硕士学位论文-试论语篇翻译中的连贯.doc

学校代码：10254 密 级： 论文编号： 上海海事大学SHANGHAI MARITIME UNIVERSITY硕 士 学 位 论 文MASTER DISSERTATION 论文题目： 试论语篇翻译中的连贯 学科专业： 外国语言学及应用语言学 作者姓名： 李如红 指导教师： 袁永芳副教授 完成日期： 2008年6月 AcknowledgementsWith deep gratitude and appreciation, I wish to acknowledge all those who offered me help in the course of writing this thesis.First, I would kike to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Prof. Yuan Yongfang, who has offered me her insightful comments and inspiring guidance in my study for the master degree and valuable advice and constant help for my present research, without which, the completion of my thesis would have been impossible.Secondly, my sincere gratitude also goes to all my teachers in the College of Foreign Languages Department who have given me excellent lectures and great help, such as Prof. Wang Dawei, Prof. Wang Juquan, Prof. Han Zhonghua, Prof. Zheng Lixin, etc. for their inspiring lectures and suggestion to my study, which are indispensable to the completion of this thesis. I also give my hearty thanks to all my classmates who have offered generous help and suggestion in the process of writing this thesis.I also owe a lot to my dear parents and all of my best friends for their continuous encouragement and help.Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to all the writers whose works have been referred to in this thesis.ABSTRACTSince Halliday and Hasan published their book Cohesion in English in 1976, coherence became a popular topic of text analysis and translation, attracting more attention from linguistics of different schools. With the development of text linguistics, more and more scholars have applied its achievements to the theory and practice of translation. Text linguistics has brought new vigor into the translation field. Coherence is the center about which text analysis revolves which is also the vital element concerned in textual translation. Coherence, as the key property of text, is defined in many ways by scholars. However, their proposals of coherence just concern a certain aspect and the relevance of coherence to translation is paid little attention to. So it is necessary for us to make a comprehensive study of the coherence for the aim of achieving successful communication. Based on their studies, the author concludes that coherence is a semantic unit, and it means the semantic relatedness or unity of text, and embodies the logical or functional relation underlying a given text. Especially it is a rather complicated phenomenon requiring the participation of many disciplines such as semantics, pragmatics, and psychology; no individual theory can offer inclusive explanation of it.Textual translation is one of the processes of recognizing and reestablishing coherence at all levels in the target text (TT). Coherence provides an effective and significant base for translation studies, because it plays a vital role either in establishing the content and form, or in understanding the source text and reconstructing the target text. As coherence involves both intra-textual elements and extra-textual elements, a translator should pay attention to all aspects of coherence during textual translation. The author of this thesis intends to apply coherence theory to textual translation from three perspectives: semantic coherence, structural coherence, cognitive coherence. The structure of this thesis is as follows:Chapter 1 serves as a theoretical basis for this paper by dealing with some basic items relevant to the papers topic: text, texture and tie, the relationship between text and translation, coherence as a feature of translation.Chapter 2 discusses the concept of coherence put forward by different scholars, from which we could find coherence is approached from a wide variety of perspectives and at different levels based on divergent classifications. Then, this proposal is briefed in that coherence in text translation should be discussed from intra-textual angle and extra-textual angle.Chapter 3 elaborates the three perspectives of coherence respectively: semantic coherence, structural coherence, and cognitive coherence. In this chapter the author makes some comparison of coherence between Chinese and English. Besides the theoretical elaboration, the author gives some typical examples. Through analysis we may find there exists much difference in maintaining coherence between Chinese and English. According to the difference, the author gives some conversion methods for every perspective. KEY WORDS: text，semantic coherence，structural coherence, cognitive coherence 摘 要自从1976年韩礼德和哈森发表了英语中的衔接一书后，连贯理论就一直受到语言学界的关注。同时，随着语篇语言学的发展，越来越多的专家学者把语言学的理论运用到翻译理论和实践中来, 给翻译研究注入了新的力量。连贯是语篇研究的核心，也是翻译研究的重点。许多学者都对连贯进行了定义和研究。然而，他们的研究往往只限于某一方面，而连贯作为语篇最为核心的基本特征，是一种语义单位，表现为一种深藏于语篇底层的语义或功能的关联，是一个复杂的语言现象，不是哪一个单独的理论可以解释的问题。因此对其进行全面系统的分析变得尤为重要。而若要对其进行全面充分的分析，需要语篇内部因素和外部因素的同时参与，涉及语义学、语用学、心理学等多个学科。 在译文中重建连贯是语篇翻译的一个重要过程。连贯作为语篇最为核心的基本特征无疑是翻译中非常有价值且必要的研究基点，因为它在构建译文内容、形式以及对译文的理解方面都起着重要作用。而不同的语言在构建语篇连贯方面又有着不同的特点。因此，在语篇翻译过程中，译者应充分考虑到原文和译文的异同，以期在各个层面构建译文的连贯。本文在前人研究的基础上，把连贯理论应用到翻译研究中，旨在从不同的视角来研究语篇翻译中实现连贯的几种手段，它们是语义连贯、结构连贯与认知连贯。本文结构如下： 第一章作为本文的理论基础篇，对一些与连贯相关的概念进行了阐释，如语篇，语篇性，连贯在语篇构成中的作用等。为全文的写作作必要的背景介绍和理论铺垫。第二章着重介绍连贯理论。首先简要介绍了国内外学者关于语篇连贯的研究成果，并对衔接与连贯的关系作了解释。指出连贯是一种既涉及语篇内部因素又涉及语篇外部因素的现象，需要从不同的角度和范围进行研究。最后作者提出了自己的分类方法：语义连贯、结构连贯、认知连贯。第三章是本文的重点部分，作者借助一些翻译实例对语篇翻译中的语义连贯、结构连贯及认知连贯逐一进行了介绍。通过介绍和比较说明由于英汉两种语言的差异，以及它们的使用者在思维模式上的不同，在翻译过程中要想实现译文的连贯必须根据译文的语言形式做出必要的调整和转换。最后一部分是结论部分，对本文进行了简要的概括同使指出了存在的不足和需要改进之处。