RECENT
PUBLICATIONS
SEPTEMBER
2007
This update is devoted to
the Chinese Translators Journal. Other information from various sources is
being processed and will be presented in the next update.
The
Chinese Translators Journal 28:183
(2007:3)
Functional Linguistic Approach
to Translation Studies in Post-deconstructionist Era
by Wang Dongfeng (
Abstract: This
paper provides an overview of three models of functionally-oriented studies of
translation, i.e., Nida's functional equivalence, Halliday's functional approach and German functionalism,
tracing their histories and defining their current positions in an effort to predict the future development of translation studies
after deconstructionism. Believing that linguistic
study ought to be an essential part of translation studies
and ought to serve as a counterbalance to the dominant cultural paradigm in the
field, the author argues that adopting an interdisciplinary
approach would be the best way to incorporate the linguistic model into the cultural one.
Concepts of Function in
Translation Studies
by Zhang Meifang & Qian
Hong (
Abstract: "Function,"
a key term in Translation Studies, is as frequently used as it is polysemous and confusing. Whereas it has been incorporated into major concepts such as Nida's
"functional equivalence," Holmes's "function-oriented
translation studies,"the "functional approaches" based on Halliday's
Systemic Functional Linguistics, and the "functionalist theories"
advocated by the
Covert Translation, Language
Contact and Language Change
by Juliane
House (
Abstract: The
paper reports on a project which applies the model of translation evaluation
designed by the present author to the question of whether the
English language in its role as a global lingua franca changes textual norms in
other European languages over and above the massive,
well-known lexical import from English into other languages. Following a
description of the project's background, design and corpus,
the qualitative analytical procedure is outlined, a few exemplary qualitative
comparative analyses in two genres (popular science and economic texts) as well
as the results of validating qualitative analyses examining translations from English into other languages (French, Spanish) are discussed. The
qualitative analyses are then supplemented by quantitative diachronic
analyses of a number of linguistic elements expressing "subjectivity"
and "addressee orientation”, as these were found to be
primarily affected by the influence of the English language. The paper closes
with a brief outlook on the present project phase,
where a new cycle of qualitative analyses is conducted, in which those
"vulnerable" linguistic forms found to have markedly
changed in frequency in the corpus over time (such as personal pronouns,
markers of modality or co-ordinate conjunctions) are
re-contextualized and investigated in aligned subcorpora
in terms of the translation relation and the co-occurrences holding for each individual
form in the English and German texts.
Postcolonial Translation
Studies in
by Liu Lin (
Abstract: This
paper examines the way postcolonial translation studies has
been practiced in
Querying the Sources of a
Claim about Tang Dynasty Translation Workshops
by Sun Hailin (
Abstract: Both Ma Zuyi in his A Short History of
Translation in China and Chen Fukang in his A History
of Translation Theory in China claim that the Tang Dynasty workshops for translating Buddhist
scriptures featured 12 functionaries performing different duties in the
translation process. And they cite respectively Zanning's
A Biography of Eminent Monks in Song Dynasty and Daoxuan's
A Sequel to the Biography of Eminent Monks as the sources for the claim.
Checking both citations against their alleged sources has revealed some
striking discrepancies between the two. Further textual research shows that the
true sources of this claim lie elsewhere, most likely in Song Dynasty accounts
about Tianxizai's workshop and in publications by
such contemporary scholars as Ren Jiyu
and Yang Yanfu.
A New Approach to Venuti's Foreignizing Translation
Theory
by Jiang Xiaohua
(Macao Polytechnic Institute) & Zhang Jinghua (
Abstract: Ever since its
introduction into
Aesthetic Reconstruction in
Translation: A Brief Review of Liu Shicong’s
Aesthetic Theory of Literary Translation
by Sun Jiancheng & Wen Xiuying (
Abstract: Professor Liu Shicong is noted both for his translations and for his
aesthetically oriented theory of translation. Taking three of his recently
published translations as representative cases for a comparative and analytical
study of his works, this paper calls attention to a close interrelationship
between his theory and his practice, and offers an interpretative review of his
overall conception of translation.
Improving Consistency in
by Zhao Yushan (
Abstract: Following the
general guidelines set by the national system for certifying professional
qualification, and consistently applying a uniform set of standards, CATTI is
administered throughout the country to meet the broadest possible social needs,
providing accreditation for the examinees' bilingual translation or
interpretation proficiency. CIPG is responsible for organizing, implementing
and administering the test under the supervision of the Ministry of Personnel
of the People's Republic of
Translating the New Women in
by Yu Zhongli (
Abstract: The Diary of Miss
Sophia, a semi-autobiographical novel by Ding Ling, has been hailed as one of
Metaphor and Its Translation:
With English Translation of Fortress Besieged as a Case Study
by Wang Lei (
Abstract: Not until the
1970s, however, did the field of translation start turning its attention to
this topic, and the translation of metaphor remains under-thematized
even today. While much has been said about Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K. Mao's
masterfully executed English translation examination. To find out whether this
approach is acceptable to the translation target readers, the author conducted
a survey among native speakers of English. His findings suggest that in
translating metaphors, especially those which are culturally loaded, excessive
literal translation would not always be effective. Flexibility should be
exercised in dealing with different kinds of metaphors in different contexts.
The
Chinese Translators Journal
28:184 (2007 n°4)
The Translator's Responsibilities
by Sun Zhili
(PLA Foreign Languages Institute) p. 14-18 (in Chinese)
Abstract: Contemporary translation
theory has taken a turn from the traditional issue of fidelity/infidelity to a
new concern with ethics, or to the issue of the translator's responsibility.
