1Week 4
Translation Notes
翻译笔记
1©hailan 2022
ATS2044
Today’s topic:
1. What is Translation Notes
2. What is “Register”?
3. What does Translation Notes include?
1) Translation strategy 翻译策略
2) Linguistic aspect 语言学层面
3) Cultural aspect 文化层面
4) Contextual aspect 语境层面
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2• Translation Notes (translation criticism) should take into
account all the factors and elements in the process
of translation，translation as a communicative act: intention,
function, text type, register, strategies, principles, rules,
constraints, audience.
• It comprises activities which are part of the process of
translation, analysis and interpretation of the ST, but it is
different from the forms of criticism involved in this process.
3©hailan 2022
• Students of Chinese Translation for Professional Purposes are
required to familiarise with the approaches to the writing of
TRANSLATION NOTES.
• In writing translation notes, students should make critical
comments in regard to a number of relevant issues such as
translation strategy, linguistic, cultural, and contextual aspects.
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3Register 语域
Definition:
•In linguistics, a register is a variety of a language used for a
particular purpose or in a particular social setting.
•More generally, register is also used to indicate degrees of
formality in language use.
•概念最初由Reid在1956年研究双语现象时提出来。
•在社会语言学里,语域指“根据使用目的而形成的语言变体”
(Hudson,1996:45)。
•以英国语言学家韩礼德(M.A.K.Halliday) 为代表的系统功能语言学,
在此基础上对语域概念作出了进一步的发展,最终形成了语域理论。
5©hailan 2022
1.语域理论的形成
•马林诺夫斯基(B.Malinowski):提出 “语境” (context), 语境分为两
类:
• 文化语境(context of culture)是指说话人生活于其中的社会文化背景
• 情景语境(context of situation)是指言语行为发生的具体情境
• 弗思(John Rupert Firth): 情景语境因素归纳为参与者的有关特征、
相关事物及言语活动产生的影响。
• 韩礼德(Halliday: “语域”(registers), 将语域定义为“语言的功
能变体”(functional variety of language)。
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42.语域理论的模式
• 韩礼德: 文化语境是潜在的抽象的;情景语境是具体的,直接与语
言发生关系, 是语言活动以语篇生成的直接环境。
• 韩礼德认为情景语境有三个变量:
• 话语范围、话语基调和话语方式,
➢即语场(field)、语旨(tenor)和语式(mode)。
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• field语场，是指实际发生的事,也就是话语范围及整个语言事
件的背景。如交谈的话题(subject matter)及话语中的场地
(setting)等情景因素。
• tenor语旨，是指参与者之间关系的集合。语旨可分为个人语
旨和功能语旨。语境中的角色关系便是个人语旨,它影响交际
双方使用语言时的正式程度。
• mode语式,是指语篇的语言载体形式。主要有口语形式和书面
形式两种。语言在语场、语旨和语式这三个变量的共同作用
下就会产生一个功能变体—语域。
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5Translation Notes
1. Translation strategy 翻译策略
2. Linguistic aspect 语言学层面
3. Cultural aspect 文化层面
4. Contextual aspect 语境层面
9©hailan 2022
1. Translation strategy –
• Translation strategy should be clearly identified before you
start to translate required passages, i.e.,
➢ text style
➢Background
➢Readership
➢ language register for both ST and TT.
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6• Faithfulness is the extent to which a translation
accurately renders the meaning of the source text,
without distortion.
• Transparency is the extent to which a translation
appears to a native speaker of the target language to
have originally been written in that language, and
conforms to its grammar, syntax and idiom.
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• Equivalence
• The criteria for judging the fidelity of a translation vary
according to the subject, type and use of the text, its
literary qualities, its social or historical context, etc.
• The Formal Equivalent Translation
➢ focuses on the need to pay attention to the form and content
contained in the message.
➢ to achieve equivalence between original text and translation text,
in the linguistical features such as vocabulary, grammar, syntax
and structure.
• The Dynamic Equivalent Translation
➢Correct understanding of idiomatic expressions.
➢Consideration of the author's culture.
➢Careful understanding of the nuances of the original language.
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7• Formal style
• Definition:
• A broad term for speech or writing marked by an impersonal,
objective, and precise use of language.
• A formal prose style is typically used in scholarly books and
articles, technical reports, research papers, and legal
documents. Contrast with informal style.
13©hailan 2022
• Informal style
• Definition:
• A broad term for speech or writing marked by a casual, familiar,
and generally colloquial use of language.
• An informal writing style is often more direct than a formal
style and may rely more heavily on contractions, abbreviations,
short sentences, and ellipses.
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8• Register
美国语言学家 M. Joos将话语分成五种级别 :
1. Static Register刻板体
2. Formal Register正式体
3. Consultative Register咨询体
4. Casual Register随意体
5. Intimate Register 亲密体
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2. Linguistic aspect –
• Linguistics is the scientific study of human language.
• In this part, students shall comment on the languages issues they
come across in the process of translation, i.e., how a particular
word is chosen on the basis of understanding of source text (ST)
and target language (TT);
• Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields
of study:
➢ language form,
➢ language meaning, and
➢ language in context.
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93. Cultural aspect –
• Cultural issues are broader than linguistic issues in that
cultural transition in translation requires that a translator
shall observe the basic rules of being faithful and yet
expressive in TT. Therefore, when making comments on the
cultural issues in a particular translation, students shall pay
special attention to the appropriateness of using an existing
expression, such as proverb or slang in TT.
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• Cultural translation represents the practice of translation,
which involves cultural differences.
• Cultural translation can be also defined as a practice whose
aim is to present another culture via translation. This kind of
translation solves some issues linked to culture, such
as dialects, food or architecture.
• The main issue that cultural translation must solve consists in
translating a text as showing cultural differences of this text,
in respecting the source culture.
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4. Contextual aspect –
• In the translation of a passage, variation from the original
expressions is allowed particularly when being faithful is not
any longer appropriate. The key issue in this is to what extent
an ‘unfaithful’ translation is allowed in order to keep the
expressiveness in TT.
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• Contextual meaning
• means the meaning of words in a certain context. Words can
have different meanings depending on the context they are used
in.
• In all, a translation note shall reflect students’ ability to find the
above-mentioned issues involved in translation as well as their
ability to tackle the problems.
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Some terminologies
• SL ---- Source Language
• TL ---- Target Language
• ST ---- Source Text
• TT ---- Target Text
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End
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