The Function of Chinese Quadrisyllabic Phrases in E—C Translation

Cai+Hua

【Abstract】Chinese quadrisyllabic phrases are indispensable in English-Chinese translation. It can be said that their existence is one distinct feature of Chinese. Without them the translated text can never be concise， vivid and fluent. Only those translators who have an excellent foundation in Chinese can make good use of them freely. So， in order to improve the quality of the translated Chinese text， it is quite necessary to highlight the main functions of Chinese quadrisyllabic phrases. This thesis covers three main benefits that quadrisyllabic phrases can bring in English-Chinese translation， with a lot of examples.

【Key words】quadrisyllabic phrases； functions； translation

In English-Chinese translation， the use of quadrisyllabic phrases can make the Chinese version more brief and fluent. Eugene A. Nida wrote in his The Theory and Practice of Translation： “A conscientious translator will want the closest natural equivalent.”“ The best translation does not sound like a translation.”Whether a translator can use Chinese quadrisyllabic phrases well can embody his Chinese level. This shows the importance of quadrisyllabic phrases in making the receptor language more natural. This thesis is to elucidate the main advantages of these phrases from three aspects.

1. Rhythmic Effect

As is stated above， there are abundant quadrisyllabic phrases in the ancient Chinese poems， and this shows one advantage of these expressions—the rhythmic effect. The quadrisyllabic phrases have much beauty in rhythm， which is an important aspect of the beauty in a language. The change in tone， rhyme and intensity in sound adds poetic beauty to the language.

Because a large number of quadrisyllabic phrases derive from various allusions in history and the ancient Chinese writers paid much attention to the rhythm of their works， many of these phrases are melodious themselves. With the help of these phrases， the translated Chinese can sound more like music， especially when there are several quadrisyllabic phrases in a sentence. The following examples are to show this point more clearly：

A： A woman goes to work for a large corporation like IBM. She is extremely intelligent， ambitious and hard-working.

一位女士去一家大公司（如國际商用机器公司）工作，她才智过人，雄心勃勃，勤奋努力。

B： Isolation of China is unworkable， counterproductive and potentially dangerous—Clinton.

孤立中国是行之无效，适得其反，后患无穷的 —— 克林顿。

C： The Inauguration took place on a bright， cold， and windy day.

就职典礼那天，阳光普照，寒风凛冽。

D： A little， yellow， ragged beggar was sitting there.

一个要饭的坐在那儿，他身材矮小，面黄肌瘦，衣衫褴褛。

E： His venture is in a stormy mid-passage now. It may ultimately be forced back， or even sunk. Yet Gingrich did the work—crude， forceful， effective—that compelled the voyage in the first place.

现在，他的冒险行动正处于惊涛骇浪的中途，有可能无功而返，甚至汪洋沉船。但是他言出必行，粗放有力，卓有成效。

In sentence A， the three words “intelligent”， “ambitious” and “hard-working” are rendered into three quadrisyllabic phrases in Chinese. The same is true with sentences B， C， D and E. It is plain that all the quadrisyllabic phrases are very fluent and forceful in the receptor language and sound like rhythm. The translated sentences are so natural that they do not sound like translation.

2. Balanced Structure

The second advantage of the quadrisyllabic phrases is that the sentences can achieve a good visual effect with their help— a balanced structure. In ancient times， the writers have always expressed a strong preference for the balance of the language， from the ancient poems to the antithetical couplets written on the scrolls. In poetry， they tried to pursue a matching of both sound and sense in two lines and sentences. The reason may be that symmetry is considered to be a kind of beauty and it symbolizes auspiciousness and harmony in China. Some of the quadrisyllabic phrases have balanced internal structures themselves. Besides， in many cases， the quadrisyllabic phrases which appear in pairs can also make the whole sentence balanced. The following sentences are taken for examples：

Zhu Rongji was called Chinas Gorbachev—a sincere but limited reformer.

朱镕基被称为中国的戈尔巴乔夫 —— 一个雄心勃勃却壮志未酬的改革家。

He is all fire and fight.

他怒气冲冲，来势汹汹。

They have all made it in the United States. They are comfortable and successful.

