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1、Translating The Interpreters’ Resource: Mistranslations and Solutions 摘 要 本文重點探討作者在第六章節(jié)的翻譯過程中產(chǎn)生的誤譯現(xiàn)象并提出改進(jìn)建議，闡述功能理論對說明文本翻譯的指導(dǎo)作用；作者將運用準(zhǔn)確、忠實的翻譯原則對誤譯現(xiàn)象進(jìn)行分析評述，希望對類似英漢翻譯方向的說明類文本提供參考價值和一定的借鑒。 關(guān)鍵詞：說明類文本； 誤譯； 功能翻譯理論； 翻譯原則 Abstract This paper focuses on the problems and solutions of mistransla

2、tion during the process of E- C translation practice. It analyzes the different versions of the text through translation theories, including Skopostheorie and the principles of faithfulness and accuracy. In this respect, this paper is helpful for the quality of the E-C translation of information tex

3、ts. Key words: E-C translation of informative text; mistranslation; Skopostheorie；principle of translation; Translating The Interpreters’ Resource: Mistranslations and Solutions 1. Introduction With the rapid development and arising social status of China in the international community,

4、 the dialogues and understanding between China and the rest of the world have been deepened. Spanning a long history, translation activities have played a vital role in bridging the west and the east, promoting the communicating and mutual trust with each other. With regard to this, domestic transla

5、tors are asked to introduce more first-hand materials on international translation institutions and relevant information. From July 15 to August 10, 2010, the author translated the text of the Interpreters and Institutions of the European Union as translation practice for graduation. The entire sour

6、ce text was edited by Mary Phelan; it is a practical guide in describing an all-around information for interpreters at present and in the future. The whole history of the interpreting development, the interpreting ethnics, as well as the large amount of background knowledge on the international inte

7、rpreting institutions recruiting interpreters is included. The author mainly focuses on translating the European Union part (Chapter 6). As the source information is an explanatory text, it is inevitable that specific but complex sentence structures are frequently used. Given the fact that China h

8、as been playing an influential part in the international community and the issues under discussion are related to its national interest of development, accurate translation of such texts has become increasingly crucial for relevant sectors to refer to. As a result, a theory which could have some use

9、ful guidance on the translation process is desperately required. In the process of this translation practice, the translator have found that the Skopostheorie useful, which has provided her a new perspective to view the whole translation process. According to the Skopostheorie theory, translation m

10、ust achieve equivalence in result. In dealing with the problems of mistranslation, the principle of accuracy is also provided in the paper. This paper intends to study the application of the Skopostheorie in the translation practice in dealing with the mistranslation phenomenon. The translator hope

11、s that this experience can provide some insight for translators in the future. 2．Theoretical framework 2.1 Skopos theory Skopostheorie is an approach to translation proposed in the late 1970s and early 1980s by Reiss & Vermeer. Since it reflects a general shift from linguistic and formal trans

12、lation theories to a more functionally and socio-culturally oriented concept of translation, it has become “a welcome addition to translation studies” (Gentzler 2001: 71). Initially formulated by Reiss in the 1970s, the theory was enunciated by Vermeer in the 1980s, and was further developed in the

13、1990s by Nord, one of its most important second-generation scholars. Skopos theory stresses the interactional, pragmatic aspects of translation, arguing that the shape of TT should above all be determined by the function or “skopos” that it is intended to fulfill in the target context. Reiss & Verme

14、er formulate this principle into two skopos rules: “an interaction is determined by (or is a function of) its purpose”, and “the skopos can be said to vary according to the recipient” (Reiss & Vermeer, 1984). Vermeer also mentions that, “Each text is produced for a given purpose and should serve thi

15、s purpose. The Skopos rule thus reads as follows: translate/interpret/speak/write in a way that enables your text/translation to function in the situation in which it is used and with the people who want to use it and precisely in the way they want it to function”(Vermeer, 1989). Consequently, the r

16、ule is interpreted as encouraging the version to be adapted to target-culture behavior or expectations, although the concept does not imply in this way. “In the framework of Skopostheorie, one of the most important factors determining the purpose of a translation is the addressee” (Nord 1997: 12),

17、 who is the intended receiver of audience of the target text with their culture-specific world-knowledge, their expectations and their communicative needs. Every translation is directed as an intended audience, since to translate means “to produce a text in a target setting for a target purpose and

