History of Translation Studies 10

这里是《翻译学史》的书稿第十部分(Part 10)。麻烦各位同学看一下已经存在的章回（样品），自己再加进去新的一个章回（就是你们的学期论文）。请也帮助同学们把他们的论文改正。这样多次修改，大家的论文会越来越好。

学期论文（结合学期所学，撰写一篇5000以上单词的英文论文，按照专业杂志的格式，题目、摘要、关键词和参考文摘需要英中，文章英）。学期论文成绩占70%，平时成绩（含课堂表现、展示及作业）占30%。

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Functional Equivalence

On functional equivalence and formal equivalence and their application in translation 陈静静 Chen Jingjing

Abstract

Translation plays an indispensable role in modern cross-cultural communication. In this process, translators are supposed to achieve the equivalence between the source text and the target text to the greatest extent. Translation theory is of great importance to steer them towards this. Nida put forward the well-known theory of formal equivalence and functional equivalence which pursues the equivalence in form and content and that in function between the two languages separately. This paper focuses on their introduction and differences as well as their application in translation so as to provide more guidance for translators and promote people’s deeper understanding on functional equivalence and formal equivalence.

key words

functional equivalence, formal equivalence, translation

摘要

翻译在现代跨文化交际中起着非常重要的作用，而在这一过程中，译者需要尽可能实现源文本和目标文本之间最大的对等。翻译理论在其中则对译者具有非常重要的指导作用。奈达提出了“形式对等”和“功能对等”理论，“形式对等”是以源语为中心，追求原文形式和内容之间的对等，而后者强调实现两种语言之间功能上的对等。该论文主要对形式对等和功能对等进行简单介绍并分析两者之间的差异以及它们在翻译之中的运用，以使译者对它们有更为深入的了解。

关键字

功能对等，形式对等，翻译

Functional Equivalence

In order to set a standard for the transition between the source language and the target language, Nida, based on the essence of translation, put forward the theory of dynamic equivalence but later replaced it with the name of functional equivalence as he was convinced that it will better reflect the communicative function.

Functional equivalence mainly includes lexical equivalence, syntax equivalence, textual equivalence and stylistic equivalence. According to Nida, when translating, you need to use the most appropriate, natural and equivalent words to express the information of the source text, that is to say, functional equivalence is prior to formal equivalence. Therefore, we need to try to achieve equivalence in form when we pursue the equivalence in content. In the book “Language, Culture, and Translation”, Nida divides functional equivalence into “minimal equivalence” and “maximum equivalence”. The basic point of “functional equivalence” is to compare the way of understanding and appreciating the original text by the readers of the target text, and requiring the readers of the target text to be able to perceive the translation. The extent to which readers of the original text understand and appreciate the original text( the minimum functional equivalence), the readers of the target text should basically be able to understand and appreciate the target text in the way that the original reader understands and appreciates the original text( the maximum functional equivalence).

To accurately reproduce the source language culture and eliminate cultural differences, the translator can follow these three steps. First, the translator should strive to make the translation not only conform to the semantics of the original text but also reflect the cultural characteristics of the original text. However, two kinds of languages represent two completely different cultures and similar elements may exist in the two cultures but they can't be exactly the same. Therefore, it is impossible for a translator to fully display the cultural connotations of the original text. Second, if meaning and culture can’t be taken into account at the same time, the translator has to abandon the formal equivalence and achieve the purpose of reproducing the semantics and culture of the original text by changing the form of the original text in the translation. Third, when changing the form still doesn’t work, the translation technique of “reconstruction” can be used to achieve the equivalence in meaning between the source text and the target text. It means transforming the deep structure of the source text into the surface structure of the target text , that is, the cultural connotations of the source text could be elaborated by words of the target language. In terms of the the status of source text and the translator, according to this theory, minor adjustment of the source text is allowed when necessary but we are not encouraged to modify it. Consequently, it seems that the source text is in a high position so the translator must give preference to it. From the perspective of translation standard, domestication is preferred in functional equivalence when we consider the cultural factors. What’s more , it is commonly used in literary translation. Functional equivalence is of great importance for it brings the contest between the literal translation and free translation to an end and provides a new translation standard, but on the other way, it turns the translation into an activity merely concerned with language.

