Unit 9

1. Unit 9 Translation from a textual perspective

2. Topics to cover in this lecture:a summary • 1. Context • Situational context • Cultural context • 2. Cohesion and coherence • Cohesive links • Other cohesive devices • 3. Textual development in Chinese and English • Causality • Loose vs. compact • Information density

3. Context (I) • Context: the part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning. • “Every word used in a new context is a new word.”—J. Firth , linguist • 1) situational context: the situation of the outside world as described in the text, which determines the meaning of words in the text. • 2) cultural context: the social and cultural background as reflected in the text, which determines the meaning of words in the text.

4. Situational Context • Our hosts hovered over us. Did we like the caviar? How was the Khachpuri (a kind of bread)? Why weren’t we eating more roast chicken? We were finally saved from the crisis by Aleksandro, just before the shashlik（烤羊肉串） arrived. • 译文一：主人在我们身边走动着。我们喜欢鱼子酱吗？我们为什么不多吃点烤鸡？在烤羊肉串端上来之前，我们终于被亚历山德罗从危机中解救出来。

5. Would you prefer a world in which there was less divorce? The answer is yes. Do I think that it is a realistic policy objective? The answer is no. • 译文1：你是不是比较喜欢一个更少人离婚的世界？答案是肯定的。我是不是认为那是一个现实的政策目标？答案是否定的。

6. Cultural Context （I） • On the subject of extra-terrestrial life—something which the cosmologist is frequently asked—he said he did not believe aliens had visited Earth. If they had, he added, it would have been “more like Independence Day than ET.”

8. Cultural translation (II) • It’s an age - old dispute: men are from Mars; women are from Venus. Males and females show different behaviors almost from birth. Researchers say these behaviors are due to basic differences in brain structure and activity. Studies show men are better at hitting targets and solving math problems while women are better at memorizing words and recognizing faces. Why the difference ? • 参考译文1：男人来自火星 ,女人来自金星。这是一个长期以来的争论。男人和女人几乎从出生时就表现出不同的行为 ,研究者说这些行为是因为大脑基本结构和活动的不同造成的。研究也表明男性有更高的解决数学问题和实现目标的能力 ,而女性则有记忆词汇和辨认面孔的天赋。为什么会有不同呢 ?

9. Cohesion and Coherence • Cohesion: e.g.: --Peter came. –But he was very late. Both “but” and “he” are cohesive devices. • Coherence: e.g.: --Could you give me a lift home? --Sorry, I’m waiting for my sister. • 英语多衔接手段，较为精密，逻辑性强，常为显形连贯。汉语中衔接手段较少，多流水句，通过内在逻辑连接句子，常为隐性连贯。

10. Cohesive Ties（衔接词） • a.  顺序关系：first, second, afterwards, next, • b. 并列关系：and, also, likewise, • c.递进关系：moreover, additionally, in addition, furthermore, • d. 因果关系：therefore, so, as a result, consequently, thus, accordingly • e.  

12. Typical Errors in Cohesion (II) • 孔林为孔子墓葬所在地，位于曲阜市城北1.5公里处。墓园古柏参天，周以围墙，占地面积200万平方米。园内有清代建筑的观楼和享殿，和宋代雕刻的石人、石兽等。自孔子以后，孔氏历代子孙亦多葬于此。 • 原译文： • http://www.ccnt.com.cn/culture/relic/)

13. Exercise for Cohesion • It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. –Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin • 译文1：凡是有钱的单身汉总想娶位太太，这是一条举世公认的真理。 • 译文2：但凡饶有家资的单身男子总想讨个老婆，这是一条公认的真理。 • 译文3：

14. Typical Errors in Coherence (I) • And whether it is a farmer arriving from Italy to set up a small grocery store in a slam, or a young girl from a small town in Mississippi to escape the indignity of being observed by her neighbors, or a boy arriving from the Corn Belt with a manuscript in his suitcase and a pain in his heart, it makes no difference.

15. Typical Example in coherence • 我当时是接管中央美术学院的军代表。听说白石老人是教授，每月到学校一次，画一张画给学生看，作示范表演。有的学生提出要把他的工资停掉。 • 我说，“这样的老画家，每月来一次画一张画，就是很大的贡献……”

16. Typical Errors in Coherence (II) 九寨沟风景区动物资源丰富，自然分布原生植物2756种，由于其地处亚热带与温带交汇处，使得景区内既有亚热带植物，又有适合温带生长的油松、华山松等，形成植物垂直带谱。九寨沟有脊椎动物170种，鸟类141种。。。 • 原译文：…Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area has rich resources of flora and fauna and houses 2576 species of protophytes. Being at the juncture of the subtropical and the temperate Zones, the scenic area houses trees suited to both zones such as Chinese tallow tree (Sapium sebiferum), and Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaeformis), forming a vertical flora zonation. The place houses 170 species of vertebrates and 141 species of birds… (http://www.china-window.com.cn/heritage/c1.html)

17. Textual development in Chinese and English • Chinese: linear, uni-directional and loose • English: complex, bi-directional and compact • 1. Sequence of causality: • Dear Shelley , • Much to my regret I was unable to see you off at the airport yesterday, owing to the fact that my little daughter was suddenly taken ill early yesterday morning, and I was needed at home. • Yours truly ,

18. 2. Loose vs. compact • 有年轻的朋友告诉我，在他们女大学生宿舍，如果有校外的某某人找她们其中的某一位，而此人不在，同学说你留个家里的电话号码吧，那人说公用电话不好打；那你留个BP机号也行，那人说很抱歉本人没有BP机，——那就对不起了，实话对你说，你连个BP机都置不起，某某小姐根本连睬都不会睬你的。——选自张抗抗《投资与出售》 • Several young women once told me what often happens these days in their dorms. When a male calls in for a female student who happens to be out, they are asked to have a home telephone or pager number. If the caller is using a public telephone, …(tr. by Zhang Liqing)