英语新闻标题及其翻译

1、English News Title and Its TranslationOutlineIntroductionDevelopment of English News TitleHistory of English News TitleFunctions of English News TitlePointing Out the News ContentProducing Attractive Effects.Differences between Chinese and English News TitlesVocabulary Similarities and DifferencesTe

2、nse Similarities and DifferencesRhetoric Similarities and DifferencesPunctuation Mark Similarities and DifferencesTranslation of English News TitlesLiteral TranslationFree TranslationAdditionOmissionNegation TranslationAlliterationMaking Use of the Advantage Chinese in Translation精品资料ConclusionEngli

3、sh News Title and Its TranslationandAbstract English news titles play a special role in news reporting. Thus we should place special emphasis on the research of the characteristics and translation of English news titles. This thesis focuses on the study of English news titles in terms of their gramm

4、atical features and its translation. When it comes to translation, it tries to reproduce the functions of English news titles which requires translators agility and ingenuity in applying semantic rhetorical devices. With grammatical and semantic exploration into the English news titles, such studies

5、 strive to benefit the readers in their understanding of what the editor wants to convey.Key words English news title; function; comparison; translations methods精品资料英语新闻标题及其翻译摘要标题在新闻报道中具有独特的地位。因此在整个新闻英语翻译中标题翻译的作用不可 忽视。本文拟从以下角度进行论证：英文报刊标题的文字简练醒目，无疑是来源于对英语语 法得心应手的灵活运用。而要再现英文标题在原文中所起的浓缩主题、画龙点睛的作用，需 要译者

6、同样在用词和修辞等语法方面匠心独运。本文拟通过对英语新闻标题翻译原则和策略 的探讨，以期能对新闻英语包括英语标题翻译找到一条具有特定翻译规则的途径作出有益的 尝试。关键词英语新闻标题；作用；分类；对比；翻译方法IntroductionWhat is the title? A title of a piece of news usually printed in large type and devised to summarize, gives essential information, or interests readers in reading the news content . N

7、aturally readers buy newspapers in order to keep posted on daily happenings. However, today s English newspapers are getting fatter with a great number of pages. Therefore, many readers have formed the habit of scanning titles, which makes possible rapid news comprehension. Thus one of the most impo

8、rtant purposes of titles is to inform readers quickly, which means that a well-designed title immediately tells them the gist of the accompanying story. Nothing is more important than packaging the product. A piece of news and its titles resemble the product and the packaging respectively.精品资料Only w

9、hen the titles grasp the attention of the readers, the whole page can obtain vitality. So we say a final requirement of titles is to stimulate the readersartistic sense. Therefore, news people need to make sure that English title forms are set to beautify the layout of the newspaper and thus to inte

10、rest readers in the stories. Development of English News TitleHistory of English News TitleThe history of English news title is long and it can be divided into three phases. English news titles were originated in the Qing Dynasty. The characteristic of embryo is long and complex. The second stage of

11、 news title begins with the characteristic of diversity in the 19th century 70s. The third stage is from 20th century to nowadays and has the feature of concise and simplicity.In a word, the translation of English news title experienced the process from complexity to simplicity.Functions of English

12、News TitleThe news title is the fundamental part of any piece of news. In a time when its harder to get people s attention, good writers always spend too much time and creative energy working on their titles, because they know that the title is one of the most important parts of their work. Accordin

13、g to Bruce H. Westley, from the standpoint of the reader, newspaper titles serve the following purposes: 2.2.1 Pointing Out the News ContentNews titles summarize the news content, so the news content can be reflected by the titles alone. By glancing over them, the readers will know what 精品资料the stor

14、y is about. Readers can quickly locate the parts that interest him mostly by following the sequence of the news points line by line. Titles rank the importance of stories by the size of the print and placement on the page. And titles can convey the relative significance of the news.2.2.2 Producing A

15、ttractive EffectsNews titles are essential to attract the reader s attention. General speaking, two methods are used. First, the consistent use of familiar title structure gives the newspaper a relatively familiar and welcome nature. Secondly, English news title is trying to make good use of the fro

