1 Lecture One Introduction
V. Definition of Translation
There are many definitions made of translation by different scholars. Here we take a representative one by E. A.
Nida:
Translation consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language
message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style. (翻译即指用接受语中最切近、自然的译文再现原文信息，一能是意义对等，二能风格对等。)
The key words of the definition are closest, natural and message. The first implies that the equivalence is a
relative concept; the second, that the Chinese version should be natural to read and acceptable to the target readers,
and the third, that what we deal with in translating is the original message. From the viewpoint of translation
practice, reproducing the equivalent of the original in style is, in many cases, very hard to achieve. Consider the
translation of idioms, most of which are culture-specific, and you will see the point. In this stage of learning, we
may as well tentatively and simplistically take translation as a process of conveying in the target language
expressively the meaning, information or the message expressed in the original language as you have understood.
The original information is conveyed by the English words, syntactic structures, and style, to mention the major
aspects.
VI. Basic Procedure of E-C Translation
The process of translating is an integrated whole which is undividable. But for the convenience of discussion,
analysis, and evaluation, in this stage of learning, we treat the process as something dividable into basically three
separate steps: comprehending; expressing; polishing and proofreading.
(1) John is now with his parents in New York City; it is already three years since he was a bandmaster.
(since-clause)
约翰现同父母住在纽约市；他不担任乐队指挥已三年了。(Difference in meaning caused by different clause finite
verb: durative vs. non-durative)
(2) They call themselves Englishmen, and they are afraid of fight. 他们称自己是英国人，(而他们)却害怕打仗。
(and: multi-purpose conjunction)
(3) Nowadays, people with only a smattering knowledge of fashionable theories of that sort would actually dare
to pass themselves off as scholars of great learning, and bluff their way around.
现如今 / 这年头 / 这年月，略知一点这种时髦理论皮毛的人，竟敢冒充学问大家，到处招摇撞骗。
(4) A tiny little girl of four, Liu Xiaoyuan from Tianjin was able to overwhelm hundreds of millions TV viewers
with her singing of a rough male role‟s aria from Beijing opera. 天津女娃刘小源，一个才四岁的小不点，竟以一曲京剧花脸唱段倾倒了亿万电视观众。
(5) John can be relied on. He eats no fish and plays the game. 约翰为人可靠，是个既忠诚又正直的人。
(6) I stand before you today, the representative of a family in grief in a country in mourning before a world in shock.
The Chinese translation should be utterable as a sentence in a speech. This is a matter of style reproduction.
今天是一个全国哀悼、举世震惊的日子；作为一个悲伤家庭的代表，我站在大家面前。
Cf. 今天, 作为一个悲伤家庭的代表，我站在大家面前，此时此刻，全国哀悼、举世震惊。
(7)“Impertinent!” snorted Imelda. I will not have it said that I could never teach my daughter proper respect for
her elders. (Unit 1.P.1-2) 伊梅尔达鼻子哼了一声： “没家教！”。我可不愿意让人说我从来不教自己的女儿要尊敬长辈。
(8) Today, the widespread agreement is that cloning for reproduction is unsafe and should be banned. Now, the
debate has shifted away from the ethics of baby making and toward the morality of cloning embryos for getting
their cells and tissues for medical use.
今天，广泛的一致看法是，用于繁殖的克隆是不安全的，应当被禁止。现在，争论已经从制造婴儿的伦理问题转向了为得到用于医疗的细胞和组织而克隆胚胎的道德问题。(A version translated literally)
(9) The coach got in trouble for getting physical with some members of the team. 教练对队里的某些队员动粗
2 而惹起了麻烦。
(10) It is a rare artistic treat to hear the sweet melody of the Butterflies played on the violin.
