On Static and Dynamic Lexical Transformation in Translation of Chinese and English

【Abstract】Recently contrastive studies in translation are seen being popular and practical. To study differences between languages is conducive for translators to get a clear comprehension on structures of source language and target language in order to produce idiomatic products. The paper mainly applies the method of contrastive analysis and focuses on the lexical features of static tendency in English and dynamic tendency in Chinese and explains the necessity of transformation as well as some approaches in translation activity between Chinese and English. The aim is that translators could create translations which are loyal to the thought and the style of original texts in target language as far as possible.

【Key words】static tendency； dynamic tendency； Chinese； English； transformation

【作者簡介】刘玥缃，陕西师范大学。

1. Introduction

In the process of translation between Chinese and English， it is necessary to analyze the features of both of them. Thanks to belonging to the two diverse language types， Chinese and English manifest the dynamic tendency and the static tendency respectively. English is typical inflectional language. However， the variable feature just makes it lose the advantage of feasibility， while noun with fewer variants are applied more frequently than that of verb. Therefore， English shows the static tendency. On the other hand， Chinese is a kind of non-inflectional language. Another account is that there is a lack of preposition and no participle completely in Chinese. So it is natural to become these two contrastive performances. As to translation between these two languages， the static and dynamic lexical transformation takes great emphasis.

2. The contrastive analysis of English static tendency and Chinese dynamic tendency

English and Chinese are different languages. The former is a member of Indo-European linguistic family， while the latter is a branch of Sino Tibetan languages. Therefore， its indispensable to notice the transformation between the two opposite tendencies. The following part， thus， mainly analyzes English static tendency and Chinese dynamic tendency respectively.

2.1 The static tendency in English

As a syntactic language， English carries an explicit character that there exists an abundance of affixes through which verbs and adjectives are easily transformed into nouns. Eric Partridge， a British linguist， thinks that it is an extremely common case of nominalization in English and it is also a quite effective way of word formation （Shao， 2005： 24）. One of the nominalization phenomena is that nouns derived from verbs through adding suffixes like -or represent agentive nouns. For example， “The computer is a far more careful and industrious inspector than human being”， “inspector”in which shows that the noun replaces the related verb to form a static structure. Besides， another common phenomenon of nominalization is that English tends to use abstract nouns which are derived from verbs or adjectives.

Preposition can not live without noun. The advantage of noun in English consequently makes preposition prosperous. The number of it is finite but its function is powerful. Prepositional phrases are commonly used in some particular structures in which they carry the meaning of verb.

There are three main types of structures relating to preposition with the feature of verb. The first one is prepositional phrase grammatically applied as predictive. Besides， compound prepositional structure is characterized the dynamic feature， which points to the formation of “preposition +noun +preposition”.Finally， the structure “with +compound object”is very popular in English. This one displays great flexibility. It is fairly suitable for the expression in English.

2.2 The dynamic tendency in Chinese

As mentioned above， due to the benefit of non-changeable streak of verb， it can be put into use many times in a sentence， and the successive using of verbs will not cause chaos and jumbles. Conversely the order of actions makes readers logical and clear. For example， “華大妈在枕头底掏了半天，掏出一包洋钱，交给老栓，老栓接了，抖抖的装入衣袋，又在外面按了两下，便点上灯笼，吹熄灯盏，走向屋里去了”. In this sentence “掏”、“交”、“接”、“装入”、“按”、“点”、“吹”、“走” appear together， which cannot be realized in English. In addition， Chinese has a typical feature that it is good at using repetition of verbs such as “走走停停”， “说说笑笑”， etc. The special character can seldom be found in English. The linguistic phenomena are enough to prove the dynamic superiority of Chinese.

In Chinese， there is another phenomenon similar to the successive using of verbs that several verbs can appear together in a sentence， called pivotal phenomenon. The pivotal structure is defined that predict of sentence is constructed by the combination of verb-object structure and subject-predict structure， and that the object in the former and the subject in the latter are realized by the same word or phrase. The typical verb supporting the structure is causative verb like “使”， “让”， “命令”， “请”， etc. The special phenomenon in Chinese reminds translators to pay attention to the necessity of transformation in translating practice.

