本科毕业论文--从交际翻译理论看公示语的汉译英

PAGE上海海事大学SHANGHAIMARITIMEUNIVERSITY硕士学位论文MASTER’SDISSERTATION论文题目：从交际翻译理论看公示语的汉译英学位专业：外国语言学及应用语言学PAGEOntheTranslationofChinesePublicSigns:FromthePerspectiveofCommunicativeTranslationTheoryByYaoQiangUndertheSupervisionofProfessorHanZhonghua&AssociateProfessorWeiYaochuanAThesisSubmittedtotheCollegeofForeignLanguagesofShanghaiMaritimeUniversityinPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementsforMADegreeShanghaiMaritimeUniversityMay2009AcknowledgementsManypeoplehavegiventheirassistanceinmypreparationofthisthesis;however,Ialoneamresponsibleforanymistakesandimperfectionsoccurringinit.Likeanyinexperiencedwriter,Imetwithsomedifficultiesatfirst.AndIamclearlyawareofthefactthatthethesiscouldnotbeconsiderablybetterbutforalltheinvaluableadviceandkindhelpfromthesepeople.Myscriptshavebeencarefullyreadinfullbymysupervisor,respectedProfessorHanZhonghua,whohasgenerouslyofferedhisdetailedandwide–rangingcomments.Itismyrespectedsupervisorwhomakesthedeficienciesinmyarticlethatusedtobeapparentandunavoidablebecomefewerandlessglaring.IamalsogreatlyindebtedtoassociateProfessorWeiYaochuanforhisgeneroushelp.IalsobenefitgreatlyfromtheinformativeandinsightfullecturesbyProfessorWangJuquan,ProfessorWangMyfinalandheartfeltthanksmustalsogotomyfamilyforthelove,encouragementandsupporttheyhavebeengivingmeduringthetwoyears.

毕业设计（论文）原创性声明和使用授权说明原创性声明本人郑重承诺：所呈交的毕业设计（论文），是我个人在指导教师的指导下进行的研究工作及取得的成果。尽我所知，除文中特别加以标注和致谢的地方外，不包含其他人或组织已经发表或公布过的研究成果，也不包含我为获得及其它教育机构的学位或学历而使用过的材料。对本研究提供过帮助和做出过贡献的个人或集体，均已在文中作了明确的说明并表示了谢意。作者签名：日期：指导教师签名：日期：使用授权说明本人完全了解大学关于收集、保存、使用毕业设计（论文）的规定，即：按照学校要求提交毕业设计（论文）的印刷本和电子版本；学校有权保存毕业设计（论文）的印刷本和电子版，并提供目录检索与阅览服务；学校可以采用影印、缩印、数字化或其它复制手段保存论文；在不以赢利为目的前提下，学校可以公布论文的部分或全部内容。作者签名：日期：

学位论文原创性声明本人郑重声明：所呈交的论文是本人在导师的指导下独立进行研究所取得的研究成果。除了文中特别加以标注引用的内容外，本论文不包含任何其他个人或集体已经发表或撰写的成果作品。对本文的研究做出重要贡献的个人和集体，均已在文中以明确方式标明。本人完全意识到本声明的法律后果由本人承担。作者签名： 日期：年月日学位论文版权使用授权书本学位论文作者完全了解学校有关保留、使用学位论文的规定，同意学校保留并向国家有关部门或机构送交论文的复印件和电子版，允许论文被查阅和借阅。本人授权大学可以将本学位论文的全部或部分内容编入有关数据库进行检索，可以采用影印、缩印或扫描等复制手段保存和汇编本学位论文。涉密论文按学校规定处理。作者签名： 日期：年月日导师签名：日期：年月日指导教师评阅书指导教师评价：一、撰写（设计）过程1、学生在论文（设计）过程中的治学态度、工作精神□优□良□中□及格□不及格2、学生掌握专业知识、技能的扎实程度□优□良□中□及格□不及格3、学生综合运用所学知识和专业技能分析和解决问题的能力□优□良□中□及格□不及格4、研究方法的科学性；技术线路的可行性；设计方案的合理性□优□良□中□及格□不及格5、完成毕业论文（设计）期间的出勤情况□优□良□中□及格□不及格二、论文（设计）质量1、论文（设计）的整体结构是否符合撰写规范？□优□良□中□及格□不及格2、是否完成指定的论文（设计）任务（包括装订及附件）？□优□良□中□及格□不及格三、论文（设计）水平1、论文（设计）的理论意义或对解决实际问题的指导意义□优□良□中□及格□不及格2、论文的观念是否有新意？设计是否有创意？□优□良□中□及格□不及格3、论文（设计说明书）所体现的整体水平□优□良□中□及格□不及格建议成绩：□优□良□中□及格□不及格（在所选等级前的□内画“√”）指导教师：（签名）单位：（盖章）年月日

