论文总字数：34738字

摘 要

本文基于传播学理论——传播效果分析，将中国特色词汇在不同语境下的英译演变纳入传播体系，从传播模式着手，对翻译主体的工作、翻译客体（内容）的变化、实际传播中受众三个层面的反馈等相关方面进行考量，来探究提高外译传播效果的方法，以期得到新的启发，为翻译传播的纵深研究提供新的思路。

关键词：传播效果分析；传播模式；中国特色词汇；翻译传播

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 2

2.1 Western studies on communication theory of translation 2

2.2 Domestic studies on communication theory of translation 3

3. Basic Theory and Models of Study on Communication Effect 4

3.1 The definition of and study on communication effect of translation 4

3.2 A brief introduction to Communication models 5

4. Analysis in Translation from the Scope of Communication Translation 6

4.1 Subject analysis: the translator’s role 6

4.2 Content analysis: revision of translation 9

4.3 Audience analysis: acceptance in cognition, attitudes and behavior 13

5. Conclusion 15

Works Cited 16

1. Introduction

China did not go smoothly at the beginning of the establishment of translation science. At that juncture, the study of translation was more fragmented and unsystematic. It was even based on the philosophical theories that many previous researches have founded. The foundation for a discipline is a complete, open and inclusive system, along with scientific methodology. This is also the fundamental reason for everlasting conflicts between different translation schools.

Schramm, a master of communication studies, initiated no original theory but completed the foundation of the basic theory and model of communication. He grasped the important foundation for building a discipline. Thus communication science developed quickly in the last seven decades from the 1950s. It gives enlightenments that whether translation could take advantage of the system, framework and methodology of communication science to develop as quickly and scientifically as possible?

As Wolfram Wilss said in his book, “translation studies were forced to ignore many of its own characteristics, especially the nature related to information transmission.”（Wilss 9） Actually the nature of translation is the flow of information between two different systems of linguistic semiotics and two cultures. While Communication is a science studying on social information systems and their operating rules (Li 23). Their high degree of similarity in nature provides them base of the establishment of communication translation, i.e. the communication theory of translation. Then in 1997, Prof. Lv proposed that translation studies is a special field of communication studies (Lv 40), which is very impressive.

Exploring its new model of development such as “the Belt and Road Initiative”, China is facing new challenges in the foreign translation of terms with Chinese characteristics in the actual practice. In order to achieve the most effective foreign dissemination effect, it is worthwhile to devote to studying the communication effect.

This thesis is expected to draw new approaches to promote communication effect in translational process with new methodology, model and theory of communication.

2. Literature Review

2.1 Western studies on communication theory of translation

Communication theory of translation originated in the 1960s, when the American linguist and translation theorist Eugene A. Nida began to apply the achievements of communication theory and information theory to translation studies. He pointed out that verbal communication “includes the relationship between discourse participants and language, the relationship between discourse participants as a specific language group, and the way in which information emitters and information receptors are linked together.” (Nida and Taber 51) He also said that “translation can be approached through information theory, semantic analysis and scientific methodology dealing with linguistic structures” (Nida and Taber 86). It is evident that although Nida began to introduce information theory of communication into translation studies, translation is still a branch of linguistic study in his book.

The real beginning is in 1977 with the publication of the book Translation: Problems and Methods by Wolfram Wilss, a German translation theorist. In his book, Wilss summarizes previous translation studies and points out that those studies neglected many features of translation itself, especially its nature of information transmission. And he explained one premise for writing this book is that “translating is a specific form of interlingual communication linked to linguistic act and decisions.” (Wilss 13) Based on this understanding, the translation methods, processes, and procedures Wilss had studied were presented in this book as well.

In 1991, the British translation theorist Roger Bell proposed a model of translational process based on information theory in his book Translation and translating: Theory and Practice, explaining the nine steps including translators’ acceptance, recognition, decoding, acquisition, understanding, selection, encoding, transmission, and reacceptance of information. Bell believed that the most important thing in translational process is to correctly describe the psychological processes involving memory and information processing in human communication, namely perception and understanding, encoding and decoding, and the nature of memory systems and storage.

2.2 Domestic studies on communication theory of translation

Since the introduction of Nida’s theory into China in the 1980s, all his theories have been regarded as classics and actually encouraged many scholars to explore in translatology. However, the deficit is distinct, that is, his research could not provide practical methods in establishment of translatology.

