论文总字数：28506字

摘 要

当今世界全球化进程日益加强，各国之间的文化交流和经济合作也日益增多，语言作为人类沟通的桥梁，在国与国之间的交流合作中发挥着重要作用。当今英汉翻译作品非常众多，它们虽然能够传递大量信息，但对译文读者来说，优秀的翻译作品并不多见。因为中英两种语言具有很大的差异，尤其体现在动词上。有些译者在进行汉译英时会字对字地生硬翻译，难以传达原文的重要信息。而尤金奈达的动态对等理论以“读者反应论”为核心，很好地解决了这个问题。

所以本文将以2019年3月5日李克强总理的政府报告为例，从动态对等理论具体分析此报告中动词的翻译，探讨该理论在政府报告中对汉英翻译起到的重要作用。

关键词：动词翻译；动态对等理论；汉译英；政府报告

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 1

2.1 Theoretical Background 1

2.2 The Analysis of Some Well-known Works about Dynamic Equivalence Theory 2

3. The Application of Dynamic Equivalence Theory In Report on the Work of the Government——Second Session of the 13th National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China, March 2019 3

3.1 Chinese Verbs into English Nouns or Noun Phrases 4

3.2 Chinese Verbs into English Preposition or Prepositional Phrase 5

3.3 Chinese Verbs into English Compound Sentence 6

3.4 Chinese Finite Verbs into English Non-finite Verbs 8

4. Conclusion 9

Works Cited 11

1. Introduction

In both Chinese and English, verbs play a very significant role in these two languages, and especially in Chinese, a comparatively dynamic language, you can find many different kinds of verbs in various positions of a sentence. It is common to see more than one verb, sometimes serial verb constructions, or verb stacking in a Chinese sentence. When some translators do the C-E translation, they may over pursue the word-for-word accuracy, neglecting the actual meaning of the source language. Some verbs in Chinese do not need to be translated as verbs in English, and some of them may be translated into other forms to make the whole sentence more understandable to the foreigner readers.

Moreover, from the structural point of view, verbs determines the basic structure of sentences, and from the semantic point of view, it determines the core meaning of sentences. What is more, verbs are the most active parts of speech in the language, with the characteristics of variety, complexity and polysemy. Therefore, it is very necessary to apprehend and learn how to properly do the translation of verbs. A great many scholars at home and abroad have already done lots of researched and analyze the translation of verbs with dynamic equivalence theory. This thesis will base on the studies and analyze the translation of verbs from the perspective of functional equivalence theory, taking Report on the Work of the Government as an example. Four ways of the translation of verbs will be introduced in the following paragraphs.

2. Literature Review

2.1 Theoretical Background

The well-known dynamic equivalence created by Nida, takes the equivalent effect as the academic basis. And the relationship between the target readers and information should be substantially the same as which existed between the original readers and the message. As a result, the information conveyed must be tailored to the receptor’s linguistic needs and culture as well as aims at achieving naturalness of expression. “Naturalness” is a key requirement in Nida’s theory. He makes a further and specific definition of the theory’s aim, which is to seek the most natural and appropriate equivalent to the source-language information. This reader-oriented approach relates to the adjustment of grammar, of lexicon and of cultural indications with the purpose of achieving naturalness. Nida himself considers the success of the translation as the realization of equivalent responses. Naturalness is just one of the four prerequisites of a good translation, which are as follows:

(1) Making sense；

(2) Conveying the spirit and manner of the original；

(3) Having a natural and easy form of expression；

(4) Producing a similar response.

Above all，we need to figure out the definition of “equivalence”. Through searching online and looking for relevant literatures, l have had a general idea of several modern translation theories. They have explored the methods of using “equivalence” when doing the translation, which can be generally concluded as five parts: linguistic approach, communicative approach, sociosemiotic approach, translation approach and literary approach. Then, Nida makes his research from the Communicative aspect, and as far as he is concerned, the primary purpose of his transition is to convey the writer’s message to the receptors. The most critical point as well as the most difficult point is how to achieve lexical and literary equivalence rather than the sameness. When we do translations, it is quite essential for us to make use of equivalence. Good translation will be unlike the word-for-word translation, which in most cases excessive pursues the accuracy of some certain words while neglecting the expression of its original meaning. To do a proper translation, the translator ought to make a both natural and understandable equivalence. In this way, Nida considers the semantics to be the core issue, followed by the style of writing.