16、nt page of a newspaper, especially in electronic media. All of that can help attract the publics attention. The front pageplays the most important role of attracting the eyeballs of the readers well. Since newspapers are usually sold on the newsstands with just the top-half of the paper showing to t

17、he passengers, reporters of newspapers try every means to make the banner titles across the top of the page attractive enough to be a crowd-stopper (Westley 1972).Differences between Chinese and English News TitlesUnderstanding the similarities and differences between the Chinese and English news ti

18、tles are carrying on the accurate translation. Any thing has its general character and its individuality. The Chinese and English news title is not exceptional. Directness and factuality are the two most prominent general characters. But the different language cultural context and the news tradition

19、 enable the Chinese and English title to have their own clear characteristics.Vocabulary Similarities and Differences精品资料In most cases both English titles and Chinese titles share similarities in the vocabulary usage. First, in the news titles they both use shrinks and concise words (In Chinese we o

20、ften used armed police， Political Consultative Conference ，WTO，Security Council and so on. In English UN, UK, USA, NATO, WTO, NASA EU) Minor term” is the popular word usage and the fashionable word usage in English news titles. Second, both enjoy using popular words. Third, both enjoy using stylish

21、words. For example:(1)全球瞩目A股巨震，暴跌难阻股民入市热情MP demands probe into MoD bungles (MP=Member of Parliament; MoD=ministry of Defense(3)越来越多的人在聚会时喜欢k歌”(K song is stylish word)American Online; Often Down, Never Out (Online is stylish word)The first two examples use the popular terms and the last two ones use

22、the stylish word. Differences:Judging from vocabulary, the Chinese news title is fond of using several verbs together, but the English news title is fond of using several noun words together. English news often uses short words and some initials or acronyms which are printed in large type, Such as E

23、EC short for European Economic Community.(5)开放搞活改革致富(6) Britain Flagship Detention Center Abandoned(7)武船再助 神舟”飞天(武船”指武昌造船厂)精品资料A 2nd LI Priest Removed (LI=Long Island)The first example shows Chinese title uses four verbs together, while the second one shows English title uses four nouns together. Th

24、ats the differencelying in the Chinese and English news title in the vocabulary usage.2.3.2 Tense Similarities and DifferencesEnglish and Chinese news titles all massively use the phrase title. In Chinese we commonly use verb-object phrase, noun phrase and so on. In English we commonly use non-local

25、ization minor sentence (for example participial phrase, Infinitive phrase and gerund phrase), adjective phrase, and preposition phrase and so on. Translation may happen according to respective characteristic transformation. E.g.Five Ways to Be RomanticHelping the Homeless to Help ThemselvesUS carmak

26、ers ready to cut output.(12)走向美好明天的江西.(13)变化中的股市(14)中国与发展In the above English news titles, the first uses the infinitive phrase, the second uses the gerund phrase and the third uses the adjective phrase. In the Chinese news titles, the first uses two verb-object, the last one uses noun -verb.When we

27、 read English news title we will find English news titles often use simple present tense, present progressive tense and simple future tense, whose sign is obvious. However, you will find Chinese news titles often use present精品资料 tense and progressive tense. Who tense sign is not obvious (Peter, Newm

28、ark 2001). For example:French Culture Is the Doldrums法国文化颓然不振China is growing strong.中国正在发展壮大.China had an earth-shaking change.中国发生了 一个翻天覆地的变化(18)中国自然资源丰富.(19)总理会见了受难群众(20)中国法律将更加完善.(21)圆满取得了成功.From the above examples we can find the first four examples use general present tense, general future ten

29、se, and present progressive tense, general past tense individually, and have obvious tense signs. The last ones use general present tense, the present tense replace past tense, future tense, past tense. But they have no obvious tense signs.Rhetoric Similarities and DifferencesBoth English and Chines