3. Dynamic and static lexical transformation in translation between Chinese and English

The two different tendencies of Chinese and English require us to make proper transformation between them. On the one hand， it is necessary to pay attention to transformation from dynamic tendency to static tendency in Chinese-English translation works. On the other hand， it is unavoidable to think about the shift from static tendency to dynamic tendency in English-Chinese translation.

3.1 In C-E translation： transformation to the static

Just as having been discussed above， abstract nouns are commonly used to exhibit the static state in English so its better to choose proper abstract nouns which are derived from verbs or with the meaning of action in place of Chinese verbs. For example， The sentence “坚持一个中国的原则，是实现和平统一的基础和前提” translated into “Adherence to the One-China Principle is the basis and prerequisite for peaceful reunification of our motherland” （Tan and Cai， 2011：118） will receive a natural effect because that the verb “坚持” is appropriately transformed as the abstract noun “adherence” is not only suitable for the static tendency of English but also provided with a sense of seriousness.

As to dealing with the successive using of verbs， it is a good method to change them into agentive nouns in English. For instance， as to “那时又编刊物又写作，与外界的联系多，打进打出的电话也就多”，the translation “Being an editor and writer during those days， I had lots of communication with the outside world and had to make and answer lots of calls” is better than that “Because I had to edit magazine and write articles during those days， I had lots of communication with the outside world and had to make and answer lots of calls.” Compared with the latter， the former is more idiomatic and simplify the sentence structure to some degree.

3.2 In E-C translation： transformation to the dynamic

First of all， it comes to the transformation of abstract nouns. The character of Chinese expression is throughout dynamic while English is good at applying abstract nouns. Thus it will receive a good effect by changing abstract nouns to verbs accordingly. For instance， there are two contrast translations， one without transformation， another going through the transformation. As for the content “Marriage is a high-risk proposition. A man or a woman may appear to be good mate materially， but the only proof of pudding is in the eating. And once you have taken a bite， its too late to change your mind ”， one translation is “婚姻是一件高度危險的事情，一个男人或女人看上去也许十分般配，但是，布丁的唯一证明就在于吃的过程，而一旦你咬上一口，要想改变主意就晚了”， and the other is “婚姻这种事具有很高的风险性，男人或女人看上去也许十分般配，然而布丁香不香，要靠嘴来尝，而一旦你咬上一口，要想改变主意就来不及了”. Apparently， the latter is a notch above the former because it is more commensurate with the style of Chinese dynamic tendency through transforming abstract nouns into verbs.

In allusion to the translation of agentive nouns which is the unique linguistic phenomenon in English， there is no corresponding expression in Chinese so people have to turn their attention on the verb again. Agentive nouns can not only denote the actor but also the action itself. Thus translators should decide how to express it according to concrete situations. For example， the sentence “He is a big eater and a good sleeper” is translated into “他是一个大食客，一个好睡觉的人”. It sounds pedantic and is really inflexible. Generally speaking， Chinese tend to accept the expression like “他能吃能睡” or “他好吃好睡”， permeating the dynamic implication.

4. Conclusion

Language reflects the material world and furthermore the movement in it. There are two kinds of movement---one is in the relatively static state and the other in the apparently dynamic state. Therefore， nouns and verbs are mainly employed to describe these two phenomena. Yet the structure of each language and the nations cognitive feature result in the idiosyncrasies of native language to some degree. Static-featured English and dynamic-featured Chinese actually account for the different thinking models---Western abstract thinking and Chinese imaginal thinking （He and Li， 2015： 166）. It reminds translators and learners that they need not only study the text on surface but also convert the way of thinking when interacting with translation. All in all， caring for differences and making contrastive analysis between languages is conducive to improve a translators ability in translation and beneficial for the further development of the study of translation.

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