他们在美国都是飞黄腾达的人物，过着舒舒服服、万事如意的生活。

Many San Diegans， angered by the way Rogers was treated， accused the school of gross ingratitude and cowardice.

许多圣迭戈人对罗杰斯表示愤慨，他们指责校方十足的忘恩负义和胆小怕事。

If North America and Europe renew their moral life， build on their cultural commonality， and develop closer forms of economic and political integration to supplement their security collaboration in NATO， they could generate a third Euroamerican phase of western affluence and political influence.

如果北美和欧洲能在道德生活方面得以重振，在共同的文化基础上进行发展，在政治经济领域进一步整合，以此作为在北约安全合作以外的补充，那么将可衍生出经济富甲天下，政治一言九鼎的欧美第三阶段。

The English sentences illustrated above have balanced phrases themselves： “sincere but limited”， “fire and fight”， “comfortable and successful”， “ingratitude and cowardice” and “western affluence and political influence”. Of course， the meaning can also be expressed explicitly in Chinese if they are translated like this： “忠誠却受限”、“又气又怒”、“舒服又成功”、“忘恩又胆小”、“西方的富裕和政治的影响力”. In this case， the rhetoric effect is worse than that of the sentences with quadrisylabic phrases， which obviously show a stronger emphasis， and make the whole sentence tidier.

3. Cultural Meaning

In addition to the rhetoric effect in rhythm and structure， in English-Chinese translation， the use of quadrisyllabic phrases brings another benefit： large quantities of them are filled with cultural meaning， especially the allusive ones. Since the ancient times， briefness has been highly appreciated in Chinese writing： to use the fewest words to express the most meanings. In the process of being passed down from one generation to another， many expressions have been shortened to only four characters， but they still can mean a lot. These expressions gradually form part of the quadrisyllabic phrases. Although in todays society， we use modern Chinese in most cases instead of ancient Chinese， briefness in language is still very important. The quadrisyllabic phrases are concise but affluent in cultural meaning. Besides， the Chinese tradition can be embodied very well by quadrisyllabic phrases.

To be specific， if we translate “neither fish nor flesh” into “既不像鱼也不像肉”， the Chinese readers may not understand what it really means. However， if we translate this phrase into “不伦不类”， although there are only four characters， the meaning is clearer. The following sentences will show the comparison of quadrisyllabic phrases with other translations.

（1） Reports of new success keep pouring in.

A：胜利的新消息不断地传来。

B：捷报频传。

Basically speaking， the sentence A is the same as B in meaning， but A is much longer and more tedious than B. Besides， the second Chinese sentence portrays a more vivid picture and has cultural meaning in it. In the history， “捷报频传” meant that a country had won many fights. Now its meaning has been widened.

（2） Bourgeois society seems everywhere to have used up its store of constructive ideas.

A：各地的中产阶级社会似乎都已经用光了他们储存的所有有建设性的主意。

B：各地的中产阶级社会似乎都已经江郎才尽，拿不出什么有建设性的主意。

Obviously， the difference between sentence A and B lies in the use of the quadrisyllabic phrasel “江郎才尽”. This is a phrase with cultural meaning. Long time ago， a boy became known as a genius when he was still very little. With a marvelous memory， he could recite many famous poems and essays. His father was so proud of him that he brought him to different places every day just to show off. As time went by， the boy grew up. Without proper education， this boy was not outstanding among his peers any longer.

（3） I am not talking about castles in the air， the donkeys carrot.

A：我說的并不是空中楼阁，驴子的胡萝卜。

B：我说的并不是空中楼阁 —— 叫大家望梅止渴。

The first translation is a literal translation， but it is nearly impossible for Chinese readers to understand what “驴子的胡萝卜” means. Compared with A， B is more explicit in meaning. “望梅止渴” also can remind the Chinese readers sympathetic response.

With the minimum words， the quadrisyllabic phrases can make the translated Chinese more concise and rich in meaning.

References：

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作者简介：蔡华（1985-），女，汉族，四川人，硕士学位，研究方向：翻译理论与实践。