to use verbs in the case of activity. On the contrary, English is more prone to employ more nouns, especially abstract nouns, prepositions, adjectives, gerunds and some other means to replace verbs and express the meaning of action.

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Broadly speaking, nouns can be characterized naturally as “stative” in that

they refer to entities that are regarded as stable, whether these are concrete or abstract. At the opposite pole, verbs can be equally naturally characterized as “dynamic”: they are fitted to indicate action, activity and temporary or changing conditions. (Quirk 48)

Actually, this section can be regarded as another examination over the contents of the first section in chapter one, which analyzes the conversion from other English word classes into Chinese verbs. Another representative example is given here.

Example 35:

The originality of these buildings lies in the of advanced building techniques. 这些建筑的创新之处在于使用了先进的建筑技术。

IV. Conversion from the Passive into the Active

Although active and passive voices are used in both Chinese and English, the frequencies they present themselves in the two languages are quite different. “Our massed, scientific, and bureaucratic society is so addicted to the passive voice that you must constantly alert yourself against its drowsy, impersonal pomp” (Baker 121).

The passive voice is quite common in English, but not in Chinese. Chinese language carries with it a strong personal consciousness. Action in a sentence is done by the subject “man,” while “things” or “objects” generally do not take the place of the doer or the agent. The third section of chapter two has illustrated that the conversion from English subjects into Chinese objects is closely related to the passive habit in English. Another illustrative example is as follows:

Example 36: 有人认为她当电影明星的计划不过是黄粱美梦。

V. Conversion between Negative and Affirmative

It is often seen that what is affirmative in English may correspond with something negative in Chinese, and vice versa. Native speakers of English have their own way of

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expressing negative implications, which is quite different from that of the Chinese. In E-C translation, one has to base the translation on the source text and produce the idiomatic target one.

i. English Negative Converted into Chinese Affirmative

The negative form is more common in English than in Chinese. The main function of negative sentence is to strengthen the positive expression. Here is an example to illustrate this point.

Example 37: 虽然他一再解释,疑团仍然存在。

There is another special branch of English negative form — double negation. “Double negations make one affirmative. Negatives such as no, not together with no, but, without, unless, until and so like illustrate an affirmative meaning” (Li and Peng 100). The following is one example:

Example 38: 任何规则都有例外。

ii. English Affirmative Converted into Chinese Negative

Such cases are also found in a relatively wide range of expressions, in which what is affirmative in form in English means something negative in Chinese.

Example 39: 他们的思想和感情不外露。

The above analysis shows how the conversion of perspectives works in E-C translation. Conversion of perspectives, which reflects different thinking patterns and cultural backgrounds, is one of the most important techniques leading to adequate translation. It can be seen as one of the most effective measures to seek the equivalent information of the source language in the target language. In this way, a faithful translation is achieved by focusing primarily on accurate conveying of ideas rather than mechanical change of linguistic forms.

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Conclusion

It is stressed that “translation theory’s main concern is to determine appropriate translation methods” (Newmark 19), and this thesis has made a relatively comprehensive study of the major translation technique — conversion. Analysis and examples in the above chapters show convincingly that, the greatest enemy to an appropriate and readable target text in E-C translation is the rigid adherence to the syntax of the original language. Various kinds of conversion methods, such as conversion of word classes, conversion of sentence components and conversion of perspectives, are eventually aimed at the accuracy and expressiveness of the target text.

A good translator aims to make the source text’s meaning accurately understood by the target readers. Therefore, the effective transfer of the original content or spirit should be prior to that of the original form or structure. Conversion, as one of the most fundamental and crucial translation techniques, can help translators break away from the rigid bound of the source language, avoid mechanical and unacceptable translation, and achieve a natural and accurate translation which not only conveys the source language’s information but also fits the expression habits of the target language.

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Works Cited

Baker, Sheridan. The Practical Stylist. 6th ed. New York: Harper & Row, 1985.

Flesch, Rudolf. The Art of Plain Talk. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1946.

Gowers, Ernest. The Complete Plain Words. London: Penguin Books, 1987.

Snell-Hornby, Mary. Translation Studies: An Integrated Approach. Amsterdam: John

Benjamins, 1987.

Hu, Zhuanglin. [胡壮麟], 语言学教程 [M]. 北京: 北京大学出版社, 2006.

Jespersen, Otto. The Philosophy of Grammar. London: Routledge, 1951.

Leech, Geoffrey, and Jan Svartvik. A Communicative Grammar of English. London:

Longman, 1974.

Li, Qingxue, and Peng Jianwu. [李庆学、彭建武], 英汉翻译理论与技巧 [M]. 北京: 北京航

空航天大学出版社, 2009.

Lian, Shuneng. [连淑能], 英汉对比研究 [M]. 北京: 高等教育出版社, 1993.

Ma, Huijuan, and Miao Ju. [马会娟、苗菊], 当代西方翻译理论选读 [M]. 北京: 外语教学与

研究出版社, 2009.

Newmark, Peter. Approaches to Translation. London: Pergmon P, 1981.

Quirk, Randolph, et al. A Grammar of Contemporary English. London: Longman, 1973. Wang, Li. [王力], 中国语法理论 [M]. 济南: 山东教育出版社, 1984.

Xu, Jianping. [许建平], 英汉互译实践与技巧 [M]. 北京: 清华大学出版社, 2003.

Yan, Qigang. [严启刚], 英语翻译教程 [M]. 天津: 南开大学出版社, 2001.

Zandvoort, R. W. A Handbook of English Grammar. London: Longmans, 1957. Zhong, Shukong. [钟述孔], 英汉翻译手册 [M]. 北京: 商务印书馆, 1983.

Zhou, Zhipei. [周志培], 汉英对比与翻译中的转换 [M]. 上海: 华东理工大学出版社, 2003. Works Cited按字母排序,每一条文献都应该是正文中出现过的,切勿随便列一些正文没有出现过的文献。格式问题十分复杂,学生和指导老师务必认真对待,如有疑问,可进一步查阅“MLA格式学位论文写作规范(供查询用)”和“英语本科毕业论文撰写指南”。

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