英语专业毕业论文Translating The Interpreters’ Resource Mistranslations and Solutions

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1、 TRANSLATING THE INTERPRETERS RESOURCE: MISTRANSLATIONS AND SOLUTIONSbyZhai ChenchenA thesisSubmitted to the School of Translation Studiesof Xian International Studies Universityin partial fulfillment of the requirementsfor the degree ofBachelor of Arts in TranslationXian, ChinaMay 16, 2011Class: 20

2、07-2 Student No. 0723010227Advisor: Li Xiangdong西安外国语大学毕业论文开题报告姓名性别女班级2007-2学号07毕业论文题目：Translating The Interpreters Resource: Mistranslations and Solutions任务起止日期: 2011 年3 月10 日 至 2010 年 5 月16 日毕业论文主要内容及参考文献：本文是基于口译员的资源的汉译实践而撰写的一篇翻译实践论文。原文第六章节介绍了欧盟机构组织语言政策、译员招募程序、译员雇用人数及其下属的各实体机构相关情况。本文重点探讨作者在第六章节的翻译

3、过程中产生的误译现象并提出改进建议，阐述功能理论对说明文本翻译的指导作用；运用准确、忠实的翻译原则对误译进行分析评述，希望对类似英汉翻译方向的说明类文本具有参考价值和一定的借鉴。ReferencesChen Xiying. (1929). On translation. Amsterdam/ Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.Douglas, R. (2005). Western translation theory from herodotus to nietzsche. Beijing: Foreign Language Tea

4、ching and Reseach Press.Jeremy, M. (2001). Introducing translation studies theories and application. London: Rout ledge.Mary, S. H. (2006). The turns of translation studies. Amsterdam/ Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.Michael, C. (2003). Translation and globalization. London: Rout led

5、ge. Retrieved on 25th, April, 2011 from Newmark, P. (2001). Approaches to translation. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.谭载喜. (2009) . 西方翻译简史（增订版）. 北京: 商务印书馆.邵志洪.（2005）. 汉英对比翻译理论. 上海: 华东理工大学出版社.萧立明.（2002）. 英汉比较研究与翻译. 上海: 上海外语教育出版社.陈安定.（1998）. 英汉比较与翻译. 北京: 中国对外翻译出版公司.辜正昆.（2003）. 中西诗

6、比较鉴赏与翻译理论. 北京: 清华大学出版社.指导教师 (签名) 年 月 日This thesis, by Zhai Chenchen(), with Lecturer Li Xiangdong（）as the academic advisor, is accepted in the present form by the School of Translation Studies, Xian International Studies University as satisfying the thesis requirements for the degree of Bachelor of

7、Arts in translation. _Li Xiandong（） Academic Advisor_ Chair of the Defense Committee_ _Date Li Ruilin） Dean School of Translation Studies知识产权声明秉承学院严谨的学风和优良的学术道德，我声明所呈交的论文是我本人基于翻译实践并在导师指导下进行的研究工作所取得的成果。尽我所知，除了文中特别加以标注外，论文中不包含其他人已经发表或撰写的研究成果，不包含本人或他人已申请学位或其他用途使用过的成果。他人对本研究所做的任何贡献均已在论文中作了明确的说明。申请学位论文与资

8、料若有不实之处，本人承担一切相关责任。作者签名：日 期： 年 月 日摘 要本文重点探讨作者在第六章节的翻译过程中产生的误译现象并提出改进建议，阐述功能理论对说明文本翻译的指导作用；作者将运用准确、忠实的翻译原则对误译现象进行分析评述，希望对类似英汉翻译方向的说明类文本提供参考价值和一定的借鉴。关键词：说明类文本； 误译； 功能翻译理论； 翻译原则AbstractThis paper focuses on the problems and solutions of mistranslation during the process of E- C translation practice. It

9、 analyzes the different versions of the text through translation theories, including Skopostheorie and the principles of faithfulness and accuracy. In this respect, this paper is helpful for the quality of the E-C translation of information texts.Key words: E-C translation of informative text; mistr

10、anslation; Skopostheorie；principle of translation;Translating The Interpreters Resource: Mistranslations and Solutions1. Introduction With the rapid development and arising social status of China in the international community, the dialogues and understanding between China and the rest of the world

11、have been deepened. Spanning a long history, translation activities have played a vital role in bridging the west and the east, promoting the communicating and mutual trust with each other. With regard to this, domestic translators are asked to introduce more first-hand materials on international tr

