汉字“天”的翻译策略研究(英文版).doc

AbstractChinese word “tian” (天) is a frequently used word and has different meanings in the different contexts. Besides the meaning “sky, day”, it also has many other meanings. And the exact meaning is related to the concrete context. Therefore, when translating we must choose appropriate English words. This paper first discusses different meanings of Chinese word “tian”, and then the basic methods for translation of Chinese word “tian” into English are introduced and discussed, that is: transliteration, literal translation and free translation. It is of practical significance to do cross-cultural communication and translating practice.Key Words: Chinese word “tian”; translation; context摘要“天”字是一个很活跃的常用汉字，其确切含义往往与具体语境紧密相关。在不同的语境里“天”字有不同的意思 。因而在翻译处理时，必须注意体察语言情境，然后选择正确的词来进行翻译。只有这样，才能较好地传达原说话人的意图，以及在语气和态度等方面的细微处。本文首先对“天”字的不同意义进行了讨论，然后描述了“天”字的几种英译方法，对促进中西文化交流和翻译实践有一定的现实指导意义。关键词：“天”字；英译；语境Contents1. Introduction12. Meanings of “tian”22.1 Specific Meanings of “tian” .22.2 Cultural Implications.32.3Conventional Meanings.32.4 Historical Vocabulary43. Methods of the Translation “tian”.4 3.1 Transliteration.5 3.2 Literal Translation5 3.3 Free translation.7 3.3.1 To Translate “tian” as Justice.8 3.3.2 To Translate “tian” as Heaven.8 3.3.3 To Translate “tian” as Weather9 3.3.4 To Translate “tian” as God.9 3.3.5 To Translate “tian” as Nature, Natural.10 3.3.6 To Translate “tian” as World, Country, Sun.10 3.3.7 Not to Translate in Some Special Phrase or Idiom.114. Conclusion.12 References13141. IntroductionNowadays, with the development of the technology and economy, the communication among different countries becomes more and more frequent, such as America and China. Therefore it is certainly necessary to exchange these two languages. Of course, translation is a certain way to achieve this process. According to Huang Long(1988：1) “Translation is the replacement of textual material in one language by equivalent textual material in another language.” Translation is the process of understanding and expressing, and also it is the process of contrasting between English and Chinese. It involves the social background, culture and other aspects of two languages. Because the social culture and religion of the target language are completely different from the customs and habits of the source language, some words are very hard to deal with, for example, Chinese word “tian” which is one of the most frequent used words.As has been mentioned above, we know that translation is very important in our life. Because translation is an activity of communication across different countries, context plays an important role in determining the meaning. So, without context, there will be no better understanding of the original language. The Chinese word “tian” has many different meanings in different context. Its most common meaning is “sky, day” ect, but it also has many other meanings. In fact, there are many English words that can express the meanings of word “tian”, and the translation of Chinese word “tian” should be based on the understanding of the original meanings and the concrete situations .In this thesis, I would like to discuss more about Chinese word “tian”, and analyze the English translation of Chinese word “tian”. After doing this to achieve the purpose of learning more about translation and make readers know how to choose proper words when translating Chinese word “tian”.2. Meanings of “tian”Chinese word “tian” is a frequently used word, which has different meanings in the different contexts. Besides the meaning “sky, day”, it has many other meanings. Therefore, while translating, we should consider more about the concrete situations, and clearly understand its specific meanings and cultural meanings.2.1 Specific MeaningsWhen we translate the Chinese word “tian” the first two words which appear in our mind are “sky”, “day”, but in fact, “tian” has many other meanings. Some of their meanings are so complex that even the Chinese fail to understand, let along to translate them. The following are the specific meanings of “tian” according to New Age Chinese_ English Dictionary. (Hui Yu, 2000:1515)(1) Sky，heaven. (2) Overhead. (3) Day. (4) Period of time in a day; Time of day. (5) Season. (6) Weather. (7) Inborn. (8) Nature. (9) Heaven; God. (10) Celestial abode of gods; heaven; Paradise.Before we go ahead for translation，these meanings must be put into our mind. Otherwise we cant do any good translation.2.2 Cultural ImplicationThe Chinese words are wonderful and colorful ，as a Chinese we may understand it without too much difficulties ,but we have to consider the readers，especially foreigners who may know little about the background of Chinese culture. For example, when some friends of mine is talking about me in a house，then I coming. We may hear the words:“我们正说你呢，你就来了，真是说曹操曹操到”。Here, “说曹操曹操到”（talk of the devil and he will appear.）cantinas an implicated meaning ,that is : when my friends are talking about me and I coming, but not they are talking the real person “caocao” in ancient time ，then “caocao” coming. It is very easy for Chinese readers to understand, but it may be difficult for foreigners to understand. The Chinese word “tian” also has a lot of implications. For example, if we hear someone say“他归西天了。”