翻译技巧及双语对比.docVIP

Translation (E-C) Materials for English Major 2008 INTRODUCTION I. Principles or Criteria of Translation 1. Translation Criteria of China The so-called principles and criteria of translation are actually the two sides of the same thing. The former lays emphasis on the translator, who should follow them while translating; while the latter on the reader or critic, who may use the criteria to evaluate translation works. Whenever principles or criteria of translation are under discussion in China, Yan Fu’s “three-character guide” , which was first proposed in 1898, would evoke controversy, namely, the principle of “信、达、雅” (faithfulness expressiveness and elegance ). In the past decades Mr. Yan’s principle of translation has been generally regarded as a plumb-line for measuring the professional level of translation and a goal for translators to strive after. However, in the application of this principle, people have come to find some limitations to the three characters and put forward a variety of new standards instead. Some opinions are expressed on the principle of faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance. The first group maintains the original three characters, and in the meantime, adds some new concepts to the character “雅”. According to them, “雅” means far more than the English word “elegance”. Apart from the traditional interpretation, it also means classicism, the adherence to the original style and flavor. The second group, however, argues that the word “雅” is out of place in translation. While adopting the first two characters of Mr. Yan Fu’s principle, it discards the character “雅兴” and tries to find some other new criteria instead. Noticeably, there are revisions such as “信、达、切(faithfulness, expressiveness and closeness ), proposed by Liu Zhongde (刘重德)He points out that faithfulness is in content, expressiveness in language and closeness is to the style of the original work. “信达贴” (faithfulness, expressiveness and fitness), and so on. The third group of peo