评阅教师评阅书评阅教师评价：一、论文（设计）质量1、论文（设计）的整体结构是否符合撰写规范？□优□良□中□及格□不及格2、是否完成指定的论文（设计）任务（包括装订及附件）？□优□良□中□及格□不及格二、论文（设计）水平1、论文（设计）的理论意义或对解决实际问题的指导意义□优□良□中□及格□不及格2、论文的观念是否有新意？设计是否有创意？□优□良□中□及格□不及格3、论文（设计说明书）所体现的整体水平□优□良□中□及格□不及格建议成绩：□优□良□中□及格□不及格（在所选等级前的□内画“√”）评阅教师：（签名）单位：（盖章）年月日PAGEI教研室（或答辩小组）及教学系意见教研室（或答辩小组）评价：一、答辩过程1、毕业论文（设计）的基本要点和见解的叙述情况□优□良□中□及格□不及格2、对答辩问题的反应、理解、表达情况□优□良□中□及格□不及格3、学生答辩过程中的精神状态□优□良□中□及格□不及格二、论文（设计）质量1、论文（设计）的整体结构是否符合撰写规范？□优□良□中□及格□不及格2、是否完成指定的论文（设计）任务（包括装订及附件）？□优□良□中□及格□不及格三、论文（设计）水平1、论文（设计）的理论意义或对解决实际问题的指导意义□优□良□中□及格□不及格2、论文的观念是否有新意？设计是否有创意？□优□良□中□及格□不及格3、论文（设计说明书）所体现的整体水平□优□良□中□及格□不及格评定成绩：□优□良□中□及格□不及格（在所选等级前的□内画“√”）教研室主任（或答辩小组组长）：（签名）年月日教学系意见：系主任：（签名）年月日摘要随着我国经济的发展和对外开放步伐的加快，中国与国际间的友好往来及经济合作日益增多，对外联系和国际交流日趋频繁。突出表现在城市面貌上，越来越多的公示语逐渐采用中英双语来表示。由于城市公示语和社会生活、国际形象等都有着密切联系，公示语的翻译也显得愈发重要。但因为公示语有其独特的语言特点和不同的功能意义，公示语的汉英翻译也面临许多实际困难。基于以上原因，作者尝试从理论和实践的角度分析现今汉英公示语翻译中所存在的一些问题。通过对大量标准以及问题公示语翻译的深入观察分析，作者对公示语的一般特征进行了总结并从语言和文化两个层面对公示语翻译中出现的问题进行了分类。语言层面的错误包括拼写、用词不当、用词累赘及语法错误等；文化层面的错误包括中式英语、语气不当、忽略文化差异等。在理论方面，作者发现交际翻译理论在公示语翻译中尤其具有启发性。交际翻译理论是由英国翻译理论家纽马克率先提出的。这一理论对于公示语翻译具有十分重要的理论启示。纽马克认为所有文本可分为三类，即表达型文本、信息型文本和号召型文本。而根据文本类型的不同，纽马克又提出了两种相应的翻译方法，即语义翻译和交际翻译。语义翻译以作者为中心，其表达效果要尽量贴近原文效果，因此适用于表达型文本的翻译。而交际翻译则更趋向于读者，其翻译宗旨是以读者为中心，因此该翻译方法更适用于信息型文本和号召型文本。鉴于对公示语语言特点的考虑，作者发现公示语的文本特点实际上融合了信息型文本和号召型文本的显著特征。因此，作者认为在公示语翻译中应当使用交际翻译策。由于交际翻译策略只为译者提供了一个框架，并没有给我们翻译公示语提供可供操作的具体方法。因此，本文作者针对公示语翻译中出现的错误，讨论了一些具体的翻译方法。如采用国际常用的表达法，进行汉英置换、用词简明扼要、使用汉语拼音、功能优先等方法。对于具有中国文化特色的公示语，可以采用不译、转换思维角度、委婉语气及添加法来成功的传达原文的信息。总之，本文以交际翻译理论为指导，系统的研究和分析了目前我国公示语英语翻译的错误和问题，并提出了相应的解决方法。希望通过本文的研究，能对公示语的英译做出一些微薄的贡献。关键词：公示语；汉英翻译；交际翻译；翻译错误；翻译方法AbstractWiththeacceleratingdevelopmentofChina'seconomyandopeningtotheoutsideworld,theeconomiccooperationandfriendlyexchangesbetweenChinaandtheoutsideworldtendtoincreasegreatlyasthesameasextrovertedcontactsandglobalcommunications.Therefore,moreandmoreChinese-Englishbilingualpublicsignsappearinpublic,whichisthedistinguishedfeatureoftheupdatingdevelopmentofmoderncitiesinChina.SincepublicsignsattachgreatimportancetosociallivesandinternationalimagesofChina,publicsignstranslationappearstobeofgrowingsignificanceandemergency.However,regrettablemistakesinpublicsignstranslationcanbefrequentlyobserved,duetotheuniquelinguisticfeaturesanddiversifiedfunctionsofEnglishpublicsigns.Forthatreason,theauthorventuresanattempttoanalyzethecurrentproblemsexistingintheC-Etranslationofpublicsignsandtoseekpropertranslationstrategiesbothfromtheperspectivesoftheoryandpractice.Bycloselyobservingnumeroussamplesofbothstandardandproblematictranslationofsigns,theauthormanagestogeneralizethecharacteristicsofpublicsignsandtocategorizetheproblemsandmistakesinthecurrentC-Etranslationofpublicsignsfromlinguisticandculturallevelrespectively.Theerrorsonthelinguisticlevelincludespellingerrors,inaccuratediction,wordredundancyandgrammaticalerrors;whiletheerrorsontheculturallevelconsistofChinglish,harshtone,ignoringculturaldiscrepancy,etc,.Intermsoftheory,theauthorfindsthatthetheoryofcommunicativetranslationisparticularlyinspiring.Communicativetranslationtheory,whichispioneeredandproposedbyPeterNewmark,mayprovidethetheoreticalenlightenmentforthestrategyoftheC-Etranslationofpublicsigns.AccordingtoNewmark,alltextscanbeclassifiedintothreetypes,namelyexpressive,informativeandvocative.Newmarkalsointroducestwoapproachesfordifferenttypesoftexts,namelysemantictranslationandcommunicativetranslation.Semantictranslation,whichisthetranslationattheauthor'slevel,isapplicabletoexpressivetexts.Thatistotranslateascloseastothesourcetext.Informativeandvocativetextsshouldbetranslatedatthereadership'slevel.Thatmeanstoemphasizeontheeffectitexertsonthereaders.Therefore,itrequiresthatcommunicativetranslationbeutilized.Takingtheircharacteristicsintoaccount,thetexttypeofpublicsignsactuallyinterminglesthemainfeaturesofboththeinformativeandthevocativetexttypes.Inthatsense,itisadvisablethatthemethodofcommunicativetranslationbeadoptedintheC-EtranslationofpublicThecommunicativetranslationapproachonlyprovidesthetranslatorwithaframeworkwhilenospecifictranslationmethodsareoffered.Therefore,theauthorofthisthesisdiscussesseveraltranslationmethodswithregardtotheerrorsinthetranslationofpublicsigns,suchasFollowinginternationalstandard,Economyinwordemployment,UtilizationofPinyin,Functionalpriority,Notranslation,Thinkingintheoppositeway,EuphemistictoneandAddition.ByusingtheCommunicativetranslationapproach,theauthormakesasystematicstudyandanalysisofthetranslationofpublicsignsinordertofindsomenewtranslationmethodsandskills.ItishopedthatthisthesiswillbeofsomehelptotheimprovementofC-EtranslationofpublicsignsinChina.KeyWords:PublicSigns;Chinese-EnglishTranslation;CommunicativeTranslation;TranslationErrors;TranslationMethods

ContentChapterOneIntroduction 11.1SignificanceofSignTranslation 11.2CurrentStudiesonC-ETranslationofPublicSignsinChina 11.2.1AchievementsoftheCurrentStudy 2ResearchCenter 2ActivitiesandWebSites 2BooksandDictionaries 3Symposiums 31.2.2LimitationsofthePresentStudy 3InadequateRulesandRegulations 4UnsystematicTheoreticalResearches 41.3ResearchMethodandDataCollection 41.4TheStructureoftheThesis 5ChapterTwoAsurveyofNewmark’sTranslationTheory 62.1Newmark’sviewonTranslation 62.2LanguageFunctionsandNewmark’sTextTypology 72.3CommunicativeTranslation(CT)andSemanticTranslation(ST) 102.3.1BackgroundofCT&ST 102.3.2DefinitionsofCT&ST 122.3.3ComparisonbetweenCT&ST 132.3.4DevelopmentofCT&ST 162.4CT&STandTextTypology 182.4.1ApplicationofCT&STindifferenttext-types 182.4.2CT&STandHybridTexts 212.5Summary 21ChapterThreeGeneralizationofPublicSigns 223.1DefinitionofPublicSigns 223.2FunctionsofPublicSigns 253.2.1Directing 253.2.2Prompting 253.2.3Restricting 263.2.4Compelling 273.3ClassificationofPublicSigns 273.3.1FromthePerspectiveofInformationState 283.3.2FromthePerspectiveofSocialApplication 28TrafficSigns 29RoadSigns 29SignsatScenicSpots 29NamesofInstitutionsandShops 30SignsforShopping 30PublicSlogans 