here “归西天”has an implicated meaning ,which dose not mean “go to west”, but mean “dead”. So “他归西天了” means “he is dead”.Language is a part of culture and therefore translating from one language into another cannot be done satisfactorily without adequate knowledge of the two cultures involved (Ma Huijuan, 2004:75).From the above examples we can see that if we know nothing about the culture of a country, we may have difficulties in understanding its language, let along translate it properly, So the information about culture is really important in translation. Famous translator Wang Zuoliang（1995）once said: “Translator dealing with some words but facing two profound cultures.” And also Nida(1993) once said: “to be bilingual, one has to be bicultural.”2.3 Conventional MeaningsWhen we talk about the conventional meanings of “tian” ，we may be very familiar with these phrases蓝天（blue sky），一天(one day)，白天 (daytime)and so on. On the other hand ,if we put “tian” behind the four words“春”，“夏”，“秋”，“冬”, it means four seasons of a year, that is:春天（spring），夏天（summer）， 秋天（autumn），冬天（winter）.In our daily life “tian” is also used to express the meaning of “above” or “high” ,for instance, “天窗”(skylight or scuttle), “天桥”(overpass or over line bridge), “天花板”(ceiling).From the above, we can see that Chinese world “tian” is extensively used in our life, and its meanings are varied in different situations.2.4 Historical VocabularyThe original meaning of “tian” in old Chinese is head of people. For example “刑天”means “kill somebody”. This meaning is kept in this kind of words， such as “天灵盖”（the crown of the head） and “天官”（facial feature）.The kings in Chinese feudalism society are called themselves “天子”（emperor）, and also the emperors of Japan are called themselves “天皇”. They called themselves “天子” or “天皇” just in the purpose of indicating the divine right of kings，and let the common people totally willing to obey their rule. In old Chinese “天干”(tiangan) was used as serial numbers and also in combination with twelve Earthly Branches to designate years, months, days, and hours;“三伏天”means the hottest days of summer; “天罡” or “天罡星”is used in old Chinese astronomy, which means the constellation Ursa Major or its seven bright stars. The above examples show the fact that Chinese word “tian” was widely used in ancient times, and in different situations, its meanings differ a lot.3. Methods of translating “tian”Chinese word “tian” is so widely used that it is very necessary to study it and its translation. Choosing an appropriate translation technique is vital when translating Chinese word “tian”. Different methods should be applied to translate Chinese word “tian” with different circumstances, that is: transliteration，literal translation and free translation. 3.1 TransliterationAccording to Mark Shuttleworth(2004)，transliteration is a process in which “source language phonological units are replaced by target phonological units”. We can use transliteration to translate “tian” when it is used with some names of places or names of people.Such as: 天安门 Tian An Men 天安门广场 Tiananmen Square天津 Tianjin天山 Tianshan张天佑 Zhang Tianyou文天祥 Wen TianxiangIt should be admitted that transliteration is a direct method of translation. Usually, when we come across peoples names, and some of professional names, we will use transliteration. From the above examples we can see that transliteration is a good way to translate “tian” when it is used with place names or people names.3.2 Literal Translation As far as the conception of literal translation is concerned，many people are familiar with it. But when mentioned about the exact definition of it，we may not be so familiar about it. According to Peter Newmark (Peter Newmark，2001，) literal translation is that the grammatical constructions of source language are converted to their nearest target language equivalents，but the lexical words are again translated singly, out of context. In literal translation we usually use “sky，day” to translate “tian”. But there are differences between these two words; hence, translators must know the target language (English) very well. The explanation of “sky” in Oxford Advanced LearnerEnlish_Chinese Dictionary (AS Hornby,2004:1642)is the space above the earth that you can see when you look up, where clouds and the sun, moon and stars appear，we usually say “the sky”, for example: “What is that in the sky?”(天上那是什么东西？). When the sky is used with an adjective or adjectival phrase, use “asky”, for instance, “a cloudless sky” (无云的天空). We can also use the plural form skies, especially when you are thinking about the great extent of the sky. such as “a land of blue skies and sunshine”(一个蓝天日丽的国度) .According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (Yang Zhengming, 2003), the meaning of “day” is (1) period of 24 hours, for example: “we spent three days in Pairs then went south”. (2) The period of time between when it becomes dark, for instance “I am usually out during the day”.The followings are more examples of “tian”, which are translated based on the above, I hope it can help you understand easily.Example1 （Peng Dezhang，1999）天蓝 sky blue 蓝天白云 white clouds in a blue sky天高气爽 The sky is clear and the air crisp 太阳一出满天红 The sky is glowing with the rising sun.