文献阅读与翻译整理 (2).docVIP

1单元3. Linguistic Features of Scientific Literature Syntactically, scientific literature has rigorous grammatical structures, and in most cases is rather unitary. Morphologically, scientific literature is featured by high specialization, the use of technical terms and jargons, unambiguous implication and the fixed sense of the word. 2. Principles or Criteria of Translation Whenever principles or criteria of translation are under discussion in China, Yan Fu’s “three-character guide”--xin, da, ya, namely, “faithfulness (信), expressiveness (达), and elegance (雅)”, which was first proposed in 1898, would evoke controversy. Despite a variety of opinions, two criteria are almost unanimously accepted by all, namely, the criterion of faithfulness/accuracy (忠实/准确) and that of smoothness (流畅). We may also take these two criteria as the principles of scientific literature translation. By faithfulness/accuracy, we mean to be faithful not only to the original contents, to the original meaning and views, but also to the original form and style. By smoothness, we mean not only easy and readable rendering, but also idiomatic expression in the target language, free from stiff formula and mechanical copying from dictionaries. 3. Literal Translation and Free Translation Literal translation (直译) and free translation (意译) are two dynamic approaches in dealing with such awkward situations. For example, crocodile’s tears (鳄鱼的眼泪), armed to the teeth (武装到牙齿), chain reaction (连锁反应), gentlemen’s agreement (君子协定), and so on. Similarly, some Chinese idioms also find their English counterparts through literal translation. For example, 纸老虎 (paper tiger),一国两制 (one country, two systems ), and so on. Adam’s Apple 喉结at sixes and sevens 乱七八槽It rains cats and dogs. 大雨滂沱Don’t cross the bridge till you get to it. 不必担心过早。 (不必自寻烦恼。)Do you see any green in my eye? 你以为我是幼稚可欺的吗? In the application of literal translation, we should endeavor to rid ourselves of stiff patterns and rigid adherence to translation