On Lexical Problem Caused by Thinking Set in Translation

【Abstract】Thinking set is a stable thinking route， mode and program， formed according to ones accunulated thinking activities and existing laws. In translation process， thinking set will exert negative influence on bilingual transmission， especially on lexical level. In this essay， some typical examples caused by thinking set on lexical level will be picked and analyzed. Through the analysis， the root of thinking set will be discovered and some tips in both translation practice and habit formation will be provided.

【Key Words】Thinking Set；Lexical Problems；Strategies

【作者簡介】陈思孜（1988.11.12-）， 女，汉族，重庆人，硕士研究生，助教，研究方向 ： 外国语言文学。重庆商务职业学院。

Thinking set is a stable thinking route， mode and program， formed according to ones accumulated thinking activities and existing thinking laws. It is the restriction， preparation and tendentiousness of the thinking mode to the future development of psychological activities. It has many forms， including thinking pattern， thinking framework， knowledge background and precedent concept. It is also a prepared state that can lead the new knowledge into the old thinking path. Under such a circumstance， when the relevent stimulus appears， the object will put the cognitive activities towards the stimulus into the old thinking pattern. This is the same as the top-down procession in modern psychology that the translator， with the natural expectation and knowledge frame， uses the already-formed knowledge structure to understand the linguistic signal or relevent stimulus. In translation practice， the translator always are affected by the former experience， fix their eyes on the most common lexical meaning in similar precedents and put the meaning in precedents into the new situation without any further consideration. In such a case， thinking set will lead inaccurate translation.Example 1： The Translation of “measure” in the picked sentence. Original Sentence： The World wide Governance Indicator （WGI） of World Bank during the period of 1996 to 2009 is used in this paper as the measures of the governance quality.Wrong Translated Version： 在这篇文章中，世界银行在1996年到2009年所提出的全球治理指标将作为管理质量的主要措施和手段。Analysis： This sentence is about the economic data. In such a case， a frequently used verbal phrase will appear in translators brains： take measures in and the meaning of “ measure ” is fixed on “a plan or course of action taken to achieve a particular purpose（手段，措施，策略，步骤，方法，办法）”. But in fact， from further observing， the World Governance Indicator is a set of number， not an action or a plan. In this way， the translation of “measure” is not correct. Through checking the dictionary， a more appropriate translation would be found： an indication or means os assessing the degree， extent， or quality of something.Right Translated Version：在这篇文章中，世界银行在1996年到2009年所提出的全球治理指标将作为管理质量的主要衡量标准。Example 2： The translation of “critical” in the picked sentence. Original Sentence： Political conflict arises in Thailand when Thaksin Shinawatra， the Prime Minister of Thailand in 2001， started implementing a range of populist econimic policies and cracking down on groups critical of his government， including several media outlets and organization that are part of Thailands vibrant civil society.Wrong Translated Version： 他信在2001年当选泰国总理。 在此之后他推行了一系列亲民经济政策并镇压了一些对他所领导的政府非常重要的团体，其中不乏那些属于泰国活跃民主社会重要组成部分的社会媒体和社会机构。这导致泰国政治冲突加剧。Analysis： Translators are deeply influenced by a verbal phrase “ play a very critical role in” and the meaning “having a decisive or crucial importance in the success or failure of something（决定性的，重大的）”. From further analyzing， the logic of the wrong translation is very controvarsial. If the groups， such as media outlets and organizations are very important to the Thai government， the Prime Minister should support them instead of cracking them down.Right Translated Version： 他信在2001年当选泰国总理。 在此之后他推行了一系列亲民经济政策并镇压了一些对他所领导的政府表示不满的团体，其中不乏那些属于泰国活跃民主社会重要组成部分的社会媒体和社会机构。这导致泰国政治冲突加剧。

To avoid the passive influence of thinking set on words choosing， the translator should keep awake， not being submerged by the already-known meaning， guess the meaning according to the sentence content and then check the dictionary or other reference to guarantee its accuracy.Translator should not only attach great importance on how to deal with the negative influence of thinking set in translation practice， but also on how to cultivate some good bilingal habits to avoid the thinking set-related problems， such as gaining deeper understanding about thingking and cultural differneces， practising more translation and learning native lanuage.