世上无难事

“世上无难事，只怕有心人。入门既不难，深造也办得到，只要有心，只要善于学习罢了。

——毛泽东“Nothing in the world is difficult for one who sets his mind to it. To cross the threshhold is not difficult, and mastery, too, is possible provided one sets one’s mind to the tas k and is good at learning.”

Some Requirements:

1.Try to grasp the different features between English and Chinese and cultivate your sensibility towards the two languages, esp. English.

2. Copy + exercises

Copy: one or two good English sentences plus structural analysis per week.

3. Do more thinking in the course of learning.

4. Read the textbook and do or study the translation exercises in it.

5. Examination: 30%+ 70% （30% for homework, class attendance, and class performance + 70% for final examination）

Textbook: new edition

Chapter 1 Foundational Knowledge for Doing C-E Translation 汉译英的基础知识

1.1 More about the Criteria of Translation

Cheng Hongwei (2004:7)：

similarity in function and correspondence in meaning （功能相似，意义相符）

Functions of language (Peter Newmark, 2001:39-44):

Informative function(信息功能): the function of language to pass information, to state facts about the world, and to report ideas or theories, etc.

Expressive function (表情功能): the function of language to express the speaker’s feelings, minds, emotions, etc., e.g. “How lovely the scenery is!”

V ocative function(祈使功能/呼唤功能): the function of language to call upon the readership to react, oft. in the way intended by the text, e.g., “Close the door, please.”

Aesthetic function(美感功能): the function of language to please the senses, oft. through the beauty of language.

Interpersonal function : the function of language to establish and maintain interpersonal relations, etc., for example, 李校长；王二婶；你好吗？幸会！久仰! （It covers phatic function 酬应功能/寒暄功能)

Cognitive function （认知功能）: the function of language that people use to think, and express one’s ideas, for example, “This must be something I don’t know”.

Metalingual function （元语言功能），the function of language to explain itself, e.g. “语言是一种独特的符号系统”。

Meaning(意义)：denotation and connotation(指称意义和蕴涵意义）

Denotation: the direct relationship between a term and the object, idea, or action it designates；the strict and literal meaning.

Connotation: the emotive and associational aspects of a term；the implied or suggested meaning.

Criteria for learners(教学标准)：

Faithfulness and smoothness

Esp. Natural and idiomatic English

1.2 Requirements for C-E Translators(汉英翻译对译者素养的要求)

1.2.1 Good grounding in language （深厚的语言功底)

A good grounding in English means the ability to understand and correctly use the language. To acquire such an ability, one needs to cultivate a good sense of English.

A good sense of English includes：

sense of grammar（语法意识）、sense of idiomaticness（惯用法意识）and sense of coherence （连贯意识）。

1.2.1.1 Sense of grammar (语法意识)

In doing C-E translation, having a good sense of grammar is crucial. In other words, one must have a good command of English grammatical rules to avoid any mistakes in tense, voice, concord, collocation, spelling, punctuation, etc.

e.g. 他发现前人研究地理的记载有许多不可靠的地方。

He found there were many unreliable points in the geography record which be searched by the people before. （correct collocation: keep records）

改：He found many unreliable points in the geographical records kept by the predecessors.

农民的生活水平不断提高，大部分农民已解决了温饱问题，不少农民已过上小康生活。The living standard of farmers has been raised continuously. The majority of farmers have enough food and clothing and quite a few are leading a quite comfortable life.

金桂湖位于武汉的南部后花园——咸宁市咸安区南川水库。

Jingui Lake lies in the area of Nanchuan Reservoir, ……, which is reputed as the Back Garden……

1.2.1.2 Sense of idiomaticness（惯用法意识）

Having a good sense of idiomaticness means that translators must follow the natural use of English to avoid awkward translations.

E.g.“吉普赛”一词源埃及语，意指北非国家埃及的人。从前人们认为吉普赛是埃及人。虽然直到现在人们仍不能确定他们究竟来自何方，但人们普遍认为他们的祖籍是印度，而不是埃及。

The word Gypsy comes from Egyptian, meaning someone from the North Africa country of Egypt. Once people thought Gypsies originally came from this country. Though people do not know for certain today where they actually came from, people generally think Gypsies originated in India, not in Egypt.

改：…It was thought that… it is not known for certain… it is generally thought that

Many warm-hearted neighbors came, but they could do nothing for her. So they turned to him for help, yet met with his refusal.

一天，邻居王二婶不小心把钥匙锁在了家里，很多热心人都前来帮忙，但都无济于事。人们找到了他，但被他拒绝了。(a story about an ex-convict )

One day, Wang Er’s wife, one of his elderly neighbours, locked herself out through carelessness. Many warm-hearted neighbours came, but they could do nothing for her. They turned to him for