303.4StylisticFeaturesofPublicSigns 313.4.1Lexicalfeatures 31FrequentUseofNounsandNounPhrase 31WideUseofVerbsandGerunds 32UseofAbbreviation 32AvoidUsingUncommonWords 32CapitalizationofEnglishSigns 333.4.2.GrammaticalFeatures 33UseofPassiveStructures 33UseofImperativeSentences 34UseofPresentTense 34UseofSimple,ShortSentences 343.4.3OtherFeatures 35CombiningWordswithPictures 35SetExpressions 35SignswithLocalCharacteristics 363.5Summary 36ChapterFourErrorAnalysisoftheTranslationofPublicSigns 374.1ErrorsontheLinguisticLevel 374.1.1LexicalErrors 38Misspelling 38InaccurateDiction 40WordRedundancy 424.1.2GrammaticalErrors 44MisuseofNumbers 44MisuseofPartofSpeech 45MisuseofArticleandPreposition 46OtherGrammaticalErrors 464.2ErrorsontheCulturalLevel 484.2.1Culture,LanguageandTranslation 484.2.2TypicalCulturalErrors 49Chinglish 50HarshTone 52IgnoringCulturalDiscrepancy 54CulturalDefault 564.3Summary 58ChapterFiveApplicationofCTtotheTranslationofPublicSignsSuggestedMethods 595.1EnlightenmentofNewmark’sTheory 595.1.1TextTypesofPublicSigns 595.1.2CTandtheTranslationofPublicSigns 605.2SuggestedTranslationMethodstoPublicSigns 615.2.1FollowingtheInternationalStandard 625.2.2EconomyinWordEmployment 675.2.3Utilizationof“Pinyin” 685.2.4FunctionalPriority 685.2.5EuphemisticTone 695.2.6NoTranslation 705.2.7ThinkingintheOppositeWay 705.2.8Addition 715.3Summary 73Conclusion 74Bibliography 76PAGE73ChapterOneIntroduction1.1SignificanceofSignTranslationWiththeimplementationofthereformandopening-uppolicyin1978,Chinahasgraduallyturnedintoanopencountryanditscommunicationswithforeigncountriesinthefieldsofdiplomacy,economyandcultureareincreasinglyenhanced.NowadaysforeignersofallworksoflifeswarmintoChinaforstudy,forwork,fortourismorforotherreasons.ManyimportantinternationalconferencesandforumsarealsoheldinChina.So,howtoprovideconveniencefortheseforeignersduringtheirstayandletthemknowmoreaboutChinaisthetoppriorityforustocontemplate.Formostforeigners,theyknowlittleaboutChinese,letaloneChineseculture.Undersuchcircumstances,theC-Etranslationofpublicsignsplaysanimportantroleasawayofcommunicationbecausethesesignswillprovideforeignerswiththeinformationtheywantandguidetheiractions.Manybigandmedium-sizedcitiesinChinanowhavebilingualpublicsignsfortheconvenienceofforeigners,butthequalityoftranslationisfarfromsatisfactoryowingtoinnumerousandridiculousmistakes.BarryGray,theChairmanoftheInternationalGraphicSymbolsCommittee,pointsoutthat“Signingaffectseverybody——travelers,shoppers,visitors,drivers,etc.,whetherinthecourseofbusinessorpleasure.Badsigningisatbestirritatingandatworstcanbelifethreateninganddangerous.”Therefore,itisthehightimeforustogiveadetailedinvestigationofcurrentsigntranslationinordertoobtaingoodbilingualpublicsignsandacquireapositiveinternationalimage.1.2CurrentStudiesonC-ETranslationofPublicSignsinChinaC-Etranslationofpublicsignshasdrawnincreasingattentionfromtheacademiccircleandthepublicinrecentyears.AccordingtothestatisticsfromCHKD,thereareabout103papersdiscussingC-Etranslationofpublicsigns.Obviously,manyachievementshavebeenmade.1.2.1AchievementsoftheCurrentStudyResearchCenterIn2002,theresearchtopicofC-EtranslationofpublicsignswasestablishedbyBeijingInternationalStudiesUniversity,wherearesearchcenteronthisissuewasalsofounded.Theprofessorshavegonearounddifferentuniversitiesandcollegestogivelecturesonthistopic.InAugust,2003,thewebsitewassetupbythisresearchcenter.Inthesummervacationsof2004and2005,themainmembersoftheresearchcenterwentto17citiestogetthefirsthandsourcesofpublicsignsinBritain,France,Germany,theNetherlands,Belgium,Austria,Luxembourg,Italy,Finland,SwedenandVatican.Theytookmorethan3000photographsofpublicActivitiesandWebSitesInJuly,2005,ChinaDailyandotherinstitutionsunveiledaplantoimprovethepublicsignsinChineseandEnglishalloverthecountry.Andthen,Beijingalsolaunchedacampaign--BeijingSpeaksForeignLanguagesProgram—forstandardizingpublicsignsinthecity.Thewebsitededicatedtotheprogramwassetup,whichwaspopularinpeoplewhoactivelygotinvolvedintheactivities.InSeptember,2005,TranslatorsAssociationofChinadevelopedaprogramtoimprovetheEnglishtranslationofpublicsignsinbigcities,inwhichtranslatorsassociationsindifferentcitiessparednoeffortsincludingthefirstgroupofexperimentalcitiessuchasBeijing,Shanghai,Guangzhou,Tianjin,Chongqing,Shenzhen,QingdaoandGuilin.Andthen,devotedtothisissue,anumberofwebsiteswereestablishedtoaskformoreattentionandmoreinvestigationsuchasthewebsiteofChinaDaily,ofBeijingInternationalStudiesUniversity,ofTranslatorsAssociationofShenzhen,ofTranslatorsBooksandDictionariesAChinese-EnglishDictionaryonSignswaspublishedbyTheCommercialPressinSeptember,2004.InMay,2007,coauthoredbyWangYingandLuHefa,thefirstbookspecializedinstandardizingtheEnglishtranslationofPublicsigns,Chinese一EnglishTranslationofSignswaspublishedbyChinaTranslation&PublishingCorporation,whichprovidesthispaperwithvaluablematerials.SymposiumsInSeptember,2005,theFirstSymposiumonChinese一EnglishTranslationofPublicSignswasheldinBeijingInternationalStudiesUniversity,inwhichalotoftranslationexpertsandscholarsgavetheirpresentationonthistopictocleansethelanguageenvironmentandtopromotethecommunicationsbetweendifferentcountries.TheseexpertsandscholarsalsoheatedlydiscussedthetheoriesandpracticeofEnglishtranslationofChinesepublicsigns,aswellassomerulesandregulationstosolvetheproblems.InJuly,2007,theSecondSymposiumonChinese-EnglishTranslationofPublicsSignswasheldinTongjiUniversityinShanghai,whosethemewas“TranslationofPublicSignsandConstructionofLanguageEnvironment”.Alotofscholarsandexpertsgottogethertodiscusssuchtopicsastranslationofpublicsignsandinterculturalcommunication