Lecture One Introduction
V. Definition of T ranslation
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 T ranslation
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 Y ork 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
