1、 literal translation and free translataionBut hat kind f translatin is literal translatin? And hat kind f translatin is free translatin?Fr exaple:1) Dnt lk the stable dr after the hurses has been stlen.Literal translatin: 不要等马被盗后, 才去锁楖门.Free translatin: 不要贼走关门.2) Sashing a irrr is n ay t ake an ugly
2、 persn beautiful, nr it is a ay t ake sial prble evaprate.Literal translatin: 砸镜子不能使丑八怪变漂亮,也不能使社会问题烟消云散.Free translatin: 砸镜子并不能解决实际问题 .Fr the exaple 1), free translatin is better than literal translatin. Fr the exaple 2), literal translatin is better than free translatin. But h t use literal transla
3、tin and free translatin? There is a sentene:“Translate literally,if pssible, r appeal t free translatin.“2. H t use literal translatin prperly?2.1 Translate literally, if pssible.hy translate, if pssible? hat is the advantage f literal translatin? Generally, rhetri is ften used in a passage t ake th
4、e passage lively. Literal translatin retains the rhetri f the riginal, s it is lively as the riginal. But free translatin nly expresses the general idea f riginal, lively rhetri f the riginal disappeared. S generally speaking, literal translatin is a gd hie in translatin. Fr exaple:3) Fr a father kn
5、 and I kn that if yu nly dig enugh a pasture an be ade free.Literal translatin: 因为我父亲知道, 我也知道,只要挖到一定程度,早晚可以在这里辟出个牧场的.Free translatin: 因为我父亲知道,我也知道,功到自然成.4) Fr Kin and Juana this as the eaning f rning f their lives, parable nly t the day hen the baby had been brn.Literal translatin: 在 Kin 和 Juana看来,
6、这是他们一生中最了不起的早晨, 只有宝宝出生的那一天,才可以与之媲美.Free translatin: Kin 和 Juana 以为, 这一天非常重要.Free translatin f exaples 3) and 4), nly express the general idea f the riginal sentenes. It is t siple. etaphr and disribtin f the riginal sentenes hava dissappeared. After free translatin, it as inferir and dull. S it is u
7、ndesirable. But the literal translatin f exaple 3) and 4) is learer than the free translatin. Atually, literal translatin is the hief ay f translatin. It is lse t the riginal, lively and natural. It is aeptable. Aeptableness is very iprtant in translatin. Fr thery f translatin angle, translatin is a
8、 thery hih uses target language t express the idea, ntent and style f sure language.It shuld ard ith the ulture and usts f the target language. Translatin nt nly des express the idea and style f the riginal essage, but als need t ard ith the ulture and usts f the target language, s that the translat
9、in an easy be aepted by target language readers. Beause the differenes f t languages, seties it is diffiult t retain the idea and style f the sure language. The advantage f literal translatin is that alstly retain the idea and style f the riginal. S st f translatrs like t use literal translatin. Fr
10、all abve, that is the reasn f “translate literally, if pssible.“2.2 Literal translatinrd-fr-rd translatin.At first, hih kind f translatin is rd-fr-rd translatin? rd-fr-rd translatin is that: hen translating, nsider every rds. Every rds f sure language is translated ridnatly.Fr exaple:5) It as an ld
11、and ragged n.rd-fr-rd translatin: 那是一个又老又破的月亮.6) any f his ideas are espeially interesting t dern yuth.rd-fr-rd translatin: 他的许多思想对当代青年特别有趣.Fr the exaple 5) and 6), e kn rd-fr-rd translatin des nt d any hanges t sure language. The fr is lse t the riginal, but it des nt express the eaning f the sure
12、language. Stritly speaking, it is nt translatin. Nevertheless, se translatin hih did se hange t sure language and the struture f target language is als the sae as sure language, the translatin is sth, but the eaning and the style are far fr the riginal, usually, target language readers did nt kn hat
13、 it said. This is als rd-fr-rd translatin. Fr exaple: 7) Every at f yur flesh is as dear t e as y n: in pain and sikness it uld still be dear.rd-fr-rd translatin: 你的肉中的每一个原子，对我来说，都像我自己一样亲；即使在病痛中，仍然是亲的.8) Being a teaher is being present at the reatin, hen the lay begin t breathe.rd-fr-rd translatin:
14、当一名教师意味着是创造的见证人，他目睹人体开始呼吸，开始了生命.Translatin f 7) and 8) are sth. But they d nt ard ith the expressive ay f hinese. It is rd-fr-rd translatin. Fr all abve, rd-fr-rd translatin is s starhy, ges after the fr f sure language that it never think f the effet f target language. Beause rd-fr-rd translatin de
15、s nt ard ith the expressive ay f target language, it is bsure, hard t understand it even akes target language readers did nt kn hat des translatr ant t express. rd-fr-rd translatin akes target language readers nfused. It is unqualified translatin.Literal translatin als keeps the general fr f sure la
16、nguage,and keeps the struture and the etaphr f the riginal. But literal translatin des ake se neessary adjustent, ake target language sth, lean and aeptable. After reading, target language readers an have alst the sae feeling as the sure language readers. But rd-fr-rd translatin nly translate rd by
17、rd, it is stiff and unitelligible. Quality f literal translatin is gd. rd-fr-rd translatin is inferir. Literal translatin and rd-fr-rd translatin an give different feeling t target language readers. All translatin hih is hard t aept, hih have bad effet, hih essage is indistint, hih eaning is far fr
18、the riginal is rd-fr-rd translatin. This kind f translatin is abrtive. Se translatin thugh that all translatin keeps the fr f the riginal is literal translatin. That is errneus. They nfuse the neptin f literal translatin ith rd-fr-rd translatin. These translatrs translate like this: first, they lk u
19、p the eaning f every rd f sure language in ditinary. Then, they bine the eaning f every rd, never d any hange. They d nt kn hat translatin is, s rd-fr-rd translatin eerge. But exellent translatrs kn the eaning f the riginal. hen translating, they d se neessary adjustent, ake target language learer,
20、sth and aeptable. They kn the differene beteen rd-fr-rd translatin and literal translatin. They an use literal translatin prperly, it is a skill f translatin.All in all. literal translatin is nt rd-fr-rd translatin. Literal translatin is aeptable and nible.2.3 Se sentenes shuld nt translate literall
21、y.Se sure language sentenes are very diffiult t translate literally. It nly thugh f the eaning f surfae, translate it literally, the result is unintelligible and indistint. Se sentenes d nt ard ith expressive ay in target language. Different untry has different ulture,different language, different u
22、st and different ay t express the sae eaning, different language has different ay abut etaphrs, and has different idis. In hina, peple usually use se idis t desribe an event r a persn. S d in abrad. But hinese idis are unintelligible in estern untries. In these suituatins, if translate literally, us
23、ually, it uld have bad effet and be unaeptable. hen target language readers read, they uld nt kn the exat eaning f sure language. Beause the essage hih target language express as vague.There are t exaples: 9) ur sn ust g t shl. He ust break ut f the pt that hld us in.Literal translatin: 我们的儿子一定得进学校，
24、他一定得打破这个把我们关在里面的罐子. Free translatin: 我们的儿子一定要上学，一定要出人头地.10) Their legs red a little jerkily, like ell-ade den dlls, and they arried pillars f blank fear abut the. Literal translatin: 他的腿轻轻痉挛地移动着，像做得很好的木偶一样，他们随身携带着黑色的恐怖柱子.Free translatin: 他们每向前迈一步，腿就抖动一下，好似精制的木偶一样，他们身上带着一股阴沉的杀气.Fr the t exaples, lite
25、ral translatin is unintelligible even absurd. But after had translated it freely, translatin beae leaner, sth, aeptable and ard ith the ulture f target language.But in hih suituatin translatrs shuld nt translate literally? H t use literal translatin rretly?Any sure language hih des nt ard ith the ex
26、pressive ay f target language shuld nt use literal translatin. Fr exaple: In exaple 9), “Break ut the pt that hle us in“, it is an English idi, it eans d sething suessful. But h t translate it int hines?There is als an idi in hina. It alst has the sae eaning as“Break ut f the pt that hld us in“. It
27、is “出人头地“. S hen translating that sentene translatrs shuld nt use literal translatin, translatrs shuld use free translatin.And h t use literal translatin rretly? First, kn sure language and target language ulture as uh as pssible and translatrs shuld have extensive knledge ith the prbles hih the rig
28、inal rte r talk abut, translatrs shuld be nversant. e ften have experiene like that: Beause lake f se knledge that sebdy talking abut, even after thers explained, e still did nt kn r understand. S befre translatrs translating se aterials, espeially se prffessinal aterials translatrs ust grasp se knl
29、edge abut the aterials. Fr exaple, if translate se aterials abut eny,translatrs shuld kn se knledge abut eny; if translate se aterial abut nes, translatrs shuld kn se knledge abut nes;if translate se prfessinal aterials,translatrs shuld kn se knledge abut that prffessin, r be an exprt f that prffess
30、in. If translatr as a an h did nt kn sething abut the aterial hih he anted t translate, his translatin uld be unqualified. Send, prehend sure language essage rretly and thrughly. It is very iprtant. Translatrs shuld nt nly kn the surfae eaning f the riginal and translatrs shuld read thrugh the surfa
31、e, kn hat des the riginal ant t express. If a translatr des nly kn surfae eaning f the riginal and translate it literally, his translatin uld be rrespndingly. After target language reader read his translatin, they uld be nfuse and have different feeling beteen the riginal and the translatin r even h
32、ave errneus prehensin. Translatin is different fr reading. hen e reading, it n atter h uh e understand r an be understand r have errneus prehensin. Beause level f the readers is liited. Reading is nly a feeling f hiself. But translatin affets thers. Instead f the riginal authr, translatin is a an re
33、tell sure language assage t target language. S translatrs shuld prehened the sure language essage deeply and thrughly, then retell the eaning f the sure language rretly and lse t the sure language essage. If a translatr prehened the sure language just a little nbiguiusly,translatin uld be different