关键词：语篇；语义连贯；结构连贯；认知连贯ContentsAcknowledgements.iAbstract.ii摘要.ivIntroduction.1Chapter One Theoretical Elaboration.31.1 Text and Discourse.31.2 Texture and Tie.51.3 Text and Translation.51.4 Cohernce as an Impoirtant Feature of Text.7Chapter Two Studies on Coherence.92.1 An Overview of Coherence.92.2 A Critical View of Previous Studies on Coherence.12 2.3 The Relationship between Cohesion and Coherence.13Chapter Three Coherence in Textual Translation.153.1 Semantic Coherence in Textual Translation.15 3.1.1 Grammatical Cohesion.16 3.1.1.1 Reference.16 3.1.1.2 Substitution.25 3.1.1.3 Ellipsis.29 3.1.1.4 Conjunction.33 3.1.2 Lexical Devices.35 3.1.2.1 Reiteration.35 3.1.2.2 Collocation.363.2 Structural Coherence in Textual Translation.39 3.2.1 The Concept of Theme and Rheme.40 3.2.2 Thematic Progression Pattern.41 3.2.3 Strategies in Terms of Translation.443.3 Cognitive Coherence in Textual Translation.473.3.1 Coherence as a Cognitive Feature.47 3.3.2 Coherence Adjustment and Coherence Complement.48Conclusion.53Bibliography.54IntroductionTranslation is an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural activity involving both source language and target language. Among all the disciplines, linguistics is the closest one to translation studies, especially text linguistics. Text linguistics has brought new vigor into the practice and theory of translation. With the application of text linguistics to the study of translation, the unit of translation has moved from the word and sentence to the whole text. Just as Huang Guowen points out: “text linguistics usually refers to the analysis of the language unit larger than sentence or utterance with the purpose of explaining how people constitute and understand various coherent texts” (Huang Guowen, 1988: 4). A translator, therefore, is required to keep in mind the awareness of text which stresses on the wholeness and the unity of the text. Coherence, as one essential way to hold text together, is the basis of text comprehension and text reproduction.Coherence is a semantic unit. It means the semantic relatedness or unity of text. Just as Halliday and Hasan (1976) put: “a text is best regarded as a semantic unit; a unit not of form but of meaning”. What produces coherence is the semantic or functional relation that implies in the deep structure of the text. Many scholars at home and abroad have made great progress on the issue of coherence such as Halliday and Hasans theory of register and cohesion (1976), Van Dijks theory of macrostructures (1977), Widdowsons theory of illocutionary acts (1978), Brown and Yules cognitive frame theory (1983), Danes and Fries thematic progression theory(1974,1983). And there are some domestic achievements represented by Hu Zhuanglin(胡壮麟，1994), Li Yunxing(李运兴，2001), Zhang Delu and Liu Rushan(张德禄，刘汝山，2003) to name just a few. These studies cover nearly all potential factors involved in textual coherence and set substantial theoretical bases for further study. These meaningful disputes and disagreements do help make the coherence study dynamic and fruitful. And they complement each other by exploring this intricate subject in dissimilar ways. However, it should be noted that these proposals of coherence are just put forward from some perspective. The relevance of coherence to translation is paid little attention to. So it is necessary for us to make a comprehensive study of the coherence for the aim of achieving successful communication. Therefore, it is of great value and significance to make a comprehensive and systematic study of textual coherence for the further progress of coherence research.This paper will explore the coherence from different perspectives. The attempt is made to apply the coherence theory into translation studies to conduct a tentative study of textual coherence in English-Chinese translation through theoretical elaboration together with some typical examples. To realize textual coherence in the process of translation is a rather complicated process, it involves the participation of many disciplines such as semantics, psychology and pragmatics, it is not a process that any individual theory is employed to solve problems encounted in translation. Through detailed analysis, this research aims at exploring the importance of textual coherence and some strategies concerned in its realization in the translation, to provide constructive guidance and enlightenment for translation studies and practice from a new and comprehensive perspective.Chapter One Theoretical ElaborationSince the achievements of text linguistics have been applied to the study of translation, the unit of translation has extended from the word and sentence level to the whole text level. As Neubert states,“Translation is a textual process in which linguistic form and process are incorporated. Texts are the building blocks of communication in general and of translation in particular. The text has to be considered the primary object of translation study ( Neubert，1992:10). Text linguistics has brought new vigor into the translation field. Many scholars have carried out valuable research on the factors influencing the coherence of text. Textual coherence is the key property of a text and has attracted much attention from linguistics. People begin to study translation at the level of text by looking at coherence. Then what is text? How text and translation are closely related? What distinguishes a text from disconnected sequences of words or sentences? With an attempt to apply coherence to textual translation in the following parts from three perspectives, the present part gives a general theoretical elaboration about these