Drawing from Andrew Chesterman's five models of
translational ethics and taking the Chinese translational context into
consideration as well, this paper identifies five responsibilities for the
translator to take, namely: the responsibility of representing
the original; of fulfilling one' s client' s
requirements; of conforming to the socio-cultural norms of the receiving country;
of satisfying the demands of the TL reader; and finally of abiding by one' s professional
ethics.
On Walter Benjamin's View of Translation
by Huang Hairong
(
Abstract: Closely correlated with
his view of language, Walter Benjamin' s view of translation
is informed with the notion of redemption. Evasive, mysterious and even baffling as
it sometimes appears, the perspective offers nevertheless a key to the understanding of the overall thinking of Benjamin, including his view of
criticism and history, and its resonance with the postmodern thinking.
Alterity in Translation: An Overview of
Theories and Practices
by Annie Brisset
(
Abstract: Beyond language transfer,
translation is a cognitive experience of alterity
whose effects are existential, rather than symbolic.
It is a fiduciary action, an entrustment that carries with it a danger of
confiscation and censure wherever it is based on an
asymmetrical relationship between the languages, cultures or alterities involved. Hence the exorbitant
power and responsibility of the translator,
which has been concealed for centuries by the various images of submission and
fidelity. What are the objects and
subjects of alterity that emerge from studies on
translation? Which paradigms or models take shape around these alterities? Which ends induce the practices
which then inform these models? Given the diversity of all these issues,
depending on the historical periods, the institutional
settings, and the theoretical frameworks within which they have been conceived
to date, this study can only present a selective
overview of how the problems of alterity have shaped
our dominant representations and practices of translation.
A Poet with a Magnanimous Soul, a Translator with a
Magnificent Pen: Remembering Zha Liangzheng
on the 30th Anniversary of His Death
by Wang Hongyin
(
Abstract: Zha
Liangzheng, better known by his pen name as Mudan, has long been granted a place in the pantheon of
modern Chinese poetry and translation. Commemorating the 30th
anniversary of his death, this paper looks back at what he had accomplished as a poet, a translator, and in particular a translator of
poetry. Following a balanced evaluation of his translations
of English and Russian poems, the author
comments on Zha's viewpoints on translating poetry
and their influences on contemporary literary translation and translation
criticism in
Applying a Task-based Approach to the Teaching of
Interpreting: An Empirical Study
by Wen
Jun & Liu Wei (
Abstract: The rapid growth of
The Quality of Interpreting and Its Control
by Wang Dongzhi
& Wang Lidi (University of International Business
and Economics;
Abstract: Citing sets of
professional standards proposed by international organizations of interpreters,
this paper points out that since different agents concerned tend to have
different expectations of the interpreter, the quality of interpreting is
subject to the determination of multiple criteria. On the basis of a brief
survey of notable case studies of interpreting since the 1980s, the paper then
makes an attempt to identify common factors that affect the interpreter'
s performance. In conclusion, the authors propose that three coping
strategies be adopted to ensure the quality of interpreting.
Narratological and Stylistic Perspectives on
Fiction Translation
by Fang Kairui
(
Abstract:
As a narrative genre, the novel has its distinctive discourse features, and a
more rigorous analysis of these features can be achieved by adopting methods
originating in narratology and stylistics. Both
disciplines have witnessed a remarkable period of development over the past two
decades. While continuing to pay close attention to textual features, they have
also expanded their scope of investigation to include relevant factors outside
the text. These new developments provide the studies of fiction translation
with methods for combining analyses of both intra- and extra-textual factors,
and for remedying the deficiencies that used to haunt this area of studies.
Translating Technical Terms without Sacrificing Their
Inherent Vividness: The Rendition of Offshore Oil Drilling Terms as an Exemplar
by Xue Ningdi (
Abstract: A special kind of
difficulty one encounters in translating techno-scientific texts draws our
attention to the fact that vividness and arbitrariness could also be among the
lexical features of technical terms. Not infrequently, we come across terms in
this area which are utterly incomprehensible, only to find out later that they
perplex simply because their formation does not follow any rule or law. Using
the Chinese rendition of specialized terms in oil drilling industry as an
exemplar, this paper discusses how the vividness of the original terms could be
retained in their translations.
The Origin of Yin and Yang as Traditional Chinese
Medical Terms and Their Translation
by Lan Fengli
(
Abstract:
Traditional Chinese medicine inherits and develops the concepts of yin and yang
from the Book of Changes. While this pair of terms is used in ancient Chinese
medical texts primarily for their philosophical senses, within specific
contexts they could also signify concrete medical meanings, such as male and
female, sex or sexual activity, opposite meridians, different kinds of
pathogens, contradictory qi, etc. Since the specific
meanings of yin and yang depend highly upon the linguistic context in which they
appear, it is ill-advised to consistently use their pinyin transliterations in
rendering the two concepts into other languages. To be adequate, their
translation should accord with the actual contextual meanings they have
acquired.
A
Critical Assessment of Two Classic English Translations of the Analects
by He Gangqiang
(
Abstract:
Among the many English versions of Confucius' Analects, the ones by James Legge and Arthur Waley
respectively enjoy classic status. Largely owing to their stylistic fluency and
textual polish, the two translations had each been regarded as the best of its
kind for about seventy years. Their popular acceptance notwithstanding, both in
fact leave much to be desired and their overall quality is far from
satisfactory. It is incumbent upon Chinese translators today to produce a new
English version that would truly do justice to both the substance and the style
of The Analects.