Chinese translation of English attributive clauses.docx

1、Chinese translation of English attributive clauses第一种翻译成简单句，合二为一第二种前置，因为位置不同。第三种去掉连接词。重复先行词都可以。第四种翻译成状语从句The attributive clause is one of the most complicated clauses in English, and causes manydifficulties to translators, because English and Chinese belong to different language families. and each o

2、f them has its own special syntactic characteristics.First, lets have a brief review of Attributive clauses in English. Attributive clauses are used to modify noun. So they are also known as “adjective clauses”, but the place is different. Mostly, they are post-modifiers of nouns and are always intr

3、oduced by relative words such as “who” “whose” “that” “which” “as” “when” “where” “why”. There are two types ofattributive clauses in English, namely restrictive and non-restrictive attributive clause. The function of the attributive clause is to indentify and classify the preceding noun and non-res

4、trictive attributive clauses are used to add extra information that readers may not know.clause.增加一些定语从句的信息。though attributive structures exist both in English and Chinese, the concept ofattributive clause does not exist in Chinese syntax. Chinese often use individual words or phrases as attributive

5、 elements or other types of clauses to perform similar functions. Since there is no attributive clause in Chinese. 1. Being translated into simple sentencesSometimes the translator can rearrange the order of the English complex sentence and changethe attributive clause into the predicate of a simple

6、 sentence (Song Tianxi, 2005). This method is frequently adopted in translating English “there be “structure.e.g.1 There are a man in the classroom who are waiting for you. (教室裏有人等.。)This was the period when Newton began the research which resulted in the creation of his famous Theory of Gravity.就在这

7、期间，牛顿开始了一项研究。经过这项研究，他创立了著名的重力理论。2. 前置法 prepositioningThe way attributive clauses1are formed is one of the clearest differences between Chinese and English grammar. Attributive clauses in English are right-branching, that is, follow the noun they modify, whereas attributive clauses in Chinese are lef

8、t-branching, that is, precede the noun.So When English attributive clauses are easy and short, they can be translated into Chineseattributes with “de(的)” before the words being modified. This method can also be called“prepositioning” which is the most common practice in translating the English attri

9、butive clause, and it is in accordance with the normal order of Chinese syntax, sinceChinese prefers “left branch direction” in the usage of attributesExample 1:People whomeditate need to eat and drink a lot.坐禅的人必须大吃大喝e.g. A man who really knows how to learn will always be successful because when he

10、 has todo something new which he has never had to do before, he will rapidly teach himself how to doit in the best way. (一個真正懂得怎樣學習的人總是會獲得成功，因為他必須去做他從前不曾做過的工作時，他會很快掌握完成這項工作的最佳方法。)The all-importantde/的 is the glue which attaches the attributive clause to the head word (people, in this case).3. 分译法 Di

11、vision“Different languages might have different systems of cohesive devices Expressed another way, Chinese prefers parataxis (sequencing of elements in a sentence without connectives), English prefers hypotaxis, or using connectives. parataxis意合, the combining of ideas; hypotaxis形合, the combining of

12、 forms.Conjunctions in English are used more frequently than in Chinese. This is because the clauses in a Chinese composite sentence are usually connected by parataxis, whereas those in an English complex or compound sentence are connected by hypotaxis.connectives are much less imperatively needed i

13、n a Chinese composite sentence. There are no such relative words as that which who etc. so we can translate relative clause into and independent clause within a compound sentence. (Chan 2002: 308)e.g. AIDS is a life-threatening sickness that attacks the bodys natural defense systemagainst disease, (

14、愛滋病是一種威脅生命的疾病，它侵襲人體內的自然免疫系統。)in this sentence, we repeat the antecedent by using pronoun.And relative clauses in Chinese are left-branching, we cannot put too much information ahead of the noun that is modified. On the other hand, relative clause in English is right-branching, so a noun could be fol

15、lowed by a very long clause especially in non-restrictive clauses. To solve this problem, we can also use the division method. For example:e.g. They are striving for the ideal which is close to the heart of every Chinese and for which,in the past, many Chinese have laid down their lives. (他们正在为实现一个想

16、而努，这个想是每个中国人所珍爱的，在过去，许多中国人曾为这个想而牺牲自己的生命) in this sentence, we repeat the antecedent. e.g. Isabel was a tall girl with the oval face, straight nose, fine eyes and full month thatappeared to be characteristic of the family. (伊沙貝爾是個身材高挑、橢圓臉、直鼻樑、眉清目秀、嘴巴豐滿的姑娘，這一切看來都是他家族的特徵。)4. Being translated into adver