The dynamic equivalence theory has a great inference for many other famous works about C-E translations. These writers combined the translation theory with their own ideas and conclusions, from which I have gained a further study on the definition and application of equivalence theory. The followings are my own analysis of some great famous works on C-E translation.

2.2 The Analysis of Some Well-known Works about Dynamic Equivalence Theory

In the past few years, plenty of translators have studied Nida’s dynamic equivalence theory, and created a lot of great works with the guidance of this theory. To gain a better understanding of Nida’s dynamic equivalence theory and have a further analysis to complete my thesis, I pick some of the fantastic works, such as Introduction Translation Studies by Jeremy Munday, A Course in English-Chinese Translation written by Zhang Peiji and The New Notion of translation in Translation by Ye Zinan.

To begin with, in the Introduction Translation Studies written by Jeremy Munday, he explores the relevance of some of the key areas of modern linguistic theory and illustrates how an understanding of these key areas can guide and inform at least some of the decisions that translators have to make. It digs into lots of current researches and in areas like lexical studies, text linguistics, pragmatics, and grammaticality to maintain a constant connect between language translation and the social and cultural environment where both language and translation work. In the study, the writer also discusses the importance of Nida’s work, he points out that the key role played by Nida is to point the road away from strict word-for-word equivalence. Despite some translators still questioning the theory’s feasibility, Nida"s great achievement is drawing it away from the old and unchanging “literal vs. free” debate and bringing it into the modern era. His concepts of formal and dynamic equivalence put the target reader in the first place and exert incredible influence over subsequent theoreticians, which can be frequently seen in Germany.

Second, according to A Course in English-Chinese Translation, the author gives a clear definition to translation in its introduction to the book. Mr. Zhang believes that translation is a linguistic activity, which uses one language to express precisely and completely the true ideas and contents conveyed in another language.” Therefore, we can know that translation is an incredibly broad notion which can be understood in many various ways.

It is the translation process that Zhang Peiji’s definition refers to, instead of the product. The influence of theories of translation can be traced in the Nida’s dynamic equivalence theory. Zhang Peiji’s translation fully reflects the translator"s thorough understanding and skillful control of both Chinese and Western languages. Mr. Zhang has comprehensive and incisive mastering and study on the two languages, both Chinese and English. When he translates Chinse proses into English, he digs deeply and thoroughly with the use of Chinese traditional theory, together with the application of Nida’s dynamic equivalence theory, and shows the literal connotation and aesthetic value of the Chinese prose. The translation is fluent and authentic, which not only keeps the function and information of the original text, but also maintains the taste and flavor. That is exactly what dynamic equivalence theory focuses on.

Thirdly, in The New Notion of Conversion in Translation, Ye Zinan makes a further and incisive illustration of dynamic equivalence theory and he combines the theory with a large number of practices and examples. The book begins with discussions on some known topics of the C-E translation, such as literal translation or free translation, functional equivalence or formal correspondence, source-oriented or target-oriented, etc. The author also mentions the advantages and some detailed applications of translation, which gives me basic reference of my thesis on verbs translation.

3. The Application of Dynamic Equivalence Theory In Report on the Work of the Government——Second Session of the 13th National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China, March 2019

As the most authoritative and formal work report, reviewing the work and achievements of the government in the previous year or five years, and making overall plans for the next year or even the next five years, the Report on the Work of Government is undoubtedly the most accurate and reliable information source for the international community to understand the contributions and development of China. Therefore, the translation of government work reports is of great significance to reporters and readers around the world. Since the translation quality of government work reports directly affects the target readers’ accurate understanding and grasp of the source language texts. Objectively speaking, many scholars and translators have done uncountable researches on the English translation of government work reports, but not all of them are detailed and systematic enough. In view of this, this thesis, within the framework of dynamic equivalence translation theory, takes the English version of the 2019 Government Work Report as an example, makes a relatively detailed and general study of the report, in aim to analyze its translation strategies and techniques, so as to ensure that the translator chooses the correct strategies and techniques in the process of translating political texts to make the translation accurate, as well as to make it easier to understand, conforming to the target readers’ habits, and to achieve the expected expressive function.

