从纽马克的交际翻译和语义翻译角度论英语新闻的翻译.docx

从纽马克的交际翻译和语义翻译角度论英语新闻的翻译 论文关键词：新闻翻译 交际翻译 语义翻译 文本类型 翻译标准 论文摘要：随着现代科技的迅速发展，新闻，作为最重要的大众传播工具之一，与人类生活愈来愈密不可分。因此，新闻翻译不可避免地在信息交流中发挥重要作用。一些学者已经着手对新闻翻译的研究，并对翻译的操作过程和技巧问题提出了宝贵的见解。英国翻译家纽马克根据布勒对语言功能的分类将文本分成了三种类型，即表达型、信息型和号召型。本文将试从交际翻译和语义翻译的角度来探讨如何有效地翻译英语新闻，从而能够准确地传达信息并尽量保留原文的创作特点。 本论文由两章组成。第一章深入探讨了交际翻译和语义翻译、文本类型、翻译的标准以及它们之间的关系等问题，从而为本论文打下了核心的理论基础。第二章集中讨论了交际翻译和语义翻译在新闻翻译中的应用 Translation is a science as well as a skill, and each kind of skill needs theory as a guide. A successful translation is not necessary a direct result of painstaking efforts in exploring translation principles, but it should correspond to the laws of translation. Translation theory provides guidance for the practice. Communication Translation and Semantic Translation Defined Peter Newmark made an important contribution to the study of translation theory. His major contribution is the dichotomy of communicative translation and semantic translation, which have already been recognized as his most influential achievement in translation studies. Newmarks communicative translation and semantic translation are believed to be more practical than idealized discussions on translation method: “I have proposed only two methods of translation that are appropriate to any text: Communicative translation, where the translator attempts to produce the same effect on the TL readers as was produced by the original on the SL readers, and Semantic translation, where the translator attempts, within the bare syntactic and semantic constraints of the TL, to reproduce the precise contextual meaning of the author” . From these words, communicative translation and semantic translation can be roughly distinguished. As this definition indicates, communicative translation focuses essentially upon the comprehension and response of TL receptors while semantic translation centers around the semantic content of the SL texts. To be more specific, “in communicative translation, the emphasis should be on conveying the message of the original in a form, which conforms to the linguistic, cultural and pragmatic conventions of TL. Both content and language are readily acceptable and comprehensible to the readership. Semantic translation consequently tends to strive to reproduce the form of the original as closely as TL norms will allow” .12345678下一页 Newmarks communicative translation and semantic translation are the result of years of experiences undertaking the translation from English to French and from English to German. The new methods have a great bearing on translation studies, expanding translators horizon and offering brand new perspectives to viewing the matter of translation strategies. Comparison between CT and ST To lend readers more concrete understanding of relevant knowledge about communicative translation and semantic translation, this part will conduct their mutual comparisons. The Differences between CT and ST These two kinds of translation have obvious difference, according to Peter Newmark, the methods of communicative translation and semantic translation vary from each other in terms of the following aspects: Communicative translation addresses itself solely to the second reader, who does not anticipate difficulties or obscurities, and would expect a generous transfer of foreign elements into his own culture as well as his language where necessary. Semantic translation remains within the original culture and assists the reader only in its connotations if they constitute the essential human message of the text. Communicative translation must emphasize the “force” rather than the content of the message. Semantic translation would be more informative but less effective. A semantic translation is always inferior to its original, since it involves loss of meaning; Communicative translation may gain in force and clarify what it loses in semantic content. The translator is trying in his own language to write a little better than the original, unless he is reproducing the well-established formulae of notes or correspondence. Generally, a communicative translation tends to undertranslate. It uses more generic, hold-all terms to translate difficult passages. It is smoother, simpler, clearer, more direct, more conventional, conforming to a particular register of language. It is foremost to produce the same impact or effect on SL readers and fulfill the function of TL texts to establish the communication between SL authors and TL readers. A semantic translation tends to overtranslate. It is more complex, more awkward, more detailed, more concentrated. It pursues the thought-processes and includes more meanings in its search for one nuance of meaning. Differences between communicative translation and semantic translation can be further displayed by the following example: 谋事在人，成事在天 Version A: Man proposes, God disposes. Version B: Man proposes, Heaven disposes. All in all, the two translation methods cannot be employed separately in practice, they both comply with the usually syntactic equivalents for the two languages. That is to say, a translation can be more or less semantic, or more or less communicative, but without complete pision. Only if translators kept the two methods in a kind of harmony, would translation be successful. Relations with Text Typology With the development of linguistics, some translators have begun to reach a consensus that translation is a text-oriented activity. Translators can almost determine translation methods based upon the characteristics of different text types to balance the relationship between form and content of the original. Newmark suggested that translators should consider characteristic of text types as they choose communicative translation or semantic translation. His communicative translation and semantic translation theory has close connection with his distinction of texts. Newmark suggests that translators should consider characteristics of text types as they choose communicative translation or semantic translation. According to Buhlers linguistic functional theory, Newmark pided all texts into three categories: expressive text, informative text and vocative text. Typical expressive text includes formal works of literature , authoritative speech , autobiography, prose and personal letters. Informative text stresses “truth” and the fact outside the language. Its form can be textbook, technical report, newspaper, journals and thesis, etc. Vocative text treats readers as center and its purpose is to call for readers to think and feel as the writers aim. Notice, propagandas and advertisements all belong to this category. CT and ST and Criteria for Translating News Criteria for Translating News The criteria of translating news must be multi-layered and the attempt to work out a single criterion for dealing with all aspects of news is doomed to be in vain. First, translation of news should be truthful. This criterion has been prescribed by the informative function of news. The most important duty of reporters is to present a real picture of what has happened by using accurate and objective language. The undying energy source of news stems exactly from the language truthfulness, which also means that translators should operate on truthful SL, and meanwhile guarantee undistorted information reproduction with truthful TL. Here truthfulness in a real sense has gone far beyond faithfulness, a common yardstick for all translation. Truthfulness actually compels translators, prior the translation, to probe into the credibility of news sources, accuracy of the news events, and preciseness of related information. Any act of transiting falsified information, deliberately or not, will lead to translators complete failure. Second, translation of news needs to be esthetically pleasant. To meet this criterion, translators should attach importance to the non-information elements embedded in the original news texts including the authors stylistic features and social and cultural background. The reservation of such non-information elements, which contain abundant esthetic value, in fact enables readers to appreciate esthetic beauty while digesting information. Although truthful translation of news can facilitates the communication between SL editors and TL readers, it cannot yet be counted as successful translation. Newspapers are like a “mirror”, so to speak, reflecting the reality of life, phenomena and culture in a society that readers may likewise show their interest in. Translators task is to discover those literal evidences in source culture through the “mirror”, and then do their best to make a pleasant presentation of the evidences for TL readers. The above two criteria are not alienated to each other but functioning cooperatively and complementarily. Whenever the two criteria conflict with each other or cannot be met at the same time in translation, translators will have no choice but to sacrifice the esthetic value because truthfulness after all is the spirit of news. Relations with CT and ST The two criteria aim to balance the relationship between information transmission and reservation of esthetic characteristics in the translation of news texts, which are largely overlapped with the discussion scope on communicative translation and semantic translation. The first criterion pursues the highest fidelity in information transmission, and communicative translation can well meet this criterion by treating information and readers with the foremost concern; the second criterion pursues the esthetic value of news, and semantic translation does concentrate on maintaining authors thought patterns and writing styles. The relationship between the criteria and communicative translation and semantic translation is exactly like that between the end and the means of translation. The two criteria set rules that translators should abide by so that the two translation methods can be applied under rigorous supervision and finally be tested, and the two methods outline operational procedures that translators can follow so that the criteria can be fulfilled. Chapter TwoApplication of Communicative Translation and Semantic Translation to Translation of News In the previous chapter, this thesis has already discussed the text type of news, based upon which two translation criteria have been tentatively proposed. What is next, the communicative translation method and semantic translation method will be put into real practice. Lexical Features and Translation As the most active part in language, vocabulary always reflects the changing of society and life. From words we can know social development, emergence of new things and so on, which can also be clearly observed in news writing. Besides the general characteristics of words in other writing types, journalistic words have its own features, which make the news more vivid and genuine, at the same time, attract more readers. In this part, the features of journalistic English vocabulary and their translation will be discussed in detail. Midget Words Midget words refer to the simple-structured but actively functioning words, which enjoy wide popularity because news is believed to be “literature in a hurry”, no time given to editors to consider the elegance of the wording. Besides, easy wording can largely cater for average newspaper readers from different educational background or social classes. Midget words include midget nouns with large information capacity and midget verbs, which is simple but lively. For instance: aimpurpose drivecampaign talknegotiation blastexplosion askinquire axereduce bidattempt dropabandon Communicative translation can be a workable method to translate the news texts featuring midget words because the fundamental principle of communicative translation and the basic function of midget words share much in common, to smooth and accelerate information transmission. For example: With jobs cuts, New York is losing war of brooms The word “cut” collocates with the word “job”. Obviously, it means “reduce”. In order to achieve the communicative purpose, it is translated into “裁减”. So the whole sentence should be translated as “纽约裁减清洁工，环境卫生恶化。” Abbreviations An abbreviation refers to shortened form of a word or phrase used chiefly in writing to represent the complete form. There are two types of abbreviations frequently adopted in news: clipped Words and acronyms. For example: delidelicatessen expoexposition homohomosexual SUVSports Utility Vehicle PMPrime Minister TPTraffic Policeman UNUnited Nations In communicative translation of the news featuring abbreviations, the key work is still to identify the meanings of those words through journalistic conventions and replace them with corresponding Chinese equivalents. Likewise, translators are endowed with much freedom to remodel the structure of the original as necessary. 1: Migration raises bird-flu worries 候鸟迁徙让人们对禽流感忧心忡忡 : discuss early Iraq elections伊拉克大选在即 联合国官员加紧讨论 In some cases, there is no need to translate them into Chinese any more because there are no obvious obstacles of understanding in the communication between SL editors and TL readers. For example: Ex-CEO charged in Enron scandal to ease technology sale to China 美将简化对华科技销售 Rhetorical Features and Translation In order to make the language vivid, eye-catching and easy to understand, journalistic English often uses rhetorical devices. But they also put translators into a kind of dilemma that information should be truthfully transmitted to TL readers whereas the rhetorical features of news texts should also be reserved. Translators should use the communicative method and the semantic method alternately in dealing with the news texts characterized by figures of speech. Communicative translation provides readers with the precise information embedded in news texts. Translators are supposed to associate the connotations of figures of speech with relevant news reports. Furthermore, translators need likewise polish their language to protect the original information from being distorted by readers. Semantic translation helps retain the original style. Translators need first to conduct an in-depth study on the figures of speech, figuring out their connotations in the news context and comparing them with C