What I have learned from English translatio11

What I have learned from English translation Before I begin to do my English translation work I thought it would be very interesting and easy, everybody who has learned English would do it so naturally. Because we always strengthen the importance of listening, speaking and reading, translating is just what we have ignored most. However, when I begin this art, I sometimes feel hopes sometimes feel despair. I find that the process of translating is bidirectional that input-conduct-output.
Translation is a kind of science or art, that a question people arguing for hundreds of years.
Malinowski, a functionalist predecessor, regards language as a mode of action other than as a “means of transfusing ideas from the head of the speaker to that of the listener” (Liu& Feng, 2006 : 300). Malinowski used “plastic communication” to describe the interpersonal function of language in his study on the native language of Trobrinad Island (Hu Zhuanglin, 2005:12). Walk on the way, thinking all the way.
The process and principles of literature translation.
Understand the original texts exactly. No matter English texts or Chinese texts the first step is to understand the original texts accurately. Y ou should have an overview about the whole texts and extract the purport as the translating background. For example, what I have translated the texts “An analysis of the development of nonintellectual
factors in chemical teaching is a research paper about chemistry education, so I should learn something about chemistry and education. Understanding is not an easy thing; is a process to search after the art content of the original works.
Expression is the second thing to mind when translating. The translators should try their best to coincide with the artistic conception of the original text. We will draw to the thought that understanding is the premise of expression. Understanding is the key.
Ideological content of literature translation. From the metaphysical perspective view, the contradiction of translators’ world outlook and the authors’world outlook is seemly like never solved. However, from the dialectic perspective view, this contradiction can be solved. In my opinion, only the translators who have advanced world outlook can bring to light the essential and regular pattern in accordance with the original authors’world outlook.
The authenticity of literature translation. The main criterion of measuring the art value is whether the work reflects some social life truthfully. The manifestation of literature creation is the association of the truth of life and the truth of art. The detail truth is that the details in the translation are the same with the original life. The social truth is that the history materiality and essential feature reflected in the translation are the same with what the original work proclaims. The art truth demands that
the translation to reappear the image of life truthfully by art. In the content respect, the art truth is the art conception reflected in the perfect language form. In the form respect, the art truth is the perfect language form which is enough to give expression this ingenious art conception.
Style of literature translation. The style of writers is the manifestation of writer’s spirit feature as well as the outlook of society, the aesthetic standard and the character of creation. The style of writers is the image of writers, that just the visage of writer as social individuality and artist. The style and features are represented specifically in the form of language of works, which in another words, is manifested in certain scope of words, sentences, rhetorical devices, quality of art technique and the frequency of repeating.
The content and form of English translating. The art content of translation is what the translator recognized towards the social life image contained in the original works, or put it in another way, that is some social life image according to their social and aesthetical ideality. The art content of translation is not that of original work. Because the art content of translation not only includes the life image of original work but also includes the understanding and judgments of the life image on the basis of their social and aesthetical ideality. The inner form of literature has three lays: semantical structure, rhetorical structure and euphonical structure. The semantiacal structure and rhetorical structure are pertained
to nexine inner layer. The euphonical structure is belong to the surface layer and consanguineous with the material shell relationship. What we said euphonial structure is formed by rhymen, alliteration, onomatopoeia, sound symbolism, poetry rules, intonation and rhythm. Words, phrases and sentences all maybe have one layer structure, but also maybe have semantics and rhetoric two layers. Some English phrases and Chinese phrases have same semantic structure (some of them are formed by translating), for example, sleeping car 寝车，state bank 国家银行，mockingbird 模仿鸟，ways of living 生活方式，school bus 校车，silk road 丝绸之路. However, in the most situation, neither not have the same semantical structure, for example, city hall 市政厅，sweetheart 情人，motherland 祖国，black tea 红茶，red tape 官样文章，top dog 胜利者. The most worth of noting, some few English words and Chinese words have same semantical structure but the meanings are different. That what we called “unreliable friends”. We should regard the original work art situation as the starting point to seek the art content of translation and language forms.
In the creation of translation, the essential requirement is the harmony and utility of content and form. The form of translation must be coincident with the quality and specialty of content. Coarse and crude form must lead to the poor content. The situation is the same in the literati on translation. Therefore, translator once gets the art situation of original
works, at the same time, should try to find perfect language form for this art situation. And what is the perfect language form? In terms with the language form of translation relating with the content of works, there are four requirements: accuracy, vividness, clarity and naturality. Besides, we should keep the objective of faithfulness. The significance of that is we can provide a translation as objective as the original works, giving the chance to readers to understand the logical content and image content, as a result of which avoiding the distortion of the content of works account for misunderstanding. In the specific process of literature translation, the contradiction of content and form always turns to the contradiction of entirety and details. Entirety has two layers. The lower one means the central thought and lingering charm of works, the stream of the intention of creation and thoughts and feelings, the art situation and character images. The higher one means history, geography, society and culture prospect. The details include the form elements: sentences, words, writing and grammar. Only we deal with the relationship between entirety and details can we deal with the relationship about content and form well.
The nationality of literature translation.
参考文献张今张宁著《文学翻译理论》，清华大学出版社，2005。