月落乌啼霜满天 The moon is setting, the crow is cawing, and frost is filling the sky.Example 2但白天看来又平凡得很。（Wen Xiuying，2001：80）In the daytime, however it was all prosaic.Example 3(Peng Dezhang，1999）一天 one day 天明 daybreak当天 on the same day 天天向上 make progress every day Literal translation is known as word for word translation, which can be defined as a translation method that consists of translating the elements of the source text into the target text without changing the word order. (Mark Shuttleworth, 2004:95). Just from the definition itself, it can be claimed that literal translation is not enough when we do translation. Therefore we need other ways to translate “tian” precisely.3.3 Free TranslationIn translation, when literal translation will cause semantic zero or serious misunderstanding, free translation should be employed (Zhang Baihua, 2005). Free translation focuses on reproducing the original message without paying attention to the original form. Unlike literal translation, in free translation, the translators major concern is the main idea and meaning of the original. Usually, the free translation is used when the translator met with obstacles resulted from difference in two languages and cultures (Xu Jianping, 2003). Chinese word “tian” has different meanings in different context, so it is necessary to choose appropriate word to express its meaning in translation. We can translate “tian” into the following words in different contexts.3.3.1 To Translate “tian” as JusticeIn the following the Chinese word “tian” means the fair treatment of people or the quality of being fair or reasonable, so we can translate it into “justice”.Example 4(Peng Dezhang，1999)天网恢恢 justice has a long arm 无法无天 devoid of justice拨开云雾重见天 redress a wrong and restore justice3.3.2 To Translate “tian” as HeavenIn Chinese cultural meaning, Chinese word “tian” has the meaning of “heaven”, so we can translate it as the following:Example 5(Yang Zhengming, 2003)天不负人 heaven never fails the faithful天不假年 heaven dose not give one a long enough life天不绝人 heaven would not fail a man 天无绝人之路 heaven never seals off all the exists3.3.3 To Translate “tian” as WeatherThe word “tian” could be used to modify the condition of the atmosphere at a particular place and time, such as the temperature, and if there is wind, rain, sun, etc. So we can use “weather” to convey it.Example 6(AS Hornby, 2004:1998)天放晴 The weather is clearing up. 变天了 The weather is changed. 你旅途中天气好吗?Did you have good weather on your trip?现在天气变化无常.The weather is very changeable.天气允许的话我们就在室外举行这次聚会.We will have the party outside, weather permitting.3.3.4 To Translate “tian” as “God”In some phrases the word “tian” is used as the being or spirit that is worshipped and is believed to have created the universe. On the other hand, it also could be used to emphasize what you are saying when you are surprised, shocked or annoyed. At this situation, we usually use “God” to translate it.Example 7(Wei Dongya, 1995)天赐 Godsend 天命 Gods will天机 Gods design 天从人愿 God grants mans wishes谋事在人,成事在天 Man progress, God dispose.Example 8(AS Hornby, 2004:752)天啊,这事干得太蠢了! God, what a stupid thing to do!我的天哪！ Oh, my God!3.3.5 To Translate “tian” as Nature, NaturalIn English, the word “nature”, “natural” also can express the meaning of “tian”, such as the following situations:Example 9(Wei Dongya, 1995)天灾 natural disaster 天敌 natural enemy 天资 natural gift 天险 natures barrier天性 natural instinct 天籁 sounds of nature人定胜天 man can conquer nature他天性忠厚 he has a sincere and kindly nature3.3.6 To Translate “tian” as World, Country, Sun.In Chinese, we often add “下” or “底下”behind “tian”, thus form the phrase “天（底）下” In this situation ,we always choose “world”, “country” and “sun” to convey it. Example 10(Wei Dongya, 1995)天下为公 The whole world or country as one community天下文章一大抄 All the writings in the world are copings天下本无事,庸人自扰之.All is well with the word, only the ignorant will fuss over nothing.Example 11(Peng Dezhang, 2004)天下兴亡,匹夫有责Every man has a duty to his country.天下乌鸦一般黑。All ravens under the sun are black.3.3.7 Not to Translate in Some Special Phrases or IdiomsPhrases or idioms with “tian” can be seen frequently, some of them just kind of exaggeration, so we dont need translate them out. Here are some examples:Example 12(Peng Dezhang, 1999)远在天边 far beyond天大的事 whatever comes天大的笑话 colossal天大的好事 an excellent thing天长地久 forever天各一方 far apart from each otherExample 13（Wu Jingrong，2007）你就是有天大的本事，恐怕也施展不开。However capable you are, you probably can do nothing in the circumstance.我若对你有二心，天打五雷轰！Strike me to dead if I am found unfaithful to you!他是一条天不怕，地不怕的硬汉子。He is a tough guy who fears nothing and no one.Surely, free translation is an essential way in translation. From above，its safe to say that free translation should be used widely to translate the Chinese word “tian”4. ConclusionPeople say that language is the unique