16 people in tin foil

There are many differences in expression habits between English and Chinese, which makes English learners prone to make mistakes in English-Chinese translation, such as improper collocation and improper structure. Therefore, the author summarizes ten translation principles to help you correct some mistakes that are easy to make in English-Chinese translation. In this issue, the author first discusses the three principles of English-Chinese translation with you.

Verb-object connection principle

In English-Chinese translation, many translation errors come from improper translation of verb-object phrases. Many people often determine the translation of verb-object phrases in the order of the original text-from left to right, that is, the meaning and translation of verbs are determined first, and then the meaning and translation of objects are determined. But in fact, this translation method can easily lead to improper collocation of verb-object phrases in translation. Let's look at an example:

1. We must avoid these stupid and short-sighted traps and constantly strive for an open communication system with objective information.

We must break these stupid and short-sighted imprisonments and make unremitting efforts to establish an open communication system to ensure the objectivity and truth of information.

Analysis: In this example, "avoidance" and "trap" constitute a set of verb-object phrases. Many candidates translate "avoidance" into "avoidance" and "trap", so translating it into "avoiding trap" is obviously not in line with Chinese habits. So how do we translate this verb-object phrase? You can try to determine the meaning of the object "traps" first, and then choose the appropriate verbs to match according to the original meaning. Candidates can translate the verb "avoid" into "bypass" if they translate the object "traps" into "traps"; If the object "traps" is translated into "imprisonment", the verb "avoid" can be translated into "break" or "break through".

Therefore, when translating verb-object phrases, candidates should first determine the meaning of the object according to the context, and then choose appropriate verbs to match it according to the original intention-this is the "verb-object connection principle" summarized by the author. In order to let everyone understand this principle more deeply, here is another example:

2. Once the power of market and new technology is released, it will solve most problems in the world.

Once the energy of market and new technology is released, it will be able to solve most problems in the world.

Analysis: "address" and "ills" in this example constitute a verb-object phrase. First of all, let's determine the meaning of the object "malady": it means "trouble and misfortune" and can be translated as "problem" here. Then, let's translate the verb "address": "address" means "handling", and in order to properly match the object "problem", "address" can be translated into "solving". Imagine that if the meaning of the verb "address" is determined first, the difficulty can be imagined, because "address" has many meanings, and its usage as a solution to "processing" is relatively rare in normal learning.

In short, "the object precedes the predicate" is the core idea of the verb-object connection principle. In the process of English-Chinese translation, whenever translating a verb-object phrase, we should first consider the translation method of the object, and then determine the usage of the verb.

Order change principle

In the process of English-Chinese translation, many people tend to deal with the relationship between subject, predicate and object step by step according to their own habits. As a result, the object in Chinese translation is too long, and the whole sentence is top-heavy, which is not in line with the habits of China people. To solve this problem, we can adopt the principle of order change: first translate the object, then translate the subject and predicate. Look at the following two examples:

3. The rest of the world will have to respond to the Asian economic shift and the rise of China in this new millennium.

In the new millennium, the economic center of gravity will shift to Asia, and China will rise rapidly, and the rest of the world will have to respond to it.

Analysis: the predicate of this sentence is "react to", which means "react to". The objects it receives are "The Millennium Economy Transfers to Asia" and "The Rise of China". If you translate directly in English word order, it will inevitably make the translation top-heavy and affect understanding. Therefore, the best solution is to change the order: translate the object first, then the subject and predicate.

4. The project budget maintains the survival of graduate students and the financial solvency of universities.

The existence of graduate students and the university's ability to repay funds depend on the project budget.

Analysis: The predicate in this question is "maintenance", which means "maintenance". Its object "the existence of graduate students and the financial solvency of universities" is also very lengthy, so it is necessary to translate the object first, then the subject and predicate, so that the sentence structure can be clearer.

There is also a sentence in English that is usually translated by changing the word order, that is, the inanimate subject sentence. The main feature of inanimate subject sentence is that the subject is the executor of the action, and the subject represents inanimate things. For this kind of sentences, the most common translation method is subject-object exchange to make the translation conform to Chinese habits. Please look at the following example:

From the moment we set foot in People's Republic of China (PRC), care and goodwill surrounded us from all directions.