,translationofpublicsignsincities,1.2.2LimitationsofthePresentStudySomeachievementshavebeenmadeinrecentyearsinthetranslationofpublicsignsandmoreandmorepeoplestarttogiveattentiontothistopic.However,therearealsosomeproblemstobesolvedinfurtherresearches.InadequateRulesandRegulationsAsanewfieldintranslationstudies,theC-Etranslationofpublicsignsstillhasalongwaytogo.Thelackofrelevantregulations,tosomeextent,isresponsiblefortheproblemsinthetranslationofpublicsigns.AlthoughinbiggercitiessuchasBeijingandShanghaisomerulesandregulationshavebeenmadetocleansethelanguageenvironment,thestandardsintheseregulationsdonotaccordwitheachother.Moreandspecificrulesandregulationsshouldbeformulatedandtranslators,whoplayimportantrolesinthetranslation,shouldbequalifiedfortranslationofpublicsigns.TheauthoritiesconcernedshouldalsogivemoreattentionUnsystematicTheoreticalResearchesAlthoughtherehavebeensomeresearchesonthetheoriesoftranslationofpublicsignssuchascommunicativetheory,pragmaticsandotherrelevanttheories,thereisnotaverysystematicone.Thepreviousinvestigationsusuallyfocusedonsomecommonexamplesandspecifictranslationmethodsortechniques;theresearchesoverlappedoncertaintopicssuchasthetranslationofthenamesofroadsandstreets,thetranslationofpublicsignsinsomescenicspots.Therefore,relevanttheoriesintranslationstudiesandinotherdisciplinesshouldbeadoptedtoshedlightonthetranslationofpublicsigns.1.3ResearchMethodandDataCollectionThisthesisadoptsacomparativeanalyticalcase-studymethodtoidentifytheerrorsthatoccurinthetranslationofpublicsigns.ThesubjectsofthisresearcharetheChinesepublicsignsandtheirEnglishtranslation.MostexamplesarecollectedfrompaperspublishedbyotherscholarsinperiodicalsoftranslationstudiessuchasChineseTranslatorJournal,ShanghaiJournalofTranslators,JournalofForeignLanguages,andthelike;someexamplesarecollectedformthewebsitessuchas/herewego,andhttp://www.chinglish.de/.Andtherestofexamplesarephotographedorcollectedbytheauthorhimselfinpublicplacessuchassupermarkets,scenicspots,streetsandsoon.Errorsofeachkindwillbeexamined,classifiedandcorrected.1.4TheStructureoftheThesisThisthesiscomprisesthefollowingsixchapters:ChapterOneservesasabriefintroduction,presentingthesignificance,researchmethod,datacollectionandthecurrentsituationofsigntranslationinchina.ChapterTwoisadetaileddescriptionandanalysisofPeterNewmark’stranslationtheoryChapterThreefocusesonanoverviewofthepublicsign,centeringonitsdefinition,functions,classificationsaswellaslanguagefeatures.ChapterFourisanin-depthanalysisontheproblemsexistinginthetranslationofpublicsignsfromtheperspectivesoflinguisticandculture.ChapterFiveistheapplicationofcommunicativetranslationapproachtothetranslationofpublicsigns,andsuggestedtranslationmethodsareprovided.Thelastpartisasystematicconclusionofthewholepaper.