17、bial clauses within complex sentencesRelative pronouns function as the adverbial in adjective clauses.Some English attributive clauses appear to modify the headword, but function as the adverbialin the complex sentences if analyzed semantically. This kind of attributive clause has a veryclose logic

18、relationship with the main clause and indicating the cause, result, purpose, time,condition, and concession etc. of the main clause, thus classified by some scholars as“semi-adverbial attributive clauses.”. When translating such sentences the translator can translate them into corresponding Chinese

19、adverbial sentences. For example:a).Translated into Chinese adverbial clause of causee.g. they are far more valuable endowments for a female than those fugitive charms which afew years will inevitably tarnish (對於一位女性來說，它們好看的相貌有價值得多了，因為紅顏難保，不過幾年便消退了。)b).Translated into Chinese adverbial clause of tim

20、ee.g. The thief, who was about to escape, was caught by the policeman (小偷正要逃跑時，被員警抓住了。)e.g. Electrical energy that is supplied to a lamp can be turned into light energy（當把電供給電燈，它就會變成光能。）Chinese, on the other hand, makes no difference between defining and non-defining relative clauses3they share the

21、same structure and punctuation. IIn this situation they can be translated into Chineseattributes with “de(的)” before the words being modified. This method can also be called“prepositioning” which is the most common practice in translating the English restrictiveattributive clause, and it is in accor

22、dance with the normal order of Chinese syntax,e.g.2 A man who really knows how to learn will always be successful because when he has todo something new which he has never had to do before, he will rapidly teach himself how to do it in the best way. (一個真正懂得怎樣學習的人總是會獲得成功，因為他必須去做他從前不曾做過的工作時，他會很快掌握完成這項

23、工作的最佳方法。)e. g 3.But Peters laugh, which was very infections, break the silence. (但彼特的富有感染的笑声打破静默。)We should figure out more and better expressions ofChinese in order to be faithful to the meaning and writing stylesof the original texts, making the translation more accurate andflexible. Do not transl

24、ate it into equal Chinese structure,Whats that got to do with anything? Coherence and the Translation of Relative ClausesNicky Harman, Imperial College, LondonABSTRACTNon-defining relative clauses in Chinese pose a particular problem for the translator. Employing a right-branching relative clause in

25、 English is almost never appropriate. Instead, connectives such as conjunctions have to be used to ensure the English is coherent. This article discusses how concepts of coherence and parataxis/hypotaxis can elucidate one way in which Chinese discourse differs from English.KEYWORDSNon-defining relat

26、ive clauses; left-branching; right-branching; coherence; cohesive devices; conjunctions, hypotaxis; parataxis.There is a new flowering of Chinese translation theory, as exemplified in theChinese Translation Journal(published in Chinese) and numerous English-language paperstheTranslation Studies Abst

27、racts/Bibliography of Translation Studieshas an extensive list of these. Yet there is still a lack of bottom-up articles which take as their starting point a particular translation problem. Of course, there are splendid exceptions to this rule:An Encyclopaedia of Translation: Chinese-English, Englis

28、h-Chinesehas chapters on “Body Language in Chinese-English Translation” and “Translating Colour Terms,” and the translation resources websitePaper Republic includes articles on such topics as translating slang.This article on relative clauses has a foot in both camps: it is inspired by my own practi

29、ce, but also touches on theories of coherence. I hope, in so doing, to shed light on how Chinese “makes sense” in certain types of relative clauses.Relative clauses in ChineseThe way relative clauses1are formed is one of the clearest differences between Chinese and English grammar. Relative clauses

30、in English are right-branching, that is, follow the noun they qualify, whereas relative clauses in Chinese and Japanese are left-branching, that is, precede the noun. (Gass and Schachter 1989: 90).Example 1:People whomeditate need to eat and drink a lot.坐禅的人必须大吃大喝Literally: Meditatede/的 people need

31、big eat big drinkThe all-importantde/的 is the glue which attaches the relative clause to the head word (people, in this case). Relative clauses in EnglishIn English, by contrast, relative clauses are formed by using who/which/that and come after the head noun. English distinguishes two types of rela

32、tive clauses, defining and non-defining (also known as restrictive and non-restrictive).People who meditateabove is a defining clause wherewho meditatedefines the noun, people, and answers the question “which people?”Dogs, which are pack animals, make good companions for humans. contains a non-defining clause,which are pack animals. Such clauses are always separated from the head noun by a comma and the sentence still makes sense if this clause is removed.Ch