Translation and Comments on Bulrush in the Crowd

李月

Abstract Nidas functional equivalence enjoys a great popularity among translation theories， which plays an indispensable role in the practices of translation. Bulrush in the Crowds is a lyric prose cloaked in melancholy atmosphere. This prose is written in simple but lively， vivid language. It is also highly readable， with flexible structures and various writing techniques. Short and condensed casual sentences are widely employed in this prose. Furthermore， it is good at using figure of speech. Thus， when translation is conducted， mood， structure， style and rhetorical devices should be taken into consideration.

Key words Bulrush in the Crowd; Nida's functional equivalence; Translation difficulties; Highlights

中图分类号：H315.9 文献标识码：A DOI：10.16400/j.cnki.kjdkz.2015.05.061

1 Selecting Appropriate Translation Methods

“Translating consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalence of the source-language message， first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style” （Nida & Taber， 2004， p.12）. It is also essential to recognize that each language has its own genius. That is to say， each language possesses certain distinctive characteristics which give it a special character. Therefore， they insist that the translator must respect the features of the receptor language and exploit the potentialities of the language to the greatest possible extent （ Nida and Taber， 2004）. Accordingly， Chen （2011） concludes that Nida's functional equivalence includes many layers. Instead of merely achieving lexical， semantic and syntactical equivalence， for reaching the goal of functional equivalence， the translator should also possess aesthetic taste， profound cultural and linguistic capacity and the ability of considering things integrated. Thus， in practical translation， functional equivalence is a comprehensive relation of all these things that matter.

This prose is a typical “beautiful prose”. According to Chen （2011）， the main intention of prose is to express emotions， thus translation of prose is re-creation to a large extent， aiming to reproduce the aesthetic situation and mood in the source text and keep to the same feelings of the original prose. Chen also mentions that both literary translation and literature must give priority to target readers， which conform to Nidas Readers Response. Therefore， he suggests that Nidas functional equivalence be employed when it comes to literary translation.

Nidas theories of translation have great significance in guiding translation practices. Based on both the above theories and the characteristics of this prose， the author of this paper adopts Nida's functional equivalence.

2 Challenges and Solution of the Translation

2.1 Tackling Cultural Transplantation and Culture-specific Terms

It is known to all that Chinese and English cultures are different from each other， even the same objects or events under these two separate cultural backgrounds may not stand for the same meaning. If the translators do not treat this matter seriously， some misunderstandings or the unexpected results may be aroused in the translation.

Cultural transplantation is significant for Nida. Since the target language receptors do not share the same cultural background with the source language receptors， the translator should be capable of identifying the culture-loaded words and expressions and render them appropriately in the correspondent cultural environment （Chen， 2011）. Nida （2004） suggests if the proper noun carries certain cultural background or certain regional limited meaning， one can translate it literally by adding some notes as further explanation.

2.2 Tackling Short and Condensed Casual Sentences in Chinese

It is common that there are a good number of long sentences in English， since the attributives can be added under the rule of English sentence construction， as well as conjunctions and subordinate clauses. In addition， English text usually employs more transitional features， to show the relationship of sentences and clauses to each other. But short and condensed sentences are more employed than the long ones in this Chinese prose. They appear rather casual in form but centered in spirit. Furthermore， this Chinese text is less complexly organized， with more coordination， rather than subordination.

Due to the large difference between Chinese and English language patterns， it is hard to achieve complete equivalence on syntactic level in translation. Nevertheless， Nida （2004） thinks translationese （formal fidelity） will inevitably lead to unfaithfulness to the content and impact of the message， which should be studiously avoided. Nida also believes that rather than force the formal structure of one language upon another， the effective translator is quite prepared to make any and all formal changes necessary to reproduce the message in the distinctive structural forms of the receptor language.

2.3 Tackling Stylistic Equivalence

The style in some passages plays an undeniable role in the original text， and the author makes use of it to pour her thoughts and emotions. It constitutes one of the artistic values of this prose.

“Every feature of language， from the total structural of the discourse to the sounds of the individual words， is included in the components of style” （Nida & Taber， 2004， p.134）. They also provide us with four basic feature-function classes， which involve （a） those formal features designed primarily for the sake of efficiency，（b） those formal features effective for enhancing interest， increasing impact， and embellishing the form of the message，（c） lexical feature designed for efficiency and （d） lexical feature designed for special effect . As suggested， “Good style consists primarily in a proper combination of factors for efficiency and for special effect” （Nida & Taber， 2004， p.150）.

Although， it is too hard to always achieve full equivalence both in meaning and in style， if there is any chance to achieve stylistic equivalence without losing essential information， translators will make every effort to do so （Chen， 2011）. When handling this， the author of this paper usually determines the specific style of the given sentences at first and then takes literal translation as the translation strategy.

2.4 Tackling Rhetorical Equivalence

The rhetorical devices are widely employed in this prose to create a special atmosphere， achieving a certain effect and emphasizing certain part.