30、e news title use the ordinary rhetoric, such as metaphor and hyperbole. It can attract more readers and make the news more clear and colorful.Dam work brings flood of debate(23)孩子是祖国的花朵精品资料Graying Armies March to Defend Social Security一落千丈The first and second examples use the metaphor. The rest uses

31、 the hyperbole. The above two kinds of rhetoric are often used in English and Chinese news titles.As for the rhetoric, English-Chinese news title style is respectively different. The Chinese news title highly values a literary talent especial in antithesis and controls rhyme. The English news title

32、is insipid and pays more attention to the fact. The usage of rhetoric lattice is limited. It often uses literary quotation, allegory, personification, harmonic tone, alliteration, repetition, word or phrase with double meaning, changing the order of rhetoric. Chinese news titles often use parallelis

33、m, overlapping, swing, aphorism, antithesis, comparison, word or phrase with double meanings. Some rhetoric is respectively for English institute such as alliteration and swings.Protestant ProtestGrammy Apple of New Yorks Eye?The Scent of Descent(29)名言草，实言人。(30)不积度步，无以至千里；不积小流，无以成江海(31)青山横北郭，白水逸东城。I

34、n the above examples, English and Chinese news titles use different rhetoric. The functions of the rhetoric are different between English and Chinese news titles and they have their own features.精品资料Punctuation Mark Similarities and DifferencesIn some cases, Chinese and English news titles both have

35、 the abbreviation punctuation marks in titles. The function is to remain pause and divided into two or three title abbreviation topic. The meaning is still clear. The same lies in the comma and the exclamation mark. That is to say they all are used to divide the meaning group and the expression of i

36、ntense sentiment. E.g.(32)原来如此.(33) What, Who, Which(35) Oil s well that ends well, hopes rig chef(36)克什米尔神庙附近发生火灾，死亡十人。The first two examples use the abbreviation mark. This function is to indicate pause. The rest ones use comma to divide the title into two groups.As far as the usage of punctuation

37、 mark is concerned, Chinese news title commonly uses comma, exclamation mark, dash, quotation mark, ellipsis, parenthesis, spacer and question mark. While English titles often use comma, colon, dash, question mark, exclamation mark, possessive case mark, oblique line mark and quotation mark. Chinese

38、 title does not use the colon, possessive case mark, oblique line mark. The English news title does not use the ellipsis, parenthesis, space. The dash is different between Chinese and English titles. The dash plays the connection and the supplement information role, and replaces the article be”. The

39、 dash may express the meaning progressive and the transition in Chinese news. The quotation mark often emphasizes the essential information in English and draws out the original speech. In Chinese精品资料 title the quotation mark expresses the content and the meaning directly either the irony or the exa

40、ggeration.(37)目前世界上最高的山峰一珠穆郎玛蜂The Translator James“神通广大”的候乐为何如此嚣张walk with Lions “ to come trueThe first two examples use dash mark to refer to the main topic. the last two examples use quotation mark to emphasize some information.Translation of English News TitlesUnderstanding the content of news w

41、ell is the first thing for translating. The English news title has its own distinctive grammar system and the language form characteristic. So translation ought to use the title grammar and language and keep the purity of the title. In the process of the translation from English to Chinese, we shoul

42、d consider their differences. We should take the custom of the translated language into the consideration. Once we come across the cases, we can not translate them liberally.Literal TranslationSince being simplicity is the common characteristic of both English and Chinese news titles, we can conside

43、r literal translation at first (陈宏微 1997). When the English news title is correspondent to Chinese news title in meaning, we can translate them literally. Such translation will not influence concrete meaning and nature of both English and Chinese news titles. E.g.精品资料Look Back to Look Ahead回首往昔，展望未来

44、Cold and Rainy Day Is Expected预计将有寒冷的雨水Tourist Is Arrested for Espionage Charges一游客涉嫌间谍活动被捕Bill Clinton Assumes Office in White House as Us President比尔.克林顿入主白宫，就任美国总统。Betray by the press报界的背叛Most of the English news titles can translate in this way and make the titles concise and good understanding.

