On the Effects on Translation of the Difference between Chinese and Western Patterns of Thinking10.docx
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OntheEffectsonTranslationoftheDifferencebetweenChineseandWesternPatternsofThinking10
OntheEffectsonTranslationoftheDifferencebetweenChineseandWesternPatternsofThinking
I.Introduction
“Sofarasthedefinitionoftranslationisconcerned,itiseasyforustocopyonefromdictionary;translationisarenderingfromonelanguageintoanother,butthatseemstobetoosimple.”(Hornby65)Actually,translationconcernswithnotonlytherenderingbetweentheoriginalandtargetlanguages,butalsothecommunicationbetweenthetwocultures.Andthemostdifficultthingintranslatingisjustthetranslatingofthetwocultures.notesthatthemostessentialdifferencebetweenEasternandWesternculturesliesinthedifferent“patternsofthought”.Languageisthereflectionofthethought.andthoughtcontrolslanguage.Solanguageexpressionsresultfromtherelationbetweenlanguageandthought.Theprocessoftranslatingisnotonlythetransferoflanguageformsbutalsothetransferofthought.Makingthetransferofthoughtpatternswithpurposeinthecourseoftranslationwehavetohavetheknowledgeof“thedifferencesofthepatternsofthought”iscontributivetothenaturalandidiomatictranslation
PorterandSamovarpointoutthatthoughtistheprocesswhichusestheconceptions,judgmentandreasoningtoreflecttheobjectiveworld.Itisprovedbypsychologiststhatthoughtcanprocessallkindsofinformationwhichentersthehumanbrainandwhatwethinkcanreflectthematerialessencesandsolvetheproblems.Forpatternofthought,therehavebeenmanyotherexpressionstodenotethesamemeaning:
“modeofthinking”,“waysofthinking”,“thinkingstyle”.“Theformofreasoningprevalentinasocietymaybecalledthepatternofthoughtinthatsociety,whichhasbeenanaspectofculturethatinfluencessocialperception.”(Pribram121)KarlProgramnotesthatmutualunderstandingandpeacefulrelationsamongthepeoplesoftheearthhavebeenimpedednotonlybythemultiplicityoflanguages,buttoanevengreaterdegreebydifferencesinpatternsofthought—thatis,bydifferencesinthemethodsadoptedfordefiningthesourcesofknowledge,andfororganizingcoherentthinking.Themoststrikingdifferencesamongphilosophicaldoctrinesareattributabletodeep-seateddivergences…themethodsofformingfundamentalconceptsandofdefiningthefunctionsofReason—thatis,thecognitionpowerofthehumanmindandtheextentandvalidityofthatpower.
“TheresearchonChineseandWesternpatternsofthinking,especiallyonthecontrastivestudyofChineseandWesternpatternsofthinking,isnotonlyakindofoldsubjectbutalsoanewone.”(Deng63)Inthepast20years,ManypreviousrenownedscholarssuchasYamFuandLinYutanaswellasmanyhavebeendoneontheissueandsomehavebeenusedinstudiesfromthepaststudy.ContemporaryspecialistsandscholarsbothinChinaandabroadhavehadtheirincisiveideas,whichproducefar-reachinginfluenceinthisfieldofstudy.ThefollowingdiscussesmainlytheresearchescarriedoutbyChinesescholars.
“ThefirstpersonwhogaveafairlycompletecomparisonofChineseandWesternpatternsofthoughtinChinawasYamFu.Hisstudycoveredthefollowingthreeaspects."(qtd.inZhang23):
Firstly,Chineseworldoutlookwasabackwardoneinthatitregardedthingsasgoingroundandroundagain,whileWesternworldoutlookwasanadvancedoneinthatitregardedthingsasgoingforwardcontinuously.
Secondly,Chinesepeoplewereusedtoassumptionsbeforemakingadecision,whileWesternpeopleestimatedthingsbyexperiments.
Thirdly,ChinesewerestagnantbecausetheydidnotfindalogicalsystemlikethatofWesterners.Theyonlystayedonthebasisoftheexperiencesaccumulatedinearliertimes.YamFu’spointsofviewhaveaprofoundandlastinginfluenceonlatergenerations.ItwasafterYamFuthatChinesepeoplebegantopayattentiontothelackoflogicinChinesepatternsofthoughtinthecontrastivestudyofChineseandWesternpatternsofthought.
Duringtheperiodof“May4Movement”,thenewculturalmovementaskedfor“democracyandscience”.ItspurposewastorevealtheshortcomingsoftraditionalChinesepatternofthoughtasdisplayedinfeudalsociety.Therefore,thecontrastivestudyofChineseandWesternpatternsofthoughtwentdeeperandfurther.
