Conversion, Amplification and Omission Lecture Eight Conversion, Amplification and Omission 词类转移法、增词法与省略法

Major points Definition Reason Purpose Principle Types

Conversion Definition The part of speech of a word in the source text is changed or converted to another part of speech in the target text.

The reason for using conversion in translation 1)Non-correspondence in part of speech between Chinese and English words 2)Difference in preference for part of speech English: noun, preposition, adjective Chinese: verb, measure word (classifier)

Purpose Clarity Smoothness Naturalness

Types of conversion E-C: noun→verb preposition→verb adjective→verb etc. C-E: verb→preposition verb→noun verb→adjective

Examples: 1)…and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. 民有，民治，民享的政府将永存于世。 2)The volume of trade has increased tremendously to the advantage of both countries.贸易的巨增/剧增给两国带来了极大的好处。

3)We are enemies of all wars ,but above all of dynastic wars. 我们反对一切战争，特别是王朝战争。 4)中国成功地爆炸了第一颗原子弹，在全世界引起了巨大的反响。 China's successful explosion of its first atomic bomb caused tremendous repercussion throughout the world. // China has succeeded in exploring its first atomic bomb, which produced a great response through out the world.

5)徐悲鸿画马画得特别好。 Xu Beihong’s drawings of horses are exceptionally good. 6)邓小平在“十一大”上说：“一定要少说空话，多做工作。” Deng Xiaoping, at the eleventh Party Congress, said,“There must be less empty talk and more hard work.”

英语介词译为汉语动词 without a handle 缺一个把手 through ages 古往今来 around the center 围绕这个中心 before everything 位于首位 beyond my comprehension 超出了我的理解能力 off shore 离岸 in the rain 淋雨 from the masses,to the masses 从群众中来，到群众中去 on the wrong way 走错了路 By ship 乘船 With a smile 带着微笑

Amplification Definition It means that, in the process of translating, words will be added in the target text. These words do not exist in the surface structure of the source text.

The reasons for using amplification in translation 1)Implied message in the source text 2)Difference in usage between C and E C: low frequency in use of structural words E: high frequency in use of structural words Different ways of ellipsis between C and E

3)Rhetorical considerations Purpose Clarity Smoothness Naturalness

Prinicple Add words but not any meaning which is not existent in both surface and deep structures of the source text Types 1)Expressive addition 表达的增词 2)Grammatical addition 语法增词 (grammatical meaning) 3)Logical addition 逻辑增词 (logical relation)

4)Syntactical addition 句法上的增词ellipsis (grammatical omission) 5)Rhetorical addition 修辞上的增词 vivid, effective, cohesive 6)Semantic addition 语义上的增词 deep meaning

Examples: 1) I am looking forward to the holiday. 我正期待着假期的到来。 2) Electricity is convenient and efficient. 电用起来方便而有效。 3) If the relation took hours, and not seconds, the fuel costs would be prohibitive 假如这一反应需要数小时而不是几秒钟，那么燃料成本就太高了。

4)Tilflin must be saying something right when he points out that the focus is man’s adaptation to the environment. 梯夫林曾经指出关键在于人对环境的适应能力，他一定说对了。 5)I could knit when I was seven. 我七岁的时候就会织毛衣了。 6)Reducing the current,we can correspondingly decrease the speed of the motor. 如果减少电流这电动机的转速就会慢慢减低。

牛郎织女：the Cow Herd[Cowherd] and the Spinning Maid[Girl Weaver] separated by the Milky Way –a couple live in two separate places. 三个臭皮匠合成一个诸葛亮: Three cobblers with their wits combined equal Zhuge Liang, the master mind. 人与动物不同：Humans are different from other animals.

Assignment 1)Better be wise by the defeat of others than by your own. 2)It’s a bit fishy that she should have given away a villa like that. 3)Shakespeare’s boldness with regard to language is less conspicuous, though no less real, in the instances I shall mention.

Omission Definition It means that, in the process of translating, words of the source text will be omitted or deleted in the target text.

The reason for using omission in translation 1)lingguistic difference between C and E Preference of certain parts of speech Difference ways of ellipsis 2)rhetorical considerations Shakespeare: Brevity is the soul of wit.

Principle Words can be omitted but not the original meaning. “善删者字去而意留，善敷者辞殊而义显” --刘勰: 《文心雕龙》

What is omitted EC: articles, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions CE: measure words (classifiers / quantifiers), structural words, repeated parts

Types 1.Deleting redundant information ①油嘴滑舌：a glib tongue ②取之不尽，用之不竭：inexhaustible ③不分青红皂白：to make no distinction/difference between white and black. ④树立新的劳动就业观念：establish /develop /cultivate new concepts of employment

2. Deleting the information which can be implied in the target text’s deep structure. 1)活到老，学到老。Live and learn 2)他长得很结实。He is quite strong. 3)花园里面是人间乐园，有的是吃不完的大米、白面，穿不完的绫罗绸缎和花不完的金银财宝。 The garden was a paradise on earth, with more food and clothes that could be considered and more money than could be spent.（generalization）

3.Deleting some word classes such as articles, conjunctions, prepositions, pronouns, etc. in E-C translation. 1)You can not build a ship, a bridge or a house if you don’t know how to make a design or how to read it. 2)不会制图或者看不懂图纸，就不可能造船、架桥或盖房子。 3)他叫呀，喊呀，但是没有一个人答应。Again and again he called out. No reply. 4)他不能来，因为他只有一条腿，所以不能来。He can’t come. Because he has only one leg.

翻译实践 原文： “赋”与“贼” 过去有个人，识字不多，坐船外出做生意。一天船停在“江心寺”，他就和同伴一起下船到寺中闲逛。

寺院墙壁上写着“江心赋”三个字。他一见，慌忙扭头就跑，喊道：“这里有江心贼，不可久留！”他的同伴说：“不要慌，这是‘赋’。”他摇头回答：“我看有些像‘贼’的样子。”

参考译文： Poem and Thief In olden days a man who could not read many Chinese characters took a boat to go out on business. One day the boat stopped at the River Center Temple. He and his companion got off and went to look around in the temple.

Shaking his head, the man said, “It looks like ‘thief to me.” Note: On the temple wall were written three characters” River Center Poem”. As soon as he saw these, he turned and began to run, shouting, “There are river-center thieves here. We should not tarry!” Don’t be frightened, his companion said. “This character is ‘poem’, not ‘thief’”[1] Shaking his head, the man said, “It looks like ‘thief to me.” Note: [1]The Chinese characters”赋” and “贼”are quite similar to each other in form. So the poorly educated man in the story mistakes the former as the latter.

Assignment An Englishman who had just landed in China entered a restaurant to appease the pangs of hunger. Unfortunately he knew no Chinese and the waiter knew no English; so they were both thrown on mother wit. John Chinaman articulated “Bowwow”, to which John Bull moved his head from right to left. Then the waiter said “ Quack ,quack!”to which the customer moved his head from sky to earth,and the inner man was soon satisfied