听小提琴演奏《梁祝》的甜美旋律，是少有的艺术享受。
(11) Proverbs are the popular sayings that brighten so much Latin American talk, the boiled down wisdom that
you are as apt to hear from professors as from peasants, from beggars as from elegantes. Brief and colorful, they
more often than not carry a sting. (Ut 1 P1) 教材: 谚语是凝聚着智慧的通俗话语，是它使得拉丁美洲人的言谈常常显得那么生动活泼。从大学教授到田野农夫，从市井乞丐到摩登女郎，大家都在使用谚语。谚语简洁明快，丰富多彩，但也往往带着刺。
cf. 谚语是一些通俗的说法，拉丁美洲人的言谈常常因此而显得那么生动活泼; 谚语是凝结的智慧，从大学教授到田野农夫，从市井乞丐到摩登女郎，大家都会信手拈来。谚语简洁明快，丰富多彩，往往有一针见血之力。
Lesson2
从前我们穴居的祖先在烟雾弥漫的篝火前啃咬野猪骨头，而今天，我们都围坐在铺着雪白桌布，摆着铮亮刀叉的餐桌旁进餐。这就是我们饮食习惯变革的历史：吃饭从只是为了充饥果腹，已发展成了一种相当复杂、但又令人愉快的社会习俗。
New York (AP) 美联社纽约消息/电 （Unit 2. P10）The U.S. State Department 美国国务院 Tuberculosis 结核病 SARS: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Atypical Pneumonia) 严重急性呼吸道综合征 （非典型肺炎）Cambridge 英国-剑桥；美国-坎布里奇
marriage 婚, 嫁 magpie: a person who talks too much, implying one who causes annoyance. 喜鹊: a bird
symbolizing happiness, joy, etc. owl: symbol of wisdom 夜猫子,猫头鹰: symbol of bad omen. 黄河 The
Huanghe River
Reasons:
1. Living environment (For example, “吃过了吗？”: A phatic expression in Chinese esp. in the past.
Expressions bearing on 吃: “吃闲饭”（lead an idle life）， “吃香”（be very popular）， “吃不消”（more than
one can stand / chew, too much）. One more example: “东施效颦”: "Dongshi imitates Xishi,” or “The ugly
imitates the beautiful in such a distorted way that the ugliness of the ugly becomes worse”?
2. Different practices, customs and conventions: “白喜” 3. Religious difference:
4. Cognitive difference: For example, dog. In Chinese, there are such expressions as 狗腿子（lackey）， 狗崽子（son of bitch）， 狗急跳墙（a cornered beast will do sth. desperate）， and 狗嘴吐不出象牙（a filthy mouth
can't utter decent language）. In English expressions containing the image of dog: love me，love my dog.（爱屋及乌）， top dog(最重要的人物)， lucky dog (幸运儿)， dog-tired(筋疲力竭)，to lead a dog's life（过着牛马不如的生活）, and also “this/that dirty dog”（这／那个狗东西），“They say English is going to dogs”（人们说英语糟糕得快完蛋了）.
Bread and butter letter [拜访朋友，住在朋友家，离开后写的感谢信。]
call a spade a spade: speak without reservation. child’s play: sth. very easy to do. Cf. 儿戏trifle,
unimportant thing.
Eat/ swallow one’s words: to admit what one said was wrong. Cf.食言break one‟s promise.
pull one’s leg (to tease sb. by telling him sth. untrue) cf. 拖后腿 (hold back; be a drag on sb.)
color words: blue film; blue blood; blue stocking
beautify: a laudatory word, not correspondent to the Chinese. cf. 美化，which may be used in a derogatory sense.
False friends:
Liberalism: never a pejorative word in the west. No English word exactly conveys the idea of the Chinese
expression自由主义
Egalitarianism: often used in a good sense, meaning that all men are equal and should have equal rights,
benefits, and opportunities, while 平均主义 is usually bad, meaning equal pay or treatment regardless of the
quality of work or the merits of the case.
Laundry list 购物清单 （不一定洗衣服）Idealism 理想主义 Individualism 个人主义 (me-first mentality;
