The Contradiction and Unification of the.txt

1060220030437the contradiction and unification of theequivalent effect in translation()200320064 the contradiction and unification of theequivalent effect in translation acknowledgementsi should like to express my sincere gratitude to all the teacherswho have taught me and given me great help in the past three years.i am extremely grateful to professor tang gaoyuan,my belovedtutor,whose enlightening suggestions,incisive comments andconstructive criticism have contributed greatly to the completion ofthis paper.i would like to thank all the writers whose works are referred inthis thesis.finally,i would like to show my great thanks to my family fortheir constant support. icontentsabstract in chineseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeabstract in englisheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeechapterintroductioneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee1chapterequivalent effecteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee41.1 a brief review of the concept of equivalent effecteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee41.2 criticism on eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee91.3 equivalent effect is difficult to achieveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee12chapterlinguistic differences and translationeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee142.1 phonological differenceseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee142.2 lexical differenceseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee162.2.1 words have the same referential meaning,but with different connotative meaningeee172.2.2 words have similar referential meaning and different connotative meaningeeeeee172.2.3 lexical zeroeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee182.2.4 different segmentation of the meaning in the source and target languageseeeeeee192.2.5 words used in figures of speecheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee192.3 grammatical differenceseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee202.3.1 tense and aspecteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee212.3.2 modalityeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee222.3.3 voiceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee232.4 textual differenceseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee242.4.1 cohesioneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee252.4.2 coherenceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee27chaptercultural differences and translationeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee293.1 definition of cultureeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee293.1.1 culture and language vs culture and translationeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee293.1.2 cultural differences and translationeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee303.1.3 classification of cultural differenceseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee313.2 historical cultural differenceseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee313.3 geographical differenceseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee333.4 religious cultural differenceseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee353.5 differences in custom cultureeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee36chapterstrategies to resolve the contradiction between the st and the tteeee39 ii4.1 translators must be bilingualeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee394.2 translators should be biculturaleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee404.3 translators should be knowledgeableeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee414.4 translators should be skillfuleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee414.5 earnest devotion to the taskeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee43chapterconclusioneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee44bibliographyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee46 i2003equivalent effecta.nida佫1964281跨1964283-284 ii iiithe contradiction and unification of theequivalent effect in translationpostgraduate:xue jinfeng supervisor:prof.tang gaoyuanmajor:english language and literature research orientation:translation theorygrade:2003 and practiceabstractequivalent effecteeis one of the most important and controversial western translationtheories.ee or dynamic equivalence(de),as was explained by eugene a.nida,is intended thatthe receptors should respond to the target language(tl)messages with substantially the samemanner as the source language(sl)receptors do to the original.ee was regarded as a greatcontribution to the field of translation because it takes the readers responses intoconsideration in translating,this is said to shift the attention on the relationship of the st to thett in terms of form and content to the relationship between the receptors and the respective texts.so in quite a long period,ee was regarded as anunalterable precious preceptby thetranslation workers.however,with the development of translation theory and practice,manytranslators,or translation theorists point out that ee is never possible because of the vastdifferences between the two languages and the two cultures,and of the uncertainty andunpredictability of readersresponses.recently,ee receives more and more fierce criticism,andit seems to be completely denied.in the authors opinion,it is imperative for us to take adialectical thinking way to look at the guidance of ee on translation theory and practice from theperspective of philosophy.absolute equivalence is desirable but out of our reach.however,similar equivalence can be achieved through the translatorsefforts.the law of universality of contradiction tells us that.each and every difference alreadycontains contradiction and that difference itself is contradiction.contradiction is universal andabsolute.it is present in the process of the development of all things and permeates every processfrom beginning to end(mao tse-tung,1964:318).according to the law of universality ofcontradiction,translation is a process which within itself has its own contradiction frombeginning(the st)to end(the tt),because there are a great many differences between the targetlanguage,the target language culture and the source language,the source language culture.thesedifferences are the contradictions.translation is a process of determining,analyzing thedifferences or contradictions and resolving the contradictions for equivalent effect or theunification of the source text and the target text.similarly,the law of particularity of contradiction also tells us thatevery form of motioncontains within itself its own particular contradiction.this particular contradiction constitutes ivthe particular essence which distinguishes one thing from another(ibid:320).only after weknow the particular contradiction of one thing,can we find suitable ways to resolve thecontradictions.the particular contradiction in translation is that a translator has to use the targetlanguage to express the original authors ideas expressed by the source language.thus thecontradiction is between the same idea and the two forms.then what the translator confrontsdirectly are the contradictions between the two languages.language and culture are inseparable.nida once said that culture might cause more serious problems than language did in translating.this thesis aims at analyzing how linguistic and cultural differences influence the achievementof equivalent effect.the contradictions are contradictory and can be united.translators should be bilingual,bicultural,skillful,and knowledgeable enough to determine and analyze the differences orcontradictions between the two languages and the two cultures,and endeavor to provide newmethods or strategies of resolving the contradictions in translating with intent to achieveequivalent effect.this is what the translation