Unit 1 Fundamentals of translation

1. Unit 1 Fundamentals of translation by Wang Zheng

2. Recommended readings • 1. 冯庆华，2002，《实用翻译教程（英汉互译）》， 上海外语教育出版社 • 2.方梦之、毛忠明主编，2004，《英汉－汉英应用翻译教程》，上海外语教育出版社 • 3. 张培基等，1980，《英汉翻译教程》，上海外语教育出版社 • 4. 陈宏薇，1995，《新实用汉译英教程》，湖北教育出版社。 • 5.杨必译《名利场》，人民文学出版社出版 • 6. 《中国翻译》杂志“翻译自学之友”专栏 • 7. 《英语世界》杂志

3. Literal translation vs. free translation • Literal translation直译 • armed to teeth 武装到牙齿 • gentlemen’s agreement 君子协定 • walls have ears. 隔墙有耳 • crocodile tears 鳄鱼的眼泪 • chain reaction 连锁反应 Free translation意译 • What is said cannot be unsaid. • Six of one and half a dozen of another. • Don’t cross the bridge till you get to it.

4. What is good translation? • Example 1: Many corporate intranets resemble the chaos that was prevalent on the Internet before the advent and popularity of portals. • word-for-word translation : 许多公司的内部网类似于因特网上盛行的混乱状况（在门户网站的问世和风行之前。）×

5. II. Choice of Words in Translation 1. Comprehension Exercise 1: He collapsed into a protesting chair. Exercise 2: 在学习上我们有一切便利条件。 Each word when used in a new context is a new word. -- J. R. Firth, linguist Example 3: The author’s fingerprint is quite obvious in all of his works. Version1: 作者在他所有著作中留下的指纹都非常清晰。 Version2: 作者的风格在他的所有作品中都得到了非常明显的体现。

6. Choice of Words in Translation (2) • Example 4: 徐霞客在考察的过程中，从不盲目迷信书本上的结论。 • Version 1: During his investigation, Xu Xiake never held blind superstitions of conclusions in books. • Version 2: During his investigation, Xu Xiake never took for granted prior written conclusions. • 2. Expression • 笑（smile, grin, chuckle, giggle, chortle, titter, snigger, guffaw, cackle, roar） carry（背负；运送；传递；结转；负荷等） • Example:中国建设银行非常愿意参与TNT中国资金管理方案的设计。 • 参考译文：CCB readily commits itself to the design of the Fund Management Plan for TNT China.