In order to better achieve functional equivalence in the respect of Nida's reader's response theory， the translator should pay much attention to process these details. According to Nida and Taber （2004）， there are three situations in which figurative expressions are involved in the transfer process， including （a） shifts from figurative to nonfigurative usage; （b） shifts from one type of figurative expression to another figurative expression; （c） nonfigurative expressions changed to figurative ones. The choosing should be based on a case-by-case basis. Meanwhile the translator should always keep in mind that the response of the target receptors to the translation is equivalent to that of the original receptors to the original text.

3 Highlights in the Translation

Firstly， one highlight in translating is cultural transplantation.

“从没有那么寒冷过的南方，像在用冰雪，举行着一场宏大的哀思会。”

“It had never been so freezing that the south seemed to hold a grand memorial meeting， with falling flakes as white paper burned for the deceased.”

Paper ghost money is widely burned in funerals to appease the departed and the color white is the main color used in traditional funeral scene in Chinese culture， whereas in English culture， it is a wide-used color in wedding ceremony. If not treating this matter seriously， some misunderstandings may be aroused. The heavy snow is like paper money flying all over the sky， making the whole world white， which displays a scene of melancholy and desolation， therefore I add “with falling flakes as white paper burned for the deceased” as an explanation. If not， the foreign readers cannot link snow with memorial meeting， as well as white with grief. Thus， when reading， they feel as sorrowful as the original Chinese readers， making the translation achieve functional response.

Secondly， another highlight in translating is syntactical equivalence. Some examples of my translation are cited as follows：

“太不真实了，毫无防备。就像南方这场让人无法相信的大冰雪。”

“What had happened at school was like this south snow， unbelievable， full of an air of unreality， and without any preparation.”

“他们从未真正沐浴过阳光，从未真正享受过快乐，阴霾和疼痛总是如影随形。”

“They had never bathed in bright sunshine without shade， nor savored real pleasure without pain.”

If translating the original sentences above word by word directly， the English translation will be obscure and awkward. The author of the paper changes the way of expressions to make them logical and smooth.

Thirdly， the application of Stylistic Equivalence is also a highlight. The following examples will explain that this translation achieves well in stylistic equivalence.

“这样的一群人，他们或清或浊，或静或动，或雅或俗，但全是好人。”

“All of them were kind-hearted， be it of purity or muddiness， of quietness or vigor， of elegance or vulgarity.”

According to the four basic feature-function classes mentioned above， this sentence belongs to the combination of the first class because of its simple structure and the third class for using familiar combination of words such as “或清或浊”. Both of these two classes contribute to increasing efficiency. The author of this paper follows the style of the original text except for a few alternations in the expression. The original sentence is very clear and concise， so does the English version.

“结果，莫名奇妙地，宽容的，变计较了，喜爱的，变厌烦了，投契的，变不耐了。”

“Oddly enough， at last， the tolerant become splitting hairs， the beloved bored， the congenial impatient.”

The stylistic feature of the second sentence combines the first class and fourth class， for its simple structure and contrasting words. The former boosts efficiency while the latter enhances interest and increases impact. This translation is as succinct and expressive as the original one and expresses the authors unexpected feeling precisely.

Lastly， Rhetorical Equivalence is employed as a highlight.

“在花香里，在树影下，在琴键般的阳光里，我们一天天熟悉，亲近。”

“Our friendship pervaded in the fragrance of flowers， lingered in the shadows of trees and gleamed from variegated patterns of the sunshine.”

Rather than translating it based on its original form word by word， the author of this paper uses metaphor to vivify the situation and strengthen the appealing of the text.

“那一个个同学，就这么如蒲公英的种子，迎风而散了，在消逝中留下不可名状的渴望和惆怅。”

“Each of my classmates was gone like the seed of dandelions， and gone with the wind， in passing left an indefinable longing and regret.”

The word “gone” repeats in this translation. The repetition highlights the authors emotion， and makes the tone of the sentence heaviness.

“在风里，痛苦的低吟，寂寞地摇曳。”

“In the wind， they sang in anguish and waved in loneliness.”

This is an instance of personification in Chinese. The original author takes the bulrush as a person， depicting all its action by series of words “低吟， 摇曳”. If the author of this paper translates it into “sang painfully and waved lonely”， the translation will not that good since it lacks English taste. Thanks to the slightest alteration， it presents a vivid picture to the readers.

4 Conclusion

Tan （1999） and Guo （1999） reckon that translation theories exert important effects on the practices of translation. Theories come from practices， and in turn serve for practices. Guo （2003） also presents that the relationship between practices and theories is dialectical and united.

On one hand， translation theories provide systematic and rational knowledge， and contribute to translation practices （Guo， 1997）. Take this experience for example， Nida points a road away from strict word-to-word equivalence， and helps to prevent this translation being semantically misleading， structurally burdensome， linguistically unnatural and stylistically awkward.

On the other hand， translation practices can test the truth of theories and moreover provide experience and materials for theories. Any translation in the first place needs adequate practices （Chen， 2005; Guo & Li， 2003）. Through this translation of the above prose， the author of this paper better understands the great practical guidance of Nidas functional equivalence and thus realizes the significance of practices.

References

Nida， Eugene A. （2004）. Toward a Science of Translating. Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.

Nida， Eugene A.， & Taber， Charles R. （2004）. The Theory and Practice of Translation. Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.