12、anslation institutions and relevant information. From July 15 to August 10, 2010, the author translated the text of the Interpreters and Institutions of the European Union as translation practice for graduation. The entire source text was edited by Mary Phelan; it is a practical guide in describing

13、an all-around information for interpreters at present and in the future. The whole history of the interpreting development, the interpreting ethnics, as well as the large amount of background knowledge on the international interpreting institutions recruiting interpreters is included. The author mai

14、nly focuses on translating the European Union part (Chapter 6). As the source information is an explanatory text, it is inevitable that specific but complex sentence structures are frequently used. Given the fact that China has been playing an influential part in the international community and the

15、issues under discussion are related to its national interest of development, accurate translation of such texts has become increasingly crucial for relevant sectors to refer to. As a result, a theory which could have some useful guidance on the translation process is desperately required.In the proc

16、ess of this translation practice, the translator have found that the Skopostheorie useful, which has provided her a new perspective to view the whole translation process. According to the Skopostheorie theory, translation must achieve equivalence in result. In dealing with the problems of mistransla

17、tion, the principle of accuracy is also provided in the paper.This paper intends to study the application of the Skopostheorie in the translation practice in dealing with the mistranslation phenomenon. The translator hopes that this experience can provide some insight for translators in the future.

18、2Theoretical framework2.1 Skopos theorySkopostheorie is an approach to translation proposed in the late 1970s and early 1980s by Reiss & Vermeer. Since it reflects a general shift from linguistic and formal translation theories to a more functionally and socio-culturally oriented concept of tran

19、slation, it has become “a welcome addition to translation studies” (Gentzler 2001: 71). Initially formulated by Reiss in the 1970s, the theory was enunciated by Vermeer in the 1980s, and was further developed in the 1990s by Nord, one of its most important second-generation scholars. Skopos theory s

20、tresses the interactional, pragmatic aspects of translation, arguing that the shape of TT should above all be determined by the function or “skopos” that it is intended to fulfill in the target context. Reiss & Vermeer formulate this principle into two skopos rules: “an interaction is determined

21、 by (or is a function of) its purpose”, and “the skopos can be said to vary according to the recipient” (Reiss & Vermeer, 1984). Vermeer also mentions that, “Each text is produced for a given purpose and should serve this purpose. The Skopos rule thus reads as follows: translate/interpret/speak/

22、write in a way that enables your text/translation to function in the situation in which it is used and with the people who want to use it and precisely in the way they want it to function”(Vermeer, 1989). Consequently, the rule is interpreted as encouraging the version to be adapted to target-cultur

23、e behavior or expectations, although the concept does not imply in this way.“In the framework of Skopostheorie, one of the most important factors determining the purpose of a translation is the addressee” (Nord 1997: 12), who is the intended receiver of audience of the target text with their culture

24、-specific world-knowledge, their expectations and their communicative needs. Every translation is directed as an intended audience, since to translate means “to produce a text in a target setting for a target purpose and target addressees in target circumstances” (Vermeer, 1987).Also, the theory cal

25、ls for redefining the relationship between ST and TT. Since a publicity text is "content-focused" rather than "form-focused" (Reiss, 2000), the translator should transmit the ST's conceptual content and does not have to preserve the ST's linguistic form or original style

26、insofar as the TT fulfills its intended skopos or function. That is, the ST-TT relationship is specified by the skopos of the translation.2.2 AccuracyIn the process of translating a text, the message of the original should be preserved in the translation and this shows the fidelity or faithfulness o

27、f the translator to the original text. Beekman and Callow (1989: 33) believe that a faithful translation is the one “which transfers the meaning and the dynamics of the original text”; and by “transferring the meaning”, they mean that the translation conveys the ST information to the TT reader. Acco

28、rding to Beekman and Callow (1989: 34), “only as the translator correctly understands the message, can he begin to be faithful”, and it is only then that “he can translate clearly & accurately”. In fact, faithfulness and fidelity are two terms which show how much the TT reconstructs the ST.Larso

29、n (1984: 485) believes that in every translation, accuracy, clearness and naturalness are of the great importance. Regarding the translation accuracy, she believes that in some cases, when the translator tries to get the meaning of the ST and convey it to the TT, s/he may make some mistakes, either

30、in the analysis of the ST, or in the process of conveying the meaning, and a different meaning may result; then, there is a need for a careful check regarding the accuracy of the translation. According to Khomeijani Farahani (2005: 77-78), based on what Larson proposed in 1984, the process of evalua