Functional Equivalence in the Translation of Ken Liu 肖茜 Xiao Xi

Abstract

Hao Jingfang’s science fiction Folding Beijing won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 2016. The success of this fiction is inseparable from Ken Liu’s rigorous translation work. Focusing on the response of the target readers, the translation of this fiction not only retains the meaning and style of the fiction, but also effectively transmits the Chinese culture, which is in line with the requirement of the theory of Nida’s functional equivalence to “quality of a translation in which the message of the original text has been so transported into the receptor language that the response of the receptors essentially like that of the original receptors”. The theory of Nida’s functional equivalence, one of the earliest translation theories introduced into China, has produced a profound effect on translation studies in different literary genres. This paper studies the English translation of Folding Beijing and analyses Ken Liu’s application of functional equivalence in translation, and proves the value of functional equivalence theory in the translation of science fiction.

Key words

Functional Equivalence; Folding Beijing ; meaning; style; culture

摘要

郝景芳的科幻小说《北京折叠》获得了2016年的雨果奖最佳中篇小说奖，该小说的成功，离不开刘宇昆严谨的翻译工作。该小说的翻译以关注译文读者反应为出发点，既保留了小说的意义与文体风格，又有效传递了中国文化，这与功能对等理论提出的“努力创造出既符合原文语义又体现原文文化特色的译作”的要求相契合。奈达功能对等理论，是最早被引进中国的翻译理论之一，对中国各文学类型的翻译研究影响深远。本文对《北京折叠》的英译本进行研究，分析刘宇昆在翻译时对尤金奈达功能对等理论的运用，展现功能对等理论对科幻小说翻译的价值。

关键词

功能对等；《北京折叠》；意义；风格；文化

Introduction

In the science fiction Folding Beijing, the future Beijing is overpopulated. In order to solve this crisis, people transform it into a folding city with strict hierarchy. The folding city is divided into three spaces. They share 48 hours, and the first space is occupied by the upper classes of society, who have a 24-hour time cycle at their disposal; The second space is occupied by the middle class, who can spend 16 hours; The third space is inhabited by the lower classes, who have only eight hours of the night. Lao Dao belongs to the third space. He wants his daughter to go to a good school, and he ventures into the second and third space to deliver letters to others in order to make money. Although the novel is a futuristic science fiction, it is also realistic, revealing the class differences in the process of urbanization and modernization. This science fiction novel has many Chinese characteristics and has many local Chinese words. The cultural differences between China and the West caused by regional factors and customs are a big problem for translation. The translator should not only consider the readers’ understanding and feelings, but also ensure that the local colors in the works are not deleted. Functional equivalence theory shows that translation should not be limited to form, and translators can make necessary adjustments to the form and structure of the original text, so as to achieve the equivalence of content and information. Nida’s functional equivalence theory has exerted a far-reaching influence on China, and also brought new and effective translation guidance methods to translators. We can see that when Ken Liu translated science fiction, he was also trying to achieve the balance and coordination between the translation and the original text. From the perspective of functional equivalence theory, this paper analyzes the English translation of Folding Beijing from the perspectives of meaning, style and culture, and discusses how the translator achieves the closest equivalence with the original text and whether the ideal equivalence is achieved.

1.Eugene A. Nida and His Theory of Functional Equivalence

Eugene A. nida, an American scholar and translator, he explains the dynamic equivalent translation in his influential work Toward a Science of Translating. Dynamic equivalence aims at the closest and most natural equivalence between the target text and the source text, and focuses on the equivalence of readers’ response, not just the equivalence of content and form. In his book The Theory and Practice of Translation, Nida defined dynamic equivalence as follows: Dynamic equivalence is therefore to be defined in terms of the degree to which the receptors of the message in the receptor language respond to it in substantially the same manner as the receptors in the source language.（Nida，2004：24）Nida’s dynamic equivalence theory requires that the translation readers’ response to the translation should be consistent with that of the original readers. Since dynamic equivalence is controversial in some aspects, Nida replaced dynamic equivalence with more perfect functional equivalence in 1993. There are a number of related principles that govern the degree of adjustment necessary to produce a satisfactory equivalent translation. As functional equivalence translation is defined as the closest and most natural equivalent translation of the source language information, three principles should be followed by translators to achieve functional equivalence. In order to achieve functional equivalence, the translator must make the translation fit(1) the context of the source-language message, (2) the receptor-language reader’s response, (3) the receptor language and culture as a whole. Nida defined the reader’s response as the essence of his functional equivalence theory, that is, from the form and content of information to the reader’s response. It is different from the traditional translation theory, which emphasizes the comparison of verbs between the original text and the target text. Functional equivalence concerns reader’s responses. If the target language reader’s understanding and appreciation of the target language is essentially the same as that of the original language readers, the target language can be regarded as a functional equivalence. In other words, the functional equivalence of Nida emphasizes the reader’s response to the translation.