18、target addressees in target circumstances” (Vermeer, 1987). Also, the theory calls for redefining the relationship between ST and TT. Since a publicity text is "content-focused" rather than "form-focused" (Reiss, 2000), the translator should transmit the STs conceptual content and does not have to

19、preserve the STs linguistic form or original style insofar as the TT fulfills its intended skopos or function. That is, the ST-TT relationship is specified by the skopos of the translation. 2.2 Accuracy In the process of translating a text, the message of the original should be preserved in the

20、translation and this shows the fidelity or faithfulness of the translator to the original text. Beekman and Callow (1989: 33) believe that a faithful translation is the one “which transfers the meaning and the dynamics of the original text”; and by “transferring the meaning”, they mean that the tran

21、slation conveys the ST information to the TT reader. According to Beekman and Callow (1989: 34), “only as the translator correctly understands the message, can he begin to be faithful”, and it is only then that “he can translate clearly & accurately”. In fact, faithfulness and fidelity are two terms

22、 which show how much the TT reconstructs the ST. Larson (1984: 485) believes that in every translation, accuracy, clearness and naturalness are of the great importance. Regarding the translation accuracy, she believes that in some cases, when the translator tries to get the meaning of the ST and co

23、nvey it to the TT, s/he may make some mistakes, either in the analysis of the ST, or in the process of conveying the meaning, and a different meaning may result; then, there is a need for a careful check regarding the accuracy of the translation. According to Khomeijani Farahani (2005: 77-78), based

24、 on what Larson proposed in 1984, the process of evaluating the accuracy of translation can be done in this way, which is recognizing the key words of the ST and their equivalences in the TT and comparing how close they are; i.e. determining whether the translator could convey the same and exact mea

25、ning of the ST by selecting the best target equivalents and whether s/he could achieve an acceptable accuracy or not. Consequently, the term translation accuracy refers to the translators understanding of the message of the ST and that how accurately the translator has managed to translate a text f

26、rom one language into another. English and Chinese are different from each other, both linguistically and culturally. English is an inflectional language, and the words are naturally formed through affixation. Accuracy and effectiveness at the lexical and phrasal level rely much on morphology. In c

27、ontrast, the Chinese language is a completely analytical language and words are formed mainly through amalgamation. Accuracy and effectiveness rely both on word and formation and word meaning. That difference is obvious in dealing with abstract ideas. English language is an Indo –European language

28、 that is partially inflectional and highly word-order dependent. English written language may contain some spoken-like chunks, but this depends on the register and genre type. An English sentence is built in the shape of a tree while a Chinese one is formed in the shape of bamboo joints. English is

29、subject prominent, while Chinese is topic prominent. Thus, perfect equivalence rarely happens between two languages, especially when they belong to two different language families like English and Chinese. Mistranslation is referred to the distortion of the original text or does not pertain to the

30、meaning of the original work. In the translation process, Linguistic translation errors are caused by “an inadequate translation when the focus is on language structures” (Nord 1997: 75). They represent deviations from standard target-language paradigms and usages. Since errors of this category are

31、legion in English translations of Chinese publicity texts, it might be useful to distinguish “elementary” translation errors from “higher-level” ones. The former refer to glaring mistakes in terms of spelling, punctuation marks, choice of words, word order, etc; and the latter to complex ones involv

32、ing sentence structure, logic, tense, and voice. Therefore, this paper is to analysis the phenomenon of mistranslation in three aspects on linguistics, text analysis and the principle of being accuracy. 3. Mistranslations and coping strategies The following instance suffices to show what “elemen

33、tary” errors are and how rampant they are: 3.1 Linguistic translation errors 3.1.1 Improper use of words or phrases Example 1 ST: The following table lists the countries that have applied to join: TT A: 以下是每年申請加入歐盟的國家。 TT B: 下表是已經(jīng)申請加入歐盟的國家。 Here A version is acceptable in Chinese for it is

34、comprehensible and easily understood while actually it is a wrong translating expression—mistranslation. A careful translator may find that the key point is the tense (present perfect). Obviously, the translator overlooks the sentence that indicates the time “have applied to”, thus, considering this

35、, B-version is a right choice for succinct and concisely. Example 2 ST: Freelance interpreters are a special case in that they do not have to be EU nationals and SCIC may be interested in any languages worldwide, not just the official EU languages. TT A: 自由口譯員屬于特殊情況，他們不一定需要具備歐盟成員國國籍，歐盟委員會口譯司不限于