34、fr the sure language essage. Therefre, prehensin is very iprtant. If translatrs had false prehensin t the sure language essage, his translatin uld be far fr the riginal. This ill lead his translatin t be unqualified. At last, enhane aeptability f translatin. Fr abve e kn that translatin shuld ard it
35、h the expressive ay f target language, s that it an be easily aepted by target language readers. Atually, it is nt diffiult t retain the style f the riginal. But it is diffiult t translate the riginal ard ith target language expressive ay. A translatr h has abandant experiene an surunt bstale beteen
36、 t language. An exellent translatr ust have dne his best effrt n his translatin. This is translatrs duty. An exellent translatr has pratised a lt n h t handle the prbles in translatin. Exellent translatin are aeptable.Fr all abve, literal translatin is a basi skill f translatin. It keeps the fr f su
37、re language, inluding nstrutin f sentenes, ataphr. Seties it shuld d se neessary hange t the riginal, ake the translatin ard ith the expressive ay f target language. S ake the translatin aeptable. A translatin hih translated literally is lse t the riginal. But literal translatin is nt niptent. Se se
38、ntenes shuld nt translate literally, beause these sentenes ntained idis hih are different in sure language and target language. Translatrs shuld have extensive knledge. prehened sure language essage rretly and thrughly, enhane aeptability f translatin. If translatrs ant t use literal translatin prpe
39、rly and skillfully, they ust prehened all abve, and have se pratie. After all, pratise is the st iprtant aspet in translatin.3. H t use free translatin prperly?3.1 If it as se truble t understand a sentene in using literal translatin, use free translatin.In hih suituatin the translatrs an nt use lit
40、eral translatin? hen se sentenes that the ay f expressive beteen sure language and target language are different, shuld nt use literal translatin. If use literal translatin, target language readers uld have se truble t understand, then ake the translatin unaeptable. In these suituatin, free translat
41、in shuld in use. Free translatin expresses the general idea f the riginal arding t the eaning f the riginal, and des nt pay attentin t the details. But translatin shuld be fluent and natural.There are t exaples:11) I gave y yuth t the sea and I ae he and gave her ( y ife ) y ld age.Literal translati
42、n: 我把青春献给海洋，我回家的时候便把老年给了我的妻子 .Free translatin: 我把青春献给海洋，等我回到家里见到妻子的时候，已经是白发苍苍了.12) aybe Kin has ut ff his n head and destryed hiself.Literal translatin: 也许 Kin 会割掉自己的脑袋，把自己毁了.Free translatin: 也许 Kin 走了绝路，自己毁了自己 .Fr the exaple 12), the riginal “ut ff his head“ eans have dne sething badly, felt int pr
43、ediaent. If a translatr translated the riginal literally, his translating uld ake target language readers nfused, after reading, target language readers uld feel unaeptable. S translatrs shuld use free translatin in the exaple 11) and 12). Beause free translatin an tell the ture eaning t target lang
44、uage readers. Se sentenes, if translate literally are als fluent and natural that it sees these sentenes shuld translate literally. But translated these sentenes literally uld nt express the deep eaning f the riginal. If e use free translatin,effet uld be better than literal translatin. Free transla
45、tin uld express the deep eaning f the riginal sentenes.Fr exaple: 13) ast pearls befre sine.Literal translatin: 把珍珠扔到猪面前.Free translatin: 对牛弹琴.14) Barbara as brn ith a silver spn in her uth.Literal translatin: Barbara 嘴里叼着银调羹出生的.Free translatin: Barbara 出生最富贵人家.Exaple 13) and 14) are etaphr, have de
46、ep ral. If translated literally, translatins are fluent and natural, but it uld nt express the deep eaning f the rginal, it is unadvisable.There is anther suituatin hih shuld use free translatin: a sentense that use idis.Fr exaple:15) Sething unexpeted ay happen ang tie.Free translatin: 天有不测风云.Liter
47、al translatin: 一些没有预料到的事会随时发生.In English, this sentene is very n. But if translated it literally int hinese, it did nt ard ith the habit f expressive. n the ntrarary, it uld be unitelligible and uld nt ahive the effet f the riginal. It uld ake target language readers inappreiatable. But in the exapl
48、e 15), free translatin used a hinese idis, after reading target language readers uld prehened and have nie feeling. S free translatin is a gd hie hen literal translatin uld nt be used.3.2 Dn nt add persnal etin t the riginal rks.Translatin is a brige beteen sure language and target language. Task f
49、translatin is t express the eaning and anifestatin f the sure language essage by target language. The translatin shuld give target language readers alst the sae feeling as sure language readers. If target language readers and sure language readers had alst the sae feeling after reading the translatin, it as suessful. If target language readers and sure language readers had different feeling after reading the translatin, it shed the translatin as unqualified. Fr the angle f translatin, atually, the feeling f readers an judge a translatin. S the