Applicaton of Translation Theories

Study of Application of Interpretive Theory in Escort Interpretation 韩宛真 Han Wanzhen

Abstract

With economic globalization, exchanges between countries have become more and more frequent and areas of cooperation have continued to expand. The increasing demand for interpretation is the quality of interpretation which is particularly important. Interpretive theory plays an important role in translation, especially in interpreting, and it plays an extremely important role in guiding interpreting practice.

Theory and Practise

An Analysis of the Books of Translation，History and Culture: A Sourcebook and A Comparative Study of Chinese and Western Translation Thoughts 成于思 Cheng Yusi

关键词

安德烈·勒菲弗尔，《翻译，历史与文化论集》，刘宓庆，《中西翻译思想对比研究》

II.Analysis of Translation, History and Culture: A Sourcebook

Translation, History and Culture: A Sourcebook, edited by American translation theorist and the foremost representative of Translation Studies---André Lefevere in 1992, is a collection of seminal statements of thinking about literary translation in Western Europe, spanning twenty centuries from 106 BC to 1931 AD. “Lefevere’s later work on translation and culture in many ways represents a bridging point to the ‘cultural turn’.”(Munday, 2016) As such, Translation, History and Culture: A Sourcebook serves as a good proof of “cultural turn” of translation proposed by Translation Studies. In general editor’s preface of this book, Lefevere and Bassnett displayed their intention to edit this book---to reflect the current development of Translation Studies. They redefined translation as “a rewriting of an original text”. Here, they explained that “rewritings reflect a certain ideology and a poetics and manipulate literature to function in a given society in a given way. Rewriting is manipulation, undertaken in the service of power, and in its positive aspect can help in the evolution of a literature and a society.” (lefevere, 2003) With reference to these concepts, Lefevere aimed to declare the central function of translation as a shaping force.In preface of the book, Lefevere looked back to the tradition of translation in western Europe, and concluded that the previous discussion of translation was exclusive to language, failing to deal with the complexity of the translation. Therefore, he proposed that the study of translation needs deep exploration for cultural studies. (Lefevere, 2003) Such idea was envisaged at the backdrop of the stagnancy of linguistics in 1970s and the emergence of Translation Studies in 1976, thus promoting the trend of “cultural turn”. “Cultural turn” was officially termed by Mary Snell-Hornby meaning the move from translation as text to translation as culture and politics in her paper collected in the book Translation, History and Culture in 1990, whose publication was valued as the declaration of “cultural turn” of translation studies. If the book Translation, History and Culture is regarded as the anticipation and elaboration of Lefevere and Bassnett’s thoughts of “cultural turn”, Translation, History and Culture: A Sourcebook, with abundant case studies, is proved to be a good illustration of their thoughts. The collected excerpts are arranged in eight themes, including The Role of Ideology, The Power of Patronage, Poetics, Universe of Discourse, Translation, the Development of Language and Education, The Technique of Translating, Central Texts and Central Cultures and The Longer Statements which is an extension of the former seven themes. Such an exclusive arrangement is intended to highlight the important thinking on translation, to effectively illustrate the constraints imposed on translation, to discuss the position of culture, the role translation played in education, and to give out technique of translating concerning translation practice, thus dwarfing the traditional chronological arrangement. I enjoy reading this book because it makes those aloof and remarkable scholars closer to us. After reading their original words, they seem to appear in fresh and narrate their feelings of being translators. I hear John Dryden’s complaints about translator’s inferiority, and admire Cicero’s courage to assert free translation to defend the privilege of translators. He said that “I decided to take speeches written in Greek by great orators and to translate them freely… I could not only make use of the best expressions in common usage with us, but I could also coin new expressions, analogous to those used in Greek” (lefevere, 2003) Through reading the scholar’s letters or their original statements, we can review their thoughts on the basis of our own understanding, rather than be crammed with so-called essential yet monotonous principles summarized by others.

A Cultural Critique of Foreignization and Domestication 吴子佳 Wu Zijia

Abstract

Domestication and foreignization ，as two important translation methods, play an important role in many areas, the language is the carrier of culture, the differences between different cultures is the important obstacle of cross-cultural communication.And each of the two translation strategies has its own advantages and disadvantages. During translation, an interpreter is required not only to have good command of translation, but also need to grasp a foreign cultural psychological and ideological values, cultural knowledge reserve purpose countries and consider the national psychological acceptance, while standing in the source language, on the basis of national culture, realize the cultural exchanges between the two countries. This paper intends to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of domestication and foreignization in the translation of different cultures (such as tourism culture, food culture, literary works, etc.), and to select the essence and discard the dross in order to find better translation methods and achieve better cultural promotion and cross-cultural communication.