词义的选择及其理据

1、第二周 词义的选择及其理据： 概念的内涵与外延Part I：Choices of Semantic Items of Words in Translation and Their Motivations:Denotation & Connotation1Meaning Types of WordsDenotative meaning: a) conceptual or logical meaning of a word; b) being the name or sign or symbol of sth.; c) the definition of a word which refers t

2、o a thing or object or an abstract idea; e.g. tree: large-lonf lasting type of plant, having a thick central wooden stem from which wooden branches grow, usually bearing leavesbook: number of printed or written sheets of paper bound together in a coverduty: moral or legal obligation; task or action

3、that sb. must performcorruption: dishonest behavor, esp through accepting bribeshappy: feeling or expressing pleasure, contentment or satisfaction, etc. 2Father: the male parent of a childMother: the female parent of child犊：小牛也Indian meal ？玉米粥Indian summer ？小阳春American beauty ？月月红German wool ？细毛线 3d

4、ry law 禁酒令fly-boat快艇sweet water淡水，泉水vital capacity肺活量in labour在分娩butcher paper一种厚而不透水的纸词组指称意义或所指意义4 Note: every word may be categorized in a hierarchical way and belong to a category in terms of their denotative meaning.5妻子、爱人、夫人、太太、老婆、老 伴、媳妇、堂客、内人、贱内、拙荆马铃薯、洋芋、土豆、山药蛋human being, man, people, person,

5、 human, fellow, individual, souldog, hound, spaniel, mastiff, pointer, setter, retriever, terrier6搬、运、送、提、拎、挑、扛、背、搂、端、举、夹、捧 (carry)Walk(走),saunter (闲逛，漫步), amble (缓行), track (追踪，走), wend (行， 走), stride (大步行走), trudge (跋涉), shamble (蹒跚地走，摇摇晃晃地走), prance (昂首阔步), scamper (奔跳), tiptoe (用脚尖走) 7“范畴”则指表示同类

6、事物的分类与概括性的词语，反映事物的外延，是众多外延上具有同类特征分子的集合。而反映同类事物之间的本质区别性语义特征则是其内涵区别。如“桃树”与“梨树”中的“树”表示二者均具有“树”的属性或特征：一种高大、生长年龄长、并且长有主干和枝、叶，能开花结果的植物；而“桃（树）”与“梨（树）”则反映其本质的区别性特征，主要体现在叶、花与果的差异性，同时，二者又属于“树”的基本范畴。 8例1) 老局长在市里召开的会议上睡着了。 The words that share the denotative meaning of “ being in a state of sleep or being alsee

7、p” may include sleep: nap: (short sleep, especially during the day)doze:(short light sleep)nod: (let ones head fall forward when drowsy or alseep) 9Connotative meaning: 1) (meaning of words) suggest in addition to the main meaning;2) distinctive meaning to other words in the same category; 例 2） Be a

8、 man! Dont be a woman!例 3） 帮助有困难的同学是我们大家的责任。例 4） 中国人民解放军将保卫祖国视为自己 法定的职责。 (words to be chosen for translation: responsibility / duty/ obligation）duty: legal responsibility; obligation;obligation：law, or moral pressure, promise etc. that force one to do sth. responsibility: being responsible or accoun

9、table10 老来乐 （happy, delight, joy, bliss, pleasure, ） 七十岁开始可以诸事不做而拿退休金， 不愁没有一碗饭吃， 自由自在， 自得其乐。要看书可以随便乱翻。 金庸、梁羽生、克里斯蒂、松本清张， 从前哪能拜读 ? 现在可以了。随看随忘， 便扔在一边。无忧无虑， 无人打扰， 不必出门而自有天地。真是无限风光在老年。 偶尔有人来， 不论男女老少认识不认识， 天南地北， 天上地下， 天文地理， 谈天说地， 百无禁忌。我的话匣子一开， 激光磁盘便响个不停， 滔滔不绝。无奈我闲人忙， 昕众逐渐稀少， 终于门庭冷落， 只剩一屋子广阔天地， 任我独往独来， 随意

10、挥洒。 打开电视， 又是一番新气象。古今中外， 赤道南极， 变幻莫测。真能坐地日行八万里。忽而庄严说教，忽而插科打浑， 忽而高歌一曲， 忽而舞步翩翩。帝王将相， 牛鬼蛇神， 无不具备， 应有尽有， 场面各有不同 。主持人个个精神焕发。服装表演件件花样翻新。足球射门中的。篮球投篮不空。马家军飒爽英姿。大歌星真人假唱。忽然出现红顶花翎，拖着辫子， 仿佛我的一百四十岁的父亲复活。他不辞辛苦跑到北京来对宣统皇帝磕头。我却曾在大庭广众中对溥仪先生点头问好。真是一代不如一代， 一代胜过一代。正在得意之间， 不料长袍马褂已变成西装革履。长发长袜， 飘来跳去， 三点泳装 耀眼生辉。眼睛耳朵实在招架不住， 那就

