On Form and Meaning: from the Perspective of Translation

【Abstract】As theory is a necessary part guiding the practice of translation， it needs to be explained and studied prior to the real translation practice. Various translation theories are advocated by different scholars， which opens a new gate to dig out more practical theories that can be used well in translation. This paper aims to focus on a typical theorys guiding to translation： Theory of Linguistic Adaptation. The paper alsofocuses on the form and meaning of both