ChapterTwoAsurveyofNewmark’sTranslationTheoryPeterNewmark,awell-knowncontemporaryEnglishtranslationtheorist,educator,andprolificwriter,makesgreatcontributiontocommontranslationtheoriesandpractice.Byreviewingthehistoryoftranslationtheory,Newmarkmakescomparisonsandcommentsontheviewpointsofdifferentscholars,andthenputsforwardhisownideasontranslation.ProfessorNewmark’smajorcontributionstothegeneraltranslationtheoryishisclassificationoftypesontexts—expressivefunction,informativefunctionandvocativefunction,andthetwocorrespondingtranslationmethodsfordifferenttypesoftexts—semantictranslationfocusesprimarilyuponthesemanticcontentofthesourcetextandcommunicativetranslationfocusesessentiallyuponthecomprehensionandresponseofreceptors.AlltheseareexplainedindetailsinhisinfluentialmasterpiecesApproachestoTranslation(1981),ATextbookofTranslation2.1Newmark’sviewonTranslationTranslationisakindofcross-linguistic,cross-culturalandcross-socialactivity.Therearevariousdefinitionsoftranslationandthediversityinthedefinitionsoftranslationliesinthedifferentemphasislaidtothematerialtobetranslatedandtothepurposeoftranslation.Whatistranslation?AccordingtoNewmark,“Often,thoughnotbyanymeansalways,itisrenderingthemeaningofatextintoanotherlanguageinthewaythattheauthorintendedthetext”.Concededly,heplacesastrongemphasison“text”here.Infact,heclassifiesdifferenttypesoftextonthebasisofthelanguagefunctions.Asforthenatureoftranslation,Newmarksaysthattranslationisascience,askill,anartandamatteroftaste:Atranslatorisalwaystryingtoextendhisknowledgeandimprovehismeansofexpression;heisalwayspursuingfactsandwords.Heworksonfourlevels:translationisfirstascience,whichentailstheknowledgeandverificationofthefactsandthelanguagethatdescribesthem.Here,whatiswrong,andmistakesoftruthcanbeidentified;Secondly,itisaskill,whichcallsforappropriatelanguageandacceptableusage;Thirdly,anart,whichdistinguishesgoodfromundistinguishedwritinganditisthecreative,theintuitive,sometimestheinspiredlevelofthetranslation;Finally,amatteroftaste,whereargumentceases,preferencesareexpressed,andthevarietyofmeritorioustranslationsisthereflectionofindividualdifferences.2.2LanguageFunctionsandNewmark’sTextTypologyManytheoristshavedividedtextsaccordingtosubject-matter(literature,institutions,technology,etc.),butitperhapsmoreprofitabletobeginwithBuhler’sstatement(1934)ofthefunctionsoflanguagewhichhadawideinfluenceonthePragueSchoolandhasbeenusedbysometranslationtheorists(Newmark:2001b:12).NewmarktakesBuhler’sfunctionaltheoryoflanguageasadaptedbyJakobsonastheonethatismostusefullyappliedtotranslating.AccordingtoBuhler,whoisafamousGermanpsychologistandfunctionallinguist,thethreemainfunctionsoflanguageareexpressivefunction,representationalfunctionandvocativefunction.Buhler’sclassificationismodifiedandextendedbyJakobsonasrepresentationalfunction,expressivefunction,cognitivefunction,phaticfunction,poeticfunctionandmetalingualfunction.Basedontheirtheories,Newmarkputsforwardthethreemainfunctionsoflanguage:expressivefunction,informativefunctionandvocativefunction.Andcorrespondingly,Newmarkclassifiesthedifferenttextsintothreetypes:expressive,informative,andvocative,witheachtypeprocessingdistinctivefeaturesintheaspectsofauthorstatus,textemphasis,languagemannerandsoon.Obviously,thefunctionsoflanguageareofbasicimportanceasatoolforcategorizingtexts.(Newmark:2001a:44).FunctionExpressiveInformativeVocativeCoreWriterTruthReadershipAuthor’sstatusSacredAnonymousAnonymousType1.SeriousimaginativeLiterature2.Authoritativestatements3.Autobiography4.PersonalcorrespondenceTopicFormatNoticesInstructionsPropagandasPublicityPopularfictionScientificTextbookTechnologicalReportCommercialPaperIndustrialArticleEconomicMemorandumMinutesOtherareasofknowledgeoreventsTable1:Languagefunctions,text-categoriesandtext-types(Newmark,2001a:40)Firstly,theexpressivefunctionfocusesonthemindofthespeaker,thewriter,theoriginatoroftheutterance.Hejustexpresseshisfeelingsorideasregardlessofanyresponsesfromthereaders.Thustheexpressivetextisauthor-centeredandthestatusofthewriterissacred.Inexpressivetextstheunitoftranslationislikelytobesmall.Newmarkthinksthecharacteristicexpressivetext-typesare:(1)Seriousimaginativeliteraturesuchaslyricalpoetry,shortstories,novelsandplays;(2)Authoritativestatements.Typicalauthoritativestatementsarepoliticalspeeches,documentsetc.Suchtextshavethepersonal‘stamp’oftheirauthors,althoughtheyaredenotative,notconnotative.(3)Autobiography,essays,personalcorrespondence.Theseareexpressivewhentheyarepersonaleffusions,whenthereadersareofaremotebackground.Whentranslatingthistypeoftexts,thetranslatorshouldbeabletodistinguishthepersonalcomponentscharacterizedas‘personaldialect’ratherthannormalizetheminthetargettexts.Secondly,Thecoreoftheinformativefunctionoflanguageisexternalsituation,thefactsofatopic,realityoutsidelanguage,includingreportedideasortheories(ibid:40).Typicalinformativetextsareconcernedwithanytopicofknowledge,buttextsaboutliterarysubjects,astheyoftenexpressvalue-judgments,areapttoleantowards‘expressiveness’.Thistypeoftextsincludeatextbook,atechnicalreport,anarticleinanewspaperoraperiodical,ascientificpaper,athesis,minutesoragendaofameeting.Asuccessfultranslationofthiskindoftextistotransferthemessageefficientlyandkeepthenaturalnessofthegrammaticalformofthetargetlanguage.Newmarkpointsoutthat‘informative’textsconstitutethevastmajorityofthestafftranslator’sworkininternationalorganizations,multi-nationals,privatecompaniesandtranslationagencies.Andahighproportionofsuchtextsarepoorlywrittenandsometimesinaccurate,anditisusuallythetranslator’sjobto‘correct’theirfactsandtheirstyle.Last,thevocativefunctionisreader-centered.Thecoreofthevocative