36、歐盟官方語言，他們可能會對世界任何一種語言表示興趣。 TT B: 自由口譯員屬于特殊情況，他們不一定需要具備歐盟成員國國籍，歐盟委員會口譯司不限于歐盟官方語言，他們需要任何一種語言的口譯服務(wù)。 The verb phrase “be interested in” in the SL text reflects the distinctive expression and thinking pattern of the west in which it shows a positive attitude or feeling towards something, but, in the pr

37、ocess of translating this part, the translator found that the literal meaning in the context can not be used with no considering the Chinese language culture in expressions as well as the situation of the context. “Be interested in” simply suggests the indication and the fact that all languages in t

38、he world are welcomed by SCIC. Suppose the phrase were rendered as “歐盟委員會口譯司對任何一種語言表示興趣……” In the context, the train of thoughts of LT readers would gaze at the awkward unnatural Chinese characters“表示興趣,” feel disappointed for the translation does not meeting that set of requirements, failing to k

39、eep on reading the words below. This faithfully follows the structure and expression of the SL, and the rendering is also readable. But a comparison with the latter one reveals its mediocrity. In B-version, forms are cast away with less questionable expression, “需要” more concisely express the intend

40、ed meaning. Therefore, the translator abandons the surface meaning and illustrates its plain one, conveying the objective tone with minor changes to comply with the initial meaning. Therefore, choose the right word is strongly suggested in the cases. At the level of words, problems can only be sol

41、ved if the translator works hard to cumulate both his English and Chinese competency to a level that he or she is able to choose the right word in any case to produce a natural and right translation. 3.1.2 Incomprehensible expression The rendering of written texts from one language into another

42、requires high accuracy and smoothness. Translation tasks allow considerable time for translators to find the best substitutions while interpreters hardly have time to consider the wording and structure carefully. Incomprehensible expressions of the context could easily result in inaccuracy. Inaccura

43、cy in translation, therefore, needs to be studied more cautiously than those in interpreting. There are potential “traps” in which Chinese translators usually find themselves caught. They are the relative clauses, time adverbials; etc. This paper would concentrate on the main types of mistakes conce

44、rning the incomprehensible expressions that lead to inaccuracy at sentence level. Example 3 SL: In practical terms the possible language combinations will mean that there will probably be far greater reliance on relay. TT A: 實際上,可能出現(xiàn)的語言組合將意味著下屆譯員需有更高的語言素質(zhì)。 TT B: 從實際情況看,眾多的口譯語言組合意味著翻譯服務(wù)將大大依賴接力口

45、譯。 The SL is brief enough with one sentence, but it is not easy to be completely understood, for the phrases “l(fā)anguage combinations” and “greater reliance on relay” are difficult to define. Based on the dictionary, the terms are rendered as “語言組合” and “依賴…接力” respectively, which, obviously, do not

46、compatible with the context. Compared with the A, the B-version sets a good example, specifically, “relay” is translated into “接力口譯,” conveying a clear information with professional terms that are easily understood by the reader, avoiding the possibility problems of misunderstanding and obscurity.

47、 Example 4 SL: Clearly there will be problems when Members of the European Parliament from Poland, Hungary or Romania speak – interpreters may have to work both in and out of their mother tongue as happened in the Finnish booth when there were problems finding interpreters with Finnish. TT A: 來自

48、波蘭、匈牙利或羅馬尼亞的歐洲議會在演講環(huán)節(jié)時很明顯會出現(xiàn)一些問題---如發(fā)生在芬蘭語同傳箱內(nèi)，口譯員可能需要同時譯入譯出他們的母語，而事實上，譯員對芬蘭語并不十分了解。 TT B: 當(dāng)來自波蘭、匈牙利、羅馬尼亞的歐盟議會代表發(fā)言時，口譯員必須負(fù)責(zé)母語譯入外語與外語譯入母語的雙向口譯服務(wù)，這與提供芬蘭語口譯服務(wù)的譯員十分相似，在沒有找到合適譯員的情況下，他們也不得不承擔(dān)雙向口譯服務(wù)的任務(wù)。 The SL sentence is a bit of long, presenting too much information for the reader to swallows immediate

49、ly. Fortunately, the connotative meaning between the sentences and the use of hyphen perfectly run through the paragraph, making it clear and coherent. In A-version, the sentence structure remains largely unchanged based on the original description, and the hyphen is retained, but it is precisely to

