换言之 翻译教程 第二章 笔记

Chapter 2 Equivalence at word level

2.1. The word in different languages 2.1.1 What is a word?

The smallest unit which we would expect to possess individual meaning is the\word\

If defined loosely ,the word is the smallest unit of language that can be used by itself. 2.1.2 Is there a one-to-one relationship between word and meaning? within or across languages. 2.1.3 Introducing morphemes

Morpheme is the minimal formal element of the meaning of language.

An important difference between morphemes and words is that a morpheme cannot contain more than one element of meaning and cannot be further analysed.

2.2. Lexical meaning

It is just the lexical meaning which is the most outstanding individual property of the word. The lexical meaning of a word or lexical unit may be thought of as the specific value it has in a particular linguistic system and the personality it acquires through usage within that system. According to Cruse, we can distinguish four main types of meaning in words and utterances:propositional meaning, expressive meaning, presupposed meaning and evoked meaning.

2.2.1. Propositional meaning VS expressive meaning

The propositional meaning of a word or an utterance arises from the relation between it and what is refers to or describes in a real or imaginary world.

It is this type of meaning which provides the basis on which we can judge an utterance as true or false.

When a translation is described as 'inaccurate', it is often the propositional meaning that is being called into question.

Expressive meaning cannot be judged as true or false. This is because expressive meaning relates to the speaker's feeling or attitude rather than to what word and utterances refer to.

Two or more words or utterances can therefore have the same propositional meaning but differ in their expressive meaning.

The meaning of a word or lexical unit can be both propositional and expressive.

Words which contribute solely to expressive meaning can be removed from an utterance without affecting its information content. 2.2.2. Presupposed meaning

Presupposed meaning arises from co-occurrence restriction, i.e. Restrictions on what other words or expressions we expect to see before or after a particular lexical unit:selectional restrictions and collocational restrictions.

2.2.3. Evoked meaning

Evoked meaning arised from dialect and register variation.

A dialect is a variety of language which has currency within a specific community or group of speakers. Dialect can be classified on such bases as geographical, temporal or social. Register is a variety of language that a language user considers appropriate to a specific situation.

Register variation arises from variations in the following:

① Filed of discourse:this is an abstract term for \what is going on\speaker's choice of linguistic items.

② Tenor of discourse:an abstract term for the relationships between the people taking part in the discourse.

③ Mode of discourse:an abstract term for the role that the language is playing and for its medium of transmission.

Of all the types of lexical meaning explained above, the only one which relates to the truth or falsehood of an utterance and which can consequently be challenged by a reader or hearer is propositional meaning.

2.3 The problem of non-equivalence

2.3.1 Semantic fields and lexical sets--the segmentation of experience

It is useful to view the vocabulary of a language as a set of words referring to a series of conceptual fields. These fields reflect the divisions and sub-divisions \a given linguistic community on the continuum of experience. In linguistics, the divisions are called semantic fields.

The actual words and expressions under each field are sometimes called lexical sets.

Limitations aside,there are two main areas in which an understanding of semantic fields and lexical sets can be useful to a translator:(1) appreciate the value that a word has in a given system, (2) developing strategies for dealing with non-equivalence:

(1）understanding the difference in the structure of semantic fields in the source language and target language allows a translator to assess the value of a given item in a lexical set.

（2）Semantic fields are arranged hierarchically, going from the more general to the more specific.

One important thing to bear in mind when dealing with semantic fields is that they are not fixed. Semantic fields are always changing, with new words and expressions being introduced into the language and others being dropped as they become less relevant to the needs of a linguistic community.

2.3.2. Non-equivalence at word level and some common strategies for dealing with it 2.3.2.1. Common problems of non-equivalence

① Cultural-specific concepts

② The source-language concept is not lexicalized in the target language ③ The source-language word is semantically complex

④ The source and target languages make different distinctions in meaning ⑤ The target language lacks a superordinate

⑥ The target language lacks a specific term (huponym) ⑦ Differences in physical or interpersonal perspective ⑧ Differences in expressive meaning ⑨ Differences in form

⑩ Differences in frequency and purpose of using specific forms

11 The use of loan words in the source text. Loan words pose one kind of problems for the unwary translator, namely the problem of false friends, or faux amis as they are often the same form in two or more languages but convey different meanings. 2.3.2.2. Strategies used by professional translators

(a) translation by a more general word (superordinate).

This is one of the commonest strategies for dealing with many types of non-equivalence,particularly in the area of propositional meaning.

(b) Translation by a more neutral or less expressive word (c) Translation by cultural substitution. This strategy involves replacing a culture-specific item of expression with a target language item which does not have the same propositional meaning but is likely to have a similar impact on the target reader.

The main advantage of using this strategy is that it gives the reader a concept with which she or he can identify, something familiar and appealing.

(d) Translation using a loan word of loan word plus explanation (e) Translation by paraphrase using a related word (f) Translation by paraphrase using unrelated words (g) Translation by omission

If the meaning conveyed by a particular item or expression is not vital enough to the development of the text to justify distracting the reader with lengthy explanations, translators can often do simply omit translating the word or expression in question.

(h) Translation by illustration

This is a useful option if the word which lacks an equivalent in the target language refers to a physical entity which can be illustrated particularly if there are restrictions on space and if the text has to remain short, concise, and to the point.