45、 As the English news titles are corresponded to Chinese news titles in meaning, so we translate the English news titles literally.In the first four examples, the meanings of English news titles are equal to Chinese news titles. So we can translate them literally.3.2 Free TranslationWe know English a

46、nd Chinese belongs to two language families. So they differ in many aspects such as vocabulary and tense in translation. When we meet such cases, we can adopt free translation. E.g.Blown-away Hopes (Times February 1996)和平的希望被炸掉了( Free translation points out article content ) Men Do Cry All Over the

47、World.今昔非比，保守的英国绅士大胆流露感情。精品资料Some Kids Are Orchids血案的反思Between Chinese and English news titles, the English news title uses the simple present tense in the first example, while the translated Chinese news titles use the past tense. In the third example, the English news title is a simple sentence wh

48、ile the Chinese news titles are a simple phrase.3.3 AdditionAddition refers to supplying necessary words in our translation so as to make the version clear and correct. However, due to the differences between Chinese and English news titles in vocabularies, rhetoric and tense. In the above cases, we

49、 may employ devices such as addition. Addition can help readers understand the English news titles. E.g.Young Wheel Ers, Big dealers驾驶摩托车的青年们，成了（保险公司的）大主顾Culture Convention Barrier产品跨国销售中的文化习俗障碍Hanging up Their Hats英警察传统锥形头盔将束之高阁Year 2000 Bug Unstoppable for some Companies计算机千年虫问题迫在眉睫According to th

50、e differences in vocabularies the English news title used two nouns together, in the first example, while the Chinese news titles use the verb. The second one is the same with the first one in translation. In the third example,精品资料the English news title does not userhetoric while the Chinese news ti

51、tle useshyperbole.3.4 OmissionOmission refers to prune the redundant information in the original language.That is, to say make our translation as economical as possible. The most visible feature of titles is omission. The titles can be shortened by wiping out some unimportant words when the omission

52、 of such words does not provoke confusion. Owing to the similarities of vocabulary and tense between the English news titles and the Chinese news titles, we can adopt omission to translate from the English news titles to the Chinese news titles. E.g.You Need to Eat Less Than You Think适量少吃有助于减肥My wif

53、e is a Woman in a Man s world 泡在男人堆里的女人Cream of Shanxi Relics on Display山西文物精品展览How Globalization Hurts the Poor in Africa全球化有损非洲穷人的利益In the first two examples, usage of vocabularies in the English news titles is the same as the Chinese news titles the last two ones used the same tense.3.5 Negation

54、TranslationIf title literal translation can not express the article content rightly, it may change an angle and begin to write or paint from reverse side and express its精品资料 own ideas on the contrary. This way of translation can be considered as negation translation. e.g.Never Too Old最长寿之人You cannot

55、 be too careful.你可要特别小心啊！An opportunity is not likely to repeat itself.良机难再。But all men are not born to reign.并非人人生来都是作帝王的。Crisis law反危机法案Riot police防暴警察Crying Over Unsold Milk.牛奶售不了，抱怨也无用In the first four examples, the English news titles have the negative words while the Chinese news titles have n

56、ot. However, the Chinese news titles have the negative words in the last three ones, while the English news titles do not have. Lots of titles can not express their means correctly but this method can solve the problems and make the titles meanings more clearly.3.6 AlliterationAlliteration is the re

57、currence of the same initial sound in words and close精品资料 succession. Alliteration is used for the sake of brevity and vividness. In English news titles, there are many short titles but powerful titles. E.g.Missing Mike缅怀迈克Coca- Cola可口可乐Coffee 咖啡In the first example, the news title is pining for its

58、 former inspirational leader, Michael Bloomberg, who left to become mayor of New York. In the first example, Mike, the nickname for Michael, is used to show peoples fondness of him. Andthe word miss “is chosen to constitute alliteration with Mike “ and to highlight his fellows strong desire for him. The title thus appears to be very concise and movingly expressive. The usage of alliteration is also reasonable to the rest ones.3.7 Making