11、下令暂停， 闭目养神去也。11The other types of meaning of words social meaning emotional meaning associative meaning collocative meaning thematic meaning functional meaning cultural meaning stylistic meaning aesthetic meaning grammatical meaning pragmatic meaning12.例5) He is a fox. 他是一只狡猾的狐狸。例6) She is a cat. 她是

12、个包藏祸心的女人。例7) Every life has its thorns and roses. 每个人的生活中都会有苦有甜。13Part I：Theoretic Notion I syntagmatic choices (横组合) & paradigmatic choices （纵聚合）14About syntagmatic choices (横组合)¶digmatic choices （纵聚合）Syn. dimensionPar.dimension15例 8 ）总共有170人在飞机坠毁事件中丧生。（die, death, loose ones life, ） a) There w

13、ere one hundred and seventy deaths in the air-crash.b) one hundred and seventy people lost their lives in the air-crash.c) The air crash claimed one hundred and seventy lives.16例 9 ）那艘船挂着西班牙国旗。A Spanish flag was hung on the ship mast.The ship was flying the Spanish flag17要点：在语词概念翻译过程中，译者容易找到或从记忆中提取出

14、双语横组合中相对应的概念或向相近的概念，比较容易忽视不相对应或差异较大的纵聚合中的概念。如：例 10）通过努力，我们解决了这一难题。 与“解决”相对应的概念常有 “overcome” “solve” ，但是还有其他概念语义相差较远词语 “crack”和“remove”等。在翻译过程中，能够灵活地运用纵聚合中的概念则能或得形象生动的译文。英语写作表达也同样如此。要求译者平时阅读英语材料要多留心、多积累这些丰富的表达方式。18Compare and contrast the fallowing expressions between English and Chinese.drop a hint

15、露口风lift a siege 解围hit the headlines 成为报纸头条新闻administer medicine to 给 用药develop a fever 发烧strike a balance 找到折中办法；作出公平安排 work a miracle 创造奇迹19Practice1）He incurred a heavy debt to educate his children.2) He fully deserved the penalty he incurred.3) Some shops in New York seem to invite crime by displ

16、aying valuables on the counters.4) Wife: “Im afraid that you may invite the rats from all over the word to gnaw your bone.” 5) It all started when I was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease called Alopecia Areata. . I could not understand why I had been chosen to represent the illness. I felt helpl

17、ess and out of control. (Alopecia Areata: 斑形脱发症 ) 20Theoretic notion II:Text Cohesion in translation21One evening, I had just arrived at my home airport and was waiting outside in the twilight for my wife to pick me up. I watched two young businessmen with mounting fascination. Each spoke on indepen

18、dent cell-phones with great energy and at enormous length to somebody somewhere (but not, I think, to each other). As they did so, they walked without ceasing in circles, round and round, first one way then another, making figure eights one minute, zeroes the nest, threes and sixes, twos and 20s. It

19、 seamed to be a mobile-phone softshoe shuffle. And it was as if they were performing some complexly choreographed open-air ritual.(Cellphone Madness Goes Unanswered by Christopher Andreae W/E01-8)22 The End 23一班作业点评:Language is our principal means of understanding reality and communicating that unde

20、rstanding to others.语言是我们认知世界并将我们的认知带给世界的主要方式。改译: 语言是我们认识现实世界的主要手段, 也是我们相互传递这种认识的主要方式.24Words come so naturally and become so closely associated with what they represent that we may unconsciously regard them as synonymous with reality. That can be a costly mistake. 语言被运用得如此自然并与它们所代表的事物联系得如此紧密，以致我们有时

21、会不知不觉地认为她们和事物本是一体。但这却是一个致命的错误。改译:词语的使用自然得体, 与其所指代的事物紧密相联，我们自然而然地误认为词语和事物是等同的。但这种误解却是致命的。25A peoples language develops according to their insights and observations, and since no single group has equal insights into all dimensions of reality, no language is perfectly suited to express all realities.一个

22、民族的语言发展是基于他们对外界的见识和观察。但既然每个人对外界的见识和观察都不尽相同，那么，语言就不可能完美地描述所有的事实。 改译:一个民族的语言发展基于他们对外界事物的观察和认识。但既然每个民族对外界事物各个方面的观察和认识都不尽相同，那么，语言就不可能完美地描述一切事实。(先有观察,后有认识,注意词语语序的逻辑调节问题) 26For example, Eskimos have many words for snow, each word denoting (referring to) a certain kind of snow (heavy and wet versus light and fluffy, small and fine versus large and dense, and so on), so they can speak with much greater precision about snow than can Engl