Consequently, taking the C-E version of Report on the Work of the Government as an example for us to study the verbs translation is such a wise choice. Furthermore, they can be proved as a better translation version from the perspective of dynamic equivalence theory. What is more, to follow English grammar, two or more finite verbs cannot appear in an English sentence at the same time, if it is not in compound structure. While, there tend to be more than one verb or serial verb constructions in a Chinese sentence, so before we start to do the translation, it is very necessary to understand the inner logic of these verbs. On one hand, if they take place in chronological order or play the same role in a sentence, they may be translated in a compound sentence. While if it is not a coordinate structure, then choose the most important one to be the core verb, and translate the rest into any other forms.

Here are some C-E sentences cited from the report, classified according to the types of verbs translation, such as the translation of Chinese Verbs into English nouns or noun phrases, preposition or prepositional phrase, non-finite verbs, together with the use of the compound structure.

3.1 Chinese Verbs into English Nouns or Noun Phrases

It is well-known that compared with English, Chinese is a relatively “dynamic” language, mainly embodied in the habit of using multiple verbs in Chinese, while English is a “static” language. In English, there is a tendency to use fewer determinant verbs, but to use other means to express what the action is. Most importantly, only one finite verb can exist in an English sentence, apart from the case of compound sentence. While, serial verb constructions, or verb stacking are frequently seen in Chinses sentences, where two or more verbs or verb phrases may be concatenated together.

If some verbs have a fixed expression in English, then they can be translated into fixed phrases in the form of nouns or noun phrases, making the whole sentence more succinct and easy for foreigners to understand.

The followings are some examples in which some verbs are translated into noun or noun phrases cited from the Report on the Work of the Government.

1. 思危方能居安。

Only alertness to danger will ensure safety.

Analysis: In the sentence above, the translator makes full use of a noun phrase to explain “思危” in English. That is because several infinite verbs are not allowed to exist at the same time in an English sentence unless it is in a compound sentence. Moreover, it is more common to see a noun phrase as Subject in Chinese, so the translation “alertness to danger” is better than “alerting to danger”.

2. 促进形成强大国内市场，持续释放内需潜力。

We will stimulate the development of a robust domestic market and keep unlocking the potential of our own needs.

Analysis: In this sentence, the translator translates “形成” as “the development of” instead of maintaining its verb form, for there are several verbs in this sentence, if they are all translated as verbs form, the whole sentence will be so tediously long that foreigners may feel confused when reading it.

3. 加强消费者权益保护，让群众放心消费、便利消费。

We will strengthen the protection of consumers’ rights and interests, and ensure worry-free and convenient consumption.

Analysis: In this sentence, the translator firstly omit one of the two “消费”, when translating , making the English version more succinct and easier for foreigners to understand. Secondly, the focus of the later part is on the words “放心”, so it is better to translate the verb “消费” into a noun in English.

3.2 Chinese Verbs into English Preposition or Prepositional Phrase

Just as the first type of verbs translation I mentioned above, the translator may translatecannot certain Chinese words into preposition or prepositional phrase.

The followings are some examples cited from the Report on the Work of the Government exerting the translation of Chinese verbs into preposition or prepositional phrase.

1. 过去一年是全面贯彻党的十九大精神开局之年，是本届政府依法履职第一年。

It was also this government’s first to perform, in accordance with law, the functions of office.

Analysis: In this sentence, the translator wisely uses a fixed collocation to translate “依法”, concise and easy to understand.

2. 现在，我代表国务院，向大会报告政府工作。

On behalf of the State Council, I will now report to you on the work of the government.

Analysis: In this sentence, the translator also make the use of a fixed phrase to convey the meaning of “代表”, which can be commonly seen in many reports and news. When we ourselves do translations, we can learn from this translator to apply some commonly used expressions under the guidance of Nida’s dynamic equivalence theory.

3. 脱贫致富离不开产业支撑。

The eradication of poverty and achievement of prosperity cannot happen without the support of industries.

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