As soon as we set foot on Chinese territory, we were cared for and cared for by all sides at any time and place.

Analysis: The subject of this example sentence is "caring and kindness", which is the executor of the action of "surrounding", but because it represents an inanimate concept, it is certainly meaningless to translate it into Chinese according to the English word order of "subject-predicate-object". Therefore, when translating this sentence, the subject and object should be translated interchangeably.

There are many such sentences. Here are a few more examples for your careful understanding.

6. Fear began to occupy his whole body.

He began to get scared.

7. Later, success took care of me.

And then it was smooth sailing.

8. I lost my courage for a moment and couldn't speak.

At that moment, I lost my courage and could not speak.

The principle of mutual transformation between noun phrases and clauses

Due to the structural differences between English and Chinese, it is often necessary to convert noun phrases and clauses in English-Chinese translation, that is, to translate noun phrases in English into clauses in Chinese, or to translate clauses in English into noun phrases in Chinese, so as to make the translation more in line with Chinese habits. The transformation between them mainly includes the following three situations.

1.5W 1H object clause → noun phrase

"5W" and "1H" respectively represent five interrogative words (what, when, where, who, why) starting with the letter w and one interrogative word (how) starting with the letter h, that is, when the connectives of the object clauses are interrogative words such as what, when, where, who, why, how, etc. Look at the following two examples:

9. Foundations provide a means by which rich people and companies can actually decide how to use the taxes they pay, because their funds are based on what would otherwise be handed over to the government in the form of taxes.

Through foundations, rich people and large companies can actually control the use of taxes, because if these taxes are not used for foundations, they will be included in government taxes.

Analysis: Here, "how will their tax payment be spent" is translated into "the purpose of tax payment", that is, the object clause in English is transformed into the noun phrase in Chinese, so that the translation is more concise and the language is more in line with the style.

10. The committee can't decide who will take part in the 100-meter relay.

The Committee can't decide who will take part in the 100-meter relay.

Analysis: The object clause "Who will sign up for the 100-meter relay race" has also been translated into the noun phrase "100-meter relay race candidate". The translation is more concise and the structure is clearer.

2. Expression modifier → structure of subject-predicate sentence

The structure of may indicate ownership or modification. If it is an of phrase that expresses a modifying relationship, it can be translated into a subject-predicate sentence, thus making the meaning expressed in the translation more clear. Please look at the following example:

1 1. At present, people tend to choose a safe middle-of-the-road answer.

Because it is safer to be impartial, people nowadays tend to take this attitude to answer questions.

Analysis: In the noun phrase "safety of the middle way reply", "safety" and "middle way reply" form a modified relationship, which is translated into the subject-predicate sentence "impartial attitude is safer" here, making the meaning of the translation more fluent.

12. Now, the debate has shifted from the ethics of making babies to the morality of cloning embryos.

Now, the debate has shifted from whether it is unethical to make babies to whether it is unethical to clone embryos.

Analysis: This example sentence has two noun phrases: "the ethics of making babies" and "the morality of cloning embryos". In these two noun phrases, "ethics" and "making babies", "morality" and "cloning embryos" constitute a modified relationship respectively. If translated into "the ethical level of making babies" and "the moral level of cloning embryos", the meaning is not clear enough. When they are translated into subject-predicate clauses, the meanings are much clearer: "Is it against ethics to have children" and "Is it against morality to implant embryos".

3. Multi-attributive noun phrases → subject-predicate clauses

Many attributive noun phrases often appear in English, but such expressions are very taboo in Chinese. So when translating multi-attribute noun phrases, it can be translated into subject-predicate sentences. For example, if the phrase "a beautiful, sexy and simple woman" is translated into "a beautiful, sexy and simple woman", it will be very complicated to translate. Therefore, we usually translate the subject-predicate sentence "This woman is beautiful, sexy and simple", which is concise and neat, and conforms to the habits of China people.