50、 achieve accuracy and correctness that clutter the sentence with obscuring the meaning. To avoid ambiguity and confusion, in B-version, the sentence is revised to reorder the sentence to make a contrast between two stances first and then show the result, this clearly shows the meaning, also is suita

51、ble to the Chinese way thinking. A translation of high quality must be the work of a skillful translator. To be able to produce excellent translation, the translator must be competent in both the source and target language and have extensive background knowledge. Firstly, the practice of translati

52、on belongs to the linguistic realm. Thus, the primary reason of a poor translation must be the insufficiency of the translator’s language competence. The incompetence may be of Chinese, the foreign language of English – Chinese translation, and/ or of English, the source language. It is suggested

53、 that before being a translator, one must be a good writer. It is to say that he is capable of using his mother tongue effectively to express the idea, incomprehensible expressions, inaccurate translation, hence, is most of the time direct consequence of a poor or insufficient target language compet

54、ence. Language incompetence can be observed in two broad areas: the vocabulary and the grammatical structures, particularly, the Chinese learning process is relative long filled with hardships; insufficient knowledge on either side of the professional areas may lead to translations of poor quality a

55、s well. Also, a translator needs to flexibly compare and contrast, be aware of the differences between the two languages so that he can easily find an equivalent whenever necessary or at least know how to make himself/herself understood when encountering some difficulties. It is crucial for a tran

56、slator to fully understand all the denotations and connotations of a word so that he or she can avoid making any loss of connotational meanings as in examples above. To do that, it is asked to be flexible in the use of words for a translator and does not translate mechanically according to an Englis

57、h – Chinese dictionary; this also belongs to the skills and competence of language. The art of translation requires a lot, the basic one is the proficiency in languages. 3.2. Text-specific mistranslation In terms of effect, a translator, like an imitated painting, should seek after resemblance

58、 in sprit rather than in form (Fu Lei, preface to the retranslation of Le Pere Goriot, 1951.) Changes in meaning owing to context and positioning are of the utmost importance in literature, in referring to this; the practical translation also demands the translator to consider the specific context a

59、nd situation as well. “Contextual meaning” is something not always obtainable from dictionaries, but from careful consideration of the immediate textual context. Indifference to the context situation will thus lead to the mistranslation of the whole text for a translator; one who lacks training in t

60、ranslating and reads carelessly will have difficulty in understanding this kind of explanatory text meaning thoroughly, or contribute to mistranslation in the end. “My translation attempts to present its profound thought. It does not follow the exact order of words and sentences of the original

61、 text but reorganizes and elaborates. However, it does not deviate from the original ideas. It is more an exposition than a translation as it seeks to elaborate—a unorthdox way of transmission. ” (Yan Fu, 1898) Due to the translators poor awareness of the TTs skopos and its target readers, Text-spe

62、cific mistranslation are seen everywhere. Besides, text-specific translation errors arise from text-specific translation problems and can usually be evaluated from a functional or pragmatic perspective (Nord, 1997: 76). As discussed above, a publicity text differs from the other text types because i

63、ts function is primarily informative. Therefore, the intended informative function should be achieved and given priority over the other functions in the translation. Otherwise, it will not be evaluated as a "good" translation for not being "functional" or "adequate to the purpose" (Nord, 1997: 73),

64、hence a text-specific translation error. Moreover, another reason behind is the lack of academic preparation. Although necessary background knowledge is learned, the little bit of everything that the translator knows is of little use when it comes to practical application. Since this translation w

65、ork is written about the various international interpreting organizations, it is naturally related to politics, economics, geography, and history. Certain difficulties may be overcome through research on the internet, library, but due to regional and cultural and language differences, the translator

66、 may not be able to make the reader understand what one has understood oneself. Example 5 SL: Gross National Product – each country makes a contribution in proportion to its GNP. This is subject to a cap – in 1999 the ceiling was 1.27% of total Community GNP. TT A: 國民生產(chǎn)總值——每個國家致力于發(fā)展本國經(jīng)濟(jì)。這是一個上限問題——1999年最高限度達(dá)到整個共同體國民生產(chǎn)總值的1.27%?！? TT B: 國民生產(chǎn)總值：各國根據(jù)國民生產(chǎn)總值多少繳納數(shù)量不等的資金，資金數(shù)額不超過規(guī)定上限額,1999年，上限額為國民生產(chǎn)總值的1.27%。 The SL is an example to show the features of the English varieties. The hyphens here a