31、ting the accuracy of translation can be done in this way, which is recognizing the key words of the ST and their equivalences in the TT and comparing how close they are; i.e. determining whether the translator could convey the same and exact meaning of the ST by selecting the best target equivalents

32、 and whether s/he could achieve an acceptable accuracy or not.Consequently, the term 'translation accuracy' refers to the translator's understanding of the message of the ST and that how accurately the translator has managed to translate a text from one language into another.English and

33、Chinese are different from each other, both linguistically and culturally. English is an inflectional language, and the words are naturally formed through affixation. Accuracy and effectiveness at the lexical and phrasal level rely much on morphology. In contrast, the Chinese language is a completel

34、y analytical language and words are formed mainly through amalgamation. Accuracy and effectiveness rely both on word and formation and word meaning. That difference is obvious in dealing with abstract ideas. English language is an Indo European language that is partially inflectional and highly word

35、-order dependent. English written language may contain some spoken-like chunks, but this depends on the register and genre type. An English sentence is built in the shape of a tree while a Chinese one is formed in the shape of bamboo joints. English is subject prominent, while Chinese is topic promi

36、nent. Thus, perfect equivalence rarely happens between two languages, especially when they belong to two different language families like English and Chinese.Mistranslation is referred to the distortion of the original text or does not pertain to the meaning of the original work. In the translation

37、process, Linguistic translation errors are caused by “an inadequate translation when the focus is on language structures” (Nord 1997: 75). They represent deviations from standard target-language paradigms and usages. Since errors of this category are legion in English translations of Chinese publici

38、ty texts, it might be useful to distinguish “elementary” translation errors from “higher-level” ones. The former refer to glaring mistakes in terms of spelling, punctuation marks, choice of words, word order, etc; and the latter to complex ones involving sentence structure, logic, tense, and voice.

39、Therefore, this paper is to analysis the phenomenon of mistranslation in three aspects on linguistics, text analysis and the principle of being accuracy.3. Mistranslations and coping strategiesThe following instance suffices to show what “elementary” errors are and how rampant they are:3.1 Linguisti

40、c translation errors3.1.1 Improper use of words or phrasesExample 1ST: The following table lists the countries that have applied to join:TT A: 以下是每年申请加入欧盟的国家。TT B: 下表是已经申请加入欧盟的国家。Here A version is acceptable in Chinese for it is comprehensible and easily understood while actually it is a wrong trans

41、lating expressionmistranslation. A careful translator may find that the key point is the tense (present perfect). Obviously, the translator overlooks the sentence that indicates the time “have applied to”, thus, considering this, B-version is a right choice for succinct and concisely. Example 2 ST:

42、Freelance interpreters are a special case in that they do not have to be EU nationals and SCIC may be interested in any languages worldwide, not just the official EU languages.TT A: 自由口译员属于特殊情况，他们不一定需要具备欧盟成员国国籍，欧盟委员会口译司不限于欧盟官方语言，他们可能会对世界任何一种语言表示兴趣。TT B: 自由口译员属于特殊情况，他们不一定需要具备欧盟成员国国籍，欧盟委员会口译司不限于欧盟官方语言

43、，他们需要任何一种语言的口译服务。The verb phrase “be interested in” in the SL text reflects the distinctive expression and thinking pattern of the west in which it shows a positive attitude or feeling towards something, but, in the process of translating this part, the translator found that the literal meaning in t

44、he context can not be used with no considering the Chinese language culture in expressions as well as the situation of the context. “Be interested in” simply suggests the indication and the fact that all languages in the world are welcomed by SCIC. Suppose the phrase were rendered as “欧盟委员会口译司对任何一种语

45、言表示兴趣” In the context, the train of thoughts of LT readers would gaze at the awkward unnatural Chinese characters“表示兴趣,” feel disappointed for the translation does not meeting that set of requirements, failing to keep on reading the words below. This faithfully follows the structure and expression o

46、f the SL, and the rendering is also readable. But a comparison with the latter one reveals its mediocrity. In B-version, forms are cast away with less questionable expression, “需要” more concisely express the intended meaning. Therefore, the translator abandons the surface meaning and illustrates its

47、 plain one, conveying the objective tone with minor changes to comply with the initial meaning. Therefore, choose the right word is strongly suggested in the cases. At the level of words, problems can only be solved if the translator works hard to cumulate both his English and Chinese competency to