Prof. Lv Jun was the first to propose the communication theory of translation in 1997; he mentioned “translation is an intercultural communication and information exchange and its nature is communication” (Lv 39) and proposed for the first time that translation should be a branch of communication. Two years later, he issued another thesis and proposed the meta-translatology and poly-systematic study for the first time as well. In this thesis, he stressed that translatology should be established on the basis of communication theory. Besides he successfully explained the integration of different translation schools under the 7W model which involves seven elements and covers the whole translational process. The model perfectly interprets dynamic changes in studies from different scopes focusing on different objects. Actually, it did not go any far but truly gave the late-comers directions and inspirations.

In the past two decades, not much attention has been paid to the communication theory of translation. Even so, two outstanding scholars Wang Shuhuai and Yao Liangsheng studied communication thoroughly and used proper theories and models of communication to study translation. Wang firstly introduced two-level dissemination theory and the important element—noise into translation. Although his idea of establishing two-level translatology seems not that valuable, his initiative in applying theory of communication to translation is still a breakthrough. Yao was a student of Prof. Lv and apparently he understands communication translation much better. In his thesis, he illustrated several terms including interpersonal communication and introspective communication for oneself as a translator. Moreover, he utilized Shannon amp; Weaver’s linear model, the Sehramm model, the Newcomb triangle model or ABX model in order to analyze the relations among translators，contents and readers in translational communication. His research has referenced value. And in his paper, the corresponding diagrams of models are the most intuitive explanations of the balance in translational process.

Aside from those studies, the methodology of qualitative and quantitative measurement in communication, comparing to the traditional ways of Translatology study, could be a more mature and systematic supplement. With this method, we could avoid the superficial discussion of translation communication study because of lacking valid evidence.

3. Basic Theory and Models of Study on Communication Effect

3.1 The definition of and study on communication effect of translation

Communication effect refers to the changes in audience’s ideas, attitudes and even behaviors. And the changes are caused by the information sent by the emitters to the audience. It takes analysis in individual and social effects. Communication effect will play its role on three levels—cognition (perception and memory), psychological attitudes (views and values), then behavior (accumulation of the former two levels).

Communication effect at the first level causes increase in the amount and changes in the composition of knowledge; at the second level, it induces changes in people’s emotions or feelings; at the third level, it will change one’s behaviors.

The empirical school in communication focuses on the analysis of communication effect, and more inclined to actual use. They have achieved great success and build a complete system in the study of communication effect.

As it is displayed in many studies, the analysis of effect is not an isolated process which needs to focus on the translators (as an emitter or a gatekeeper, what is his/her role in promoting communication effect), the channel (media in interpersonal communication and mass communication, and which channel will affect the communication effect most), the audience (It is obvious that their acceptance and attitudes reflect the effect of communication.), and the content which the communication effect are embodied in.

3.2 A brief introduction to Communication models

In Figure 1, the Shannon and Weaver’s model elucidates the communication of information flow including noise and feedback. Information sent from source flows through the channel after being coded; channel represents the platform or passageway of communication. And it may be gatekept by individuals or media and disturbed by noise including distortion of information. After being decoded, information could reach sink or receptor, and the audience in mass communication. Besides, feedback will act as linear influence in this model

Figure 1 Shannon-Weaver communication model

In Figure 2, Schramm added the common experience to the Shannon-Weaver communication model and it clearly demonstrates the environment factor in communication.

Figure 2 Schramm model

Figure 3 Defleur model

As is shown in Figure 3, the Defleur two-way dynamic communication model takes almost everything into consideration, and the communication effect along with noise could affect each step in the process. We could see the third model evolved from the former linear models. In this model, there is not a simplified feedback or response but a reverse and complete transmission in which readers or receptors become the senders or emitters (translators or authors). Since the readers’ educated level is higher than used to be and their demands for translation become higher than before as well. The reverse process means a lot to translators.

4. Analysis in Translation from the Scope of Communication Translation

4.1 Subject analysis: the translator’s role

To begin with, the information source or the information emitter will be discussed. And in translational process, the source has two subjects – the author and the translator. Author uses source language and sends source information. After that, the translator works as an intermediary between two cultures and languages but actually recomposes the source texts and completes the coding task. Thus translator is a receptor of homogeneous or heterogeneous information from source texts.

Figure 4 The model involving three elements（Wang 132）

The communication effect of channel A mainly relies on the overlapping part of an author and translators’ common experiences (which has been mentioned in Figure 2). Different experience has been the main reason for noise A. Seeing that, the feedback A could act as an efficient but not instant rectification.

