直译和意译Literal_Translation_And_Free_Translation.doc

A Touch On Literal Translation And Free Translation1. IntroductionTranslation is a popular hot topic among English major students, the literal translation and free translation are two basic methods. The literal translation emphasizes the correspondence of both content and form, in other words it means reflecting the original not only in content but in form. On the aspect of free translation, it pays more attention to the consistency of the mean spirit than form and literal content. The final purpose of both methods is expressing the original ideological content and style faithfully. Its of great significance for translators to master the two kinds of translation skills and combine them in the work of translation.2. Literal Translation2.1 DefinitionLiteral translation strives to reproduce both the ideological content and the style of entire literary work and retain as much as possible the figures of speech and the main sentence structures or patterns. Contemporary American translator Nida once said” Translation means translating meaning. ”Expressing the meaning of original text completely and correctly and retaining the original language form (words, sentence structure, rhetoric, etc.). Meanwhile the translation work is accessible and according with the language standard. This kind of translation method is called literal translation.2.2 ApplicationIn the literal translation, faithful to the original content should be in the first place. The second is to the original form and the third is the fluency and popularity of translated language. 2.2.1 Literal translation is a commonly used method of translation. In translation practice, generally, the literal translation is the main. Because in many cases, literal translation not only can keep the original content and spirit accurately but also avoid making readers misunderstanding caused by improper paraphrasing. As long as it can reflect the content of the original and does not violate the language expression habit, the literal translation should be considered firstly. Some English idioms are often translated with this method such as: “Blood is thicker than water.” 血浓于水“God helps those who help themselves. 天助自助者2.2.2 Literal translation must be faithful to the originalLiteral translation emphasizes the importance of being faithful to the original as well as the faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance. And because English and Chinese have different structure, it is not automatically translated word by word. Literal translation should not only elucidate the original meaning fully and accurately but also cannot have any distortion or add or delete the original thoughts. At the same time, it should maintain the original style, and sometimes even the mood or feeling cant be ignored.2.2.3 Literal translation has limitation Literal translation is not everything. If the translation over the limit and just mechanically comply with the original words, phrases, sentence order and the surface meaning. The result maybe the translation fails to covey the meaning. Such as: He has an axe to grind.” The phrase means” He has ulterior motives”. It cant be understood if translated with the method of literal translation. From this aspect, we cant always use the literal translation to solve problems. In this situation the free translation works.3. Free translation3.1 Definition Free translation is a supplementary means to mainly convey the meaning and spirit of the original without trying to reproduce its sentence patterns or figures of speech. The translator must understand the original meaning and express the meaning with the idiomatic language. Free translation works from the perspective of the original idea and pay little attention to the details as long as the translation is natural flow. Free translation do not emphasizes the original form, including syntax structure, words, metaphor and other rhetoric. Of course, free translation is not random translation, it requires the correct expression of original content but dont need to stick to the original form. In other words, free translation requires vivid not just similar to the original form. Such as: “Where there is a will there is a way.” 有志者事竟成“Great minds think alike.” 英雄所见略同And these kind of phrases if just translate from the surface meaning may be superficial and even puzzling. 3.2 Application 3.2.1 Free translation focus on reproducing the original ideas In the actual translation, sometimes for the same ideological content, the two languages of English and Chinese table have great differences. The expressions which adjust to the original words may be difficult to reproduce the original ideas accurately. In this situation the method of free translation should be used. Such as: “We all look forward to the day when simple medical test can find cancer while it is still small.” is translated into人们期望有朝一日用一种简便的检验方法发现早期的癌症。3.2.2 Free translation shouldnt be constrained by the original form and details In the translation, if cant use the original structure and forms of expression then with the method of free translation can change the sentence patterns and expressions to convey the original meaning. Because the original language and the translated sentences are different in grammar, word order and rhetoric, the original meaning and effect can only based on the proper way of translation. In the translation process to make the language clear and convincing and conform to the language habits the translator must try to comply with the language of the customs and the correct usage instead of adhering to the original patterns of expression mechanically. 3.2.3 Free translation can embody the national language features Free translation mainly used in the situation that the language and target language have huge cultural differences. From the intercultural language communication and cultural exchanges point of view, free translation emphasizes that the target language cultural system and original language cultural system of relative independence. A large number of examples show that the use of free translation reflects differences among nations in ecological culture, language culture, religion culture, material culture, social culture and many other aspects.4. Matters needing attention in the translation4.1 The principles of translation In the use of literal translation and free translation, we must first thoroughly understand the ideas of the author and the original express of feelings. Then according to some basic translation criteria and methods change the original language into idiomatic translation of target language. Only in this way, can we be responsible to both author and readers. The ultimate goal of translation is, it must be faithful to the original text and the target language should be fluent. If necessary the two kinds of methods can be used alternately or combine the two to make the readers have the same emotion effect as they read the original when they read the translation. Such as:“Until all is over ambition never dies” means不到黄河心不死The first half of the sentence translated in literal translation and the second half translated in free translation. It a example of digest of literal translation and free translation.4.2 Two tendencies should be avoid in the translation4.2.1 Formalism of translation (形式主义死译) Accurate, complete, clear and coherent, fluent to convey the spirit of the original are the essence of translation. In order to get the point, we must do the research on two kinds of language expression differences and carefully select the most exact expression which can express the original idea and accord with language idiomatic expressions.For example:“Criminal lawyer” means “刑事律师”If we just do the translation as simple language change we may translated it to “犯罪律师”Black sheep means “害群之马”If we just translated into “黑羊”, it is widely divergent with the original meaning.And another example:“I gave my youth to the sea and I came home and gave my wife age”If we just translated it mechanically into “我把青春献给海洋，我回家的时候便把老年给了我的妻子。” it must be hare to understand. But we change into “我把青春献给海洋，等我回到家见到我的妻子时，已经是白发苍苍。 ” it is vivid and easy to understand.4.2.2 liberal disorderly translation（自由主义的乱译） The translation is mainly for the people who do not know the original text. If our offer is inaccurate, incomplete translations or we translate the original just follow our own creation, it can make the reader be unable to draw a correct conclusion, thus causes losses to the work or even brings serious consequence. When doing free translation, the translator must grasp the discretion and use the corresponding translation methods to adjust the original structure with the standard target language to express the meaning of the original completely and correctly on the basis of correct understanding of the original. The translator cant comprehend the original by subjective concoction or analyze the original structure only consider the word level meaning. And making up sentences, adding and deleting the original content or tampering with the original are forbidden. For example:“Another rectifier circuit is known as the full-wave bridge of circuit” may be translated into“另一种整流器电路为著名的全波桥式电路。” But we do not say the circuit is fam