48、a level that he or she is able to choose the right word in any case to produce a natural and right translation. 3.1.2 Incomprehensible expression The rendering of written texts from one language into another requires high accuracy and smoothness. Translation tasks allow considerable time for transla

49、tors to find the best substitutions while interpreters hardly have time to consider the wording and structure carefully. Incomprehensible expressions of the context could easily result in inaccuracy. Inaccuracy in translation, therefore, needs to be studied more cautiously than those in interpreting

50、. There are potential “traps” in which Chinese translators usually find themselves caught. They are the relative clauses, time adverbials; etc. This paper would concentrate on the main types of mistakes concerning the incomprehensible expressions that lead to inaccuracy at sentence level. Example 3S

51、L: In practical terms the possible language combinations will mean that there will probably be far greater reliance on relay.TT A: 实际上,可能出现的语言组合将意味着下届译员需有更高的语言素质。TT B: 从实际情况看,众多的口译语言组合意味着翻译服务将大大依赖接力口译。The SL is brief enough with one sentence, but it is not easy to be completely understood, for the p

52、hrases “language combinations” and “greater reliance on relay” are difficult to define. Based on the dictionary, the terms are rendered as “语言组合” and “依赖接力” respectively, which, obviously, do not compatible with the context. Compared with the A, the B-version sets a good example, specifically, “rela

53、y” is translated into “接力口译,” conveying a clear information with professional terms that are easily understood by the reader, avoiding the possibility problems of misunderstanding and obscurity. Example 4SL: Clearly there will be problems when Members of the European Parliament from Poland, Hungary

54、or Romania speak interpreters may have to work both in and out of their mother tongue as happened in the Finnish booth when there were problems finding interpreters with Finnish.TT A: 来自波兰、匈牙利或罗马尼亚的欧洲议会在演讲环节时很明显会出现一些问题-如发生在芬兰语同传箱内，口译员可能需要同时译入译出他们的母语，而事实上，译员对芬兰语并不十分了解。TT B: 当来自波兰、匈牙利、罗马尼亚的欧盟议会代表发言时，口

55、译员必须负责母语译入外语与外语译入母语的双向口译服务，这与提供芬兰语口译服务的译员十分相似，在没有找到合适译员的情况下，他们也不得不承担双向口译服务的任务。The SL sentence is a bit of long, presenting too much information for the reader to swallows immediately. Fortunately, the connotative meaning between the sentences and the use of hyphen perfectly run through the paragraph

56、, making it clear and coherent. In A-version, the sentence structure remains largely unchanged based on the original description, and the hyphen is retained, but it is precisely to achieve accuracy and correctness that clutter the sentence with obscuring the meaning. To avoid ambiguity and confusion

57、, in B-version, the sentence is revised to reorder the sentence to make a contrast between two stances first and then show the result, this clearly shows the meaning, also is suitable to the Chinese way thinking.A translation of high quality must be the work of a skillful translator. To be able to p

58、roduce excellent translation, the translator must be competent in both the source and target language and have extensive background knowledge.Firstly, the practice of translation belongs to the linguistic realm. Thus, the primary reason of a poor translation must be the insufficiency of the translat

59、ors language competence. The incompetence may be of Chinese, the foreign language of English Chinese translation, and/ or of English, the source language. It is suggested that before being a translator, one must be a good writer. It is to say that he is capable of using his mother tongue effectively

60、 to express the idea, incomprehensible expressions, inaccurate translation, hence, is most of the time direct consequence of a poor or insufficient target language competence. Language incompetence can be observed in two broad areas: the vocabulary and the grammatical structures, particularly, the C

61、hinese learning process is relative long filled with hardships; insufficient knowledge on either side of the professional areas may lead to translations of poor quality as well. Also, a translator needs to flexibly compare and contrast, be aware of the differences between the two languages so that h

62、e can easily find an equivalent whenever necessary or at least know how to make himself/herself understood when encountering some difficulties. It is crucial for a translator to fully understand all the denotations and connotations of a word so that he or she can avoid making any loss of connotation

63、al meanings as in examples above. To do that, it is asked to be flexible in the use of words for a translator and does not translate mechanically according to an English Chinese dictionary; this also belongs to the skills and competence of language. The art of translation requires a lot, the basic o

64、ne is the proficiency in languages. 3.2. Text-specific mistranslation In terms of effect, a translator, like an imitated painting, should seek after resemblance in sprit rather than in form (Fu Lei, preface to the retranslation of Le Pere Goriot, 1951.) Changes in meaning owing to context and positioning are of t