theorists and translators are always in pursuit of.keywords:the source text;the target text;contradiction;unification;linguistic differences;cultural differences;equivalent effect 1chapterintroductionequivalent effecteeis one of the most important and controversial western translationtheories.many great scholars have dedicated to the development of this theory,such astytler(1790),paul cauer(1896),dr.e.reiu(1953),nida(1964,1969,1984,etc.),fedorov(1953),jindi(1999),and so on.at the very beginning,especially after it was introduced into china,chinese academic circle mixed up the conceptequivalencewithequivalent effectin chinesenorms.some chinese translators or translation theorists translatedequivalenceas(equal value),(equivalence),or(equivalent effect).actually,equivalent effectoriginated fromequivalencetheory and has developed as a branch ofequivalence.as toequivalent effectprinciple,the filed of translation has many names for it,just like perternewmark points it out clearly in his book approaches to translation thatthe principle thatthe translator should produce the same effect on his own readers as sl author produced on theoriginal readers(first stated,i believe,by p.cauer in 1896 and usually referred to as theprinciple of similar equivalent response or effect,or,by e.a.nida,as the principle of dynamicequivalence)(peter newmark,1982/2001:132).in peter newmarks opinion,the above threeprinciples mean the same thing.but i have to make it clear that nidasdynamic equivalenceisnot equal toequivalent effectin thatdynamic equivalenceis dependant onequivalenteffect,the pursuit ofdynamic equivalenceis to elicitequivalent effect.in other words,equivalent effectis the yardstick to judgedynamic equivalence.but for the ease ofdiscussion and not to cause fuzziness,in this thesis,theequivalent response,equivalenteffectanddynamic equivalencerefer to the same thing.in newmarks opinion,equivalent effect was firstly coined by paul cauer in 1896(ibid:132),and perfected by nida(1964,1969,1984,etc.).it has cast great influence on the field oftranslation both in the west and in china.it is said thatequivalent effecttakes receptorresponses into consideration in the evaluation of translation,and provides the academic circle oftranslation a new perspective to study translation that is to shift the attention on the relationshipof the st to the tt in terms of form and content onto the relationship between the receptors andthe respective texts.so in quite a long period,ee was regarded as anunalterable preciouspreceptby the translation workers.however,with the development of translation theory andpractice,many translators,or translation theorists point out that ee is never possible because ofthe vast differences between the two languages and the two cultures,and of the uncertainty andunpredictability of readersresponses.recently,ee receives more and more fierce criticism,andit seems to be completely denied.take the chinese academic circle for example,ironically,fromthe very beginning,ee was totally accepted and it was so popular that it even reached to the 2extent that no one talked about translation without mentioning nidasequivalent effect,butnow it comes to another extreme that no one talks aboutequivalent effectwithout mentioningits deficiencies.so in the authors opinion,it is imperative for us to take a dialectical thinkingway to look at the guidance of ee on translation theory and practice from the perspective ofphilosophy.absolute equivalence is desirable but out of our reach.however,similar equivalencecan be achieved through the translatorsefforts.we all know that one coin has two sides;there is nothing perfect in the world.the law ofuniversality of contradiction tells us thateach and every difference already containscontradiction and that difference itself is contradiction.contradiction is universal and absolute.it is present in the process of the development of all things and permeates every process frombeginning to end(mao tse-tung,1964:318).according to the law of universality ofcontradiction,we know translation is a mental activity which within itself has its owncontradictions from beginning(the source text)to end(the target text),because there are a greatmany differences between the target language,the target language culture and the sourcelanguage,the source language culture.these differences are the contradictions.translation is aprocess of determining,analyzing the differences(contradictions)and resolving thecontradictions for equivalent effect or the unification of the source text and the target text.similarly,the law of particularity of contradiction also tells us thatevery form of motioncontains within itself its own particular contradiction.this particular contradiction constitutesthe particular essence which distinguishes one thing from another(ibid:320).only after wehave a comprehensive understanding of the particular contradiction inside one thing,can we findsuitable strategies to resolve the contradictions.the particular contradiction of translation is thata translator has to use the target language to express the original authors ideas expressed by thesource language.thus the contradiction is between the same idea and the two forms.so thecontradictions confronted directly by the translator are the differences between the two languagesand the two cultures.this thesis aims at analyzing how linguistic and cultural differencesinfluence the achievement of equivalent effect.the contradictions are contradictory and can be united.translators should be bilingual,bicultural,skillful,and knowledgeable enough to determine and analyze the differences orcontradictions between the two languages and the two cultures,and endeavor to provide newmethods or strategies of resolving the contradictions in translating with intent to achieveequivalent effect.this is what the translation theorists and translators are always in pursuit of.however,in any stage of time,ones insight into a thing has its limitations,and a translatorcan not master all the meaning or knowledge of the content of the source text at one time.thatswhy different translated versions of one source text come into being in different periods.the 3procedures of translation involve too many complex factors that will have influence on thechoice of translation methods,such as the target audience,the purpose of the text,the attitude ofthe translator towards the st,the clients requirements and so on.the translator must balance allthe factors to a good combination.in a word,although no one has so far find an objective,applicable formula to calculate howmany percents the target readers responses are equivalent to the source language readersresponses to the source text.there will never be one.we can not give up pursuing equivalenteffect though it is rather difficult to achieve.just like that there is no perfect artwork in the world,but it can not stop us from pursuing perfection!this paper consists of six chapters:chapter 1 is the introduction.chapter 2 is a briefintroduction of the developments ofequivalent effectand the criticism on it.taking the law ofuniversality of contradiction as theoretical basis,i raise a question that equivalent effect is verydifficult to achieve.chapter 3 goes into the reasons why equivalent effect is difficult to achieveon a theoretical basis of the law of particularity of contradiction.here the author analyzes howthe linguistic differences influence translation and the accomplishment of equivalent effect,andpoints out the gain and loss of adopting different translation methods.chapter 4 deals with thecultural differencesinfluences on translation from the following aspects:historical culturaldifferences,geographical differences,religious cultural differences,and differences in customculture.chapter 5 provides some strategies for the translator to resolve the contradictions in theprocess of translation;chapter 6 is the conclusion. 4chapterequivalent effect1.1 a brief review of the concept of equivalent effectit may go wit