AccordingtoGoHanging,thefamousscholar,“theEuropeanpeopleshouldlearnfromusChinesepeopleattheaspectofwayofthinking.”(qtdinLian57)Infavorofthispointofview,DengSummingtriedtoprovethattraditionalChineseculturewassuperiortodemocraticWesterncultureinphilosophyinhisbookOrientalandWesternCulturesandTheirPhilosophies.InHunShi’sopinion,hedisapprovedofDeng’spointofview.“HebelievedthatthereweregreatdifferencesbetweenChineseandWesterncultures.Henotedthatthefunctionsofhuman’smentalitywereroughlythesame,soschoolsofthoughtwereonthewholethesamewithonlyslightdifferences.”(Wang75)DifferencesinChineseandWesternpatternsofthoughtwereduetothefactthattheirsocialsurroundingsinwhichtheycameintoexistenceweredifferent.IfthesocialsurroundingsofChinawerethesamewiththatoftheWest,ChinawouldhavehadthesameculturewithWesternculture.ItisobviousthatthecomparativestudydonebyLiangSummingandHunShiwentonestepfurtherthanbefore.TheydemonstratedthesimilaritiesanddifferencesinChineseandWesternpatternsofthought,andproposedthequestionof“Howtounitethetwotogethersoastoformanewpatternofthought”.Theiranswerstothequestionwerenotthesame,though.LiangSummingwasinfavorof“goingeastward”,whileHunShiinfavorof“goingwestward”.
Howthepatternsofthoughtareformedisstillnotknown.Forthepsychologists,thepatternsofthoughtrestrictedandinfluencedbyphysiologicalbasesespeciallythebrainstructuresaremainlytheproductsofcultures,particularlyinfluencedsyntheticallybythemodesofproduction,historicaltradition,geographicconditions,andphilosophy.
Ⅱ.ComparisonbetweenChineseandWesternParentofThinking
Onthebasisofresearchesdonebyearlierscholars,themajorfeaturesofChineseandWesternpatternsofthinkingaresummarizedinthischapter.Mutualunderstandingandpeacefulrelationsamongthepeopleswithdifferentcultureshavebeenimpedednotonlybythemultiplicityoflanguagesbutalsotoanevengreaterdegreebydifferencesinpatternsofthinking.
A.TheIntegralPatternofThinkingvsWesternPatternofThinking
AsmentionedinChapterOne,therelativestabilityofagriculturalsocietymadeChinesepeopleinharmonywithnature.Chinesepeoplewereclearthateverythingcamefromnatureandthattheirexistencewasdependentuponthebestowalofnature.Theintegralpatternofthinkinghasbeendevelopedgradually.Chinesepeopleconsideredittobeanindivisibleandinteractivewholebetweenmanandnature,humanorderanduniverseorder,individualandsociety,betweenspiritandsubstance,thoughtandexistence,subjectandobject.IntheopinionofShaanxi,thegreatancientChinesethinker,lifewoulddisappearoncethereweresomeclearclassificationsinit.ThisisalsoaChinesenationalcharacter.Theyareafraidofestablishingaclear-cutdefinitionoftheworld.Rather,theywouldliketogetageneralcomprehensionofthematter,whichresultedinambiguitysometimes.
IntheWest,Platofirstproposedthethoughtof“separationbetweensubjectandobject”.Sincethelatterhalfofthe15thcentury,thenaturalsciencehasadoptedtheinductiononthebasisofobservingandexperiments,andthusmetaphysicthoughttookthedominantpart.ThelogicofWesternpatternofthoughtputsemphasisontheresearchonappearanceonthebasisofnature,whichresultedfromanalyzingthewholethings.TheanalyticalpatternofthoughtisprevailingintheWest.TheWesternsystematicworldandanalyticalpatternofthoughtoftenleadstoclarity.Fromtheabove,itcanbeconcludedthatoneofthemajordifferencesbetweenChineseandWesternpatternofthoughtisthat:
Chinesepeoplecarryoutapatternofthinkinginwhichmanandnatureareregardedasanintegralwhole.Theidealoflifeistounitemanwithnature,sincetheyareoriginallyawholeunit.Thispatternofthinkingisappliedinanalyzingnature,societyandhumanbeings.“WhiletheWesternpeopleimplementapatternofthoughtinwhichmanandnatureareseparate,theworldiscomposedof‘ego’and‘non-ego’.”(Baugh83)
Suchadifferencecomesfromthedifferentsystems—feudalsocietyandcapitalisticsociety,naturaleconomyandcommodityeconomy.Innaturaleconomy,natureisanobjectformantoworshipandobserve.Thehigheststandardisthe“Nature-ManOneness”.IncommodityeconomyintheWest,natureandsocietyareonlytheobjectsformantomakeuseof.Therelationshipbetweenmanandnatureis:
a)Manisabovenatureandoutsidenature,grantedwiththerighttogovernnature;b)Manandnatureareopposites,natureistheobjectformantowinover,analyze,andrealize;c)Mancanonlyexistinthestrugglesforconqueringnature.Asaresult,differentattitudestowardnatureleadtothebasicdifferencesinChineseandWesternpatternsofthought.Thesedifferenceshaveproducedtwodifferentcultures—collectivisticcultureandindividualisticculture.InthecollectivisticcultureofChina,theindividualwillconnecthimorhertoalargegroup.SoChinesepatternsofthinkingtendtoconsideritmoreimportanttocomplywithdirectrequestsfromothers,tomaintainself-controlinfrontoftheothers,andtosharecreditforthesuccessesandblameforthefailuresoftheothers.WhilemembersofIndi