questions.1.1 Text and DiscourseWith the development of text linguistics, peoples focus of language study has changed from the word, the sentence to the text. Since we talk about textual translation, it is necessary for us to clarify the term of text and discourse. It seems that the two terms are used interchangeably. Many scholars have been trying to distinguish text from discourse, but have reached no consensus. American linguists prefer the term “discourse”, while the European linguists prefer “text”. In some linguists opinion, text is something written, and discourse is conversation.According to Halliday and Hasan, the concept of “text” is not distinguished from the concept of “discourse” in linguistics, and the word “text” is applied instead of the word “discourse”. In China, they do not refer to different things. It is just personal preference. Here in the present study, the author prefers the word “text” to refer to both written and spoken language, but makes no distinction.Text wasnt regarded as a unity of study by many linguists until the 1960s. Language is a semiotic system. The main function of language is to communicate and the basic unit of language should be text instead of sentence that is only a grammatical unit. Text is the ultimate linguistic unit to do with communication.As far as the definition of text is concerned, it varies from theorists to theorists. There are two kinds of definitions on texts. One is from the structural school which regards text as unit of language above sentence. In actual use, only one word may constitute a text, for example, “Exit”, “Help!” etc. Strictly speaking, this text is made up of a sentence that is made up of a clause, and the clause is made up of a phrase that is made up of a word, and this word is only made up of a morpheme. A text is not defined by its size. It may be anything from a simple greeting to a whole play, from a momentary cry for help to an all-day discussion at a meeting.The other is from the functional school that views a text as a semantic unit: a unit not of form but of meaning and thinks that a text does not consist of sentences but is realized by sentences. According to the founders of the Systemic Functional GrammarHalliday and Hasan, text is not merely a collection of separate sentences, but “a basic unit of meaning” (Halliday and Hasan, 1976: 1).They define that “the term text is used in linguistics to refer to any passage, spoken or written, of whatever length, that does form a unified whole” (Halliday and Hasan, 1976). A text is best regarded as a semantic unit: a unit not of form but of meaning. Thus it is related to a clause or sentence not by size but by realization, the coding of one symbolic system in another. A text does not consist of sentences; it is realized by, or encoded in, sentences (Halliday & Hasan, 2001 a: 2). “It may be prose or verse, dialogue or monologue. It may be anything from a single proverb to a whole play, from a momentary cry for help to an all-day discussion on a committee (Halliday &Hasan 2001:1-2). A text is not a grammatical unit, like a clause or a sentence, its a semantic unit. A text is part of the process of communication, and thus derives part of its meaning from its context, including context of situation, context of culture; while a sentence is an abstracted piece of language, deprived of the various contexts in which it can be used.Despite all the differences in explanations of text, it is generally recognized that, text is a semantic unit, not a grammatical unit. It is not constricted by size or type. A text must meet seven standards of totality: cohesion, coherence, intentionality, acceptability, informativity, situationality and inter-textuality. A text is expected to be coherent both intra-textually and extra-textually in spite of its size and communicative form. The criteria which separates text from nontext is coherence. 1. 2 Texture and TieA semantically coherent text must have texture. And this is what distinguishes it from something that is just a collection of unrelated sentences. If a passage containing more than one sentence is perceived as a text, there will be certain linguistic features present in that passage which can be identified as contributing to its total unity and giving it texture. Now compare the following dialogues:(1) A: How old is your daughter? B: Shes seven.(2) A: How old is your daughter? B: She is doing homework.It is clear, example (1) is a coherent text. Because B gives the relevant answer to As question. “She” refers back to “your daughter”. and “seven” is the answer of “how old”. So we can say that the two sentences together constitute a text, which can be interpreted as a whole. On the contrary, example (2) is semantically incoherent; “she” has no referent. This text has no texture, thus it is non-text.In addition, the introduction of the concept of “tie” is also necessary for it “makes it possible to analyze a text in terms of its cohesive properties, and gives a systematic account of its patterns of texture” (Halliday & Hasan, 1976: 4). As will be discussed in the following chapter, there are five main types of cohesive ties: reference., substitution, ellipsis, conjunction and lexical cohesion.1. 3 Text and TranslationTranslation is cross-cultural communication. Text, as the unit of communication, should also be the unit of translating. Translation has entered a new fieldtranslation on the level of text, which emphasizes equivalence on the level of text but not on the levels of word and sentence and the text is the final court of t