It’s the same principle of the communication between the translator and reader. Reader refers to both individuals and foreign media—imaging them as the audience to the translator. Their common experience decides the acceptance of the audience, as well as the communication effect of channel B. Contrary to part A（from the author to the translator）， translator needs to get information across to readers through channel B after excluding noise B. After a long time, the lag feedback will arrive at the translator and the author and modify the damage caused by noise A and B. The noise B may include the gap of time, territory and the control of public opinion in addition.

The examples illustrated below claim that common experience among the author, the translator and the reader is a premise of positive communication effect and good communication. What translator does could modify the noise and promote the communication effect.

In the English translation of Liu Cixin’s science fiction The Three Body’s Problem, which was honored with Hugo Award in 2017, Chinese American science fiction writer Ken Liu carried on the translating task. Before he started, he had already won Hugo Award and Nebula Award for his original work The Paper Menageriedoc. His bicultural background provides him much common experience with Chinese author and Western readers. Nonetheless, many obscure science principles and logical reasoning based on complicated advanced scientific researches are still big problems. Furthermore, the culture-loaded terms could not find equivalent expressions in Western culture. He discussed the proper translation with the author for many times and received a lot of advice from readers. Finally, after his efforts to coordinate the author, contents and readers, the English version was published and won the Hugo Award for China’s debut in international science fiction community.

In contrast, we will take an example of misunderstanding interpretation. Once, Li Keqiang mentioned “建立大部制” in his speech on government work report, foreign sinologists have misunderstood this concept and translated it into “to build bigger ministries”. Li Keqiang does not mean to enlarge the size of departments, but to merge the functions of some ministries and commissions for the sake of cutting redundancy and building a service-oriented government. Therefore, the correct translation should be “to merge government agencies and reduce overlap administration (power)”. The foreign sinologists must have much common experience for studying on China and living here, but the misunderstanding is prone to happen without efficient communication in advance. Despite that the lag feedback from the translator or other channels could help promote the accuracy all the time.

After translator’s role are figured out in translational process, some new ideas are drawn that translators could enlarge the overlapping part—common experience—share with the author and readers respectively, and enhance the translation according to feedback to make a rectification and ensure the communication effect of translation.

In this case, translator takes a heavy burden in translation. To reduce the burden and secure the translation goes well and efficiently, translators’ model could be introduced into translation. And the translators’ model was mentioned in Jiang Peipei’s “The Translator model of the English version of the Three Bodies’ Problem from the Perspective of Communication Science”, unlike the traditional translational form in which the translator works as an individual, the translators in translators’ model are from different backgrounds, including Chinese translation experts and foreign sinologists. They cooperate in translating and work out the problem of difficulty and inaccuracy. Compared with the lag feedback in common translation activities, this feedback equals to instant response and helps promote quality of translation in no time.

4.2 Content analysis: revision of translation

The purpose of translation of terms with Chinese characters is obvious. In other words, the purpose is to make China’s current conditions and strategies publicized externally and gain our deserved status and discourse right in international community.

In view of the low acceptance of China’s English media and the low cognition of Chinese events and strategies for foreign audience, the revision of contents is a continuing and demanding part of foreign translation.

Some examples of terms in foreign publication materials, such as annual government work report, conference references, books published by China International Publishing Group (CIPG) and experience shared by Translator’s Association of China (TAC) will be classified and shown in the illustrations below. And the communication effect on examples of each group will be analyzed from the perspective of communication.

(1) Political words with Chinese characteristics

a. Abbreviation

Table 1

The Chinese political discourse pattern is fixed for generations of development. And the abbreviations account for an important part in political slogans and policy terms. Those terms peruse brevity and confrontation in structure, thus they were always summarized with numbers. There emerging endlessly such terms with forth-coming policies. For that reason, translators meet the challenges all the time. Whether overstate or understate the translation to be selected is a question in seeking the maximum communication effect.

At the outset, foreign audience exposed to those words will know the words but meaning, so the abbreviation always goes with enough comments and explanations. For example:

① ST: 一个中心，两个基本点

TT: One central task (of economic construction) and two focal (or Basic)points(of adhering to the four cardinal principles and the policies of reform, opening to the outside world and invigorating the domestic economy)

剩余内容已隐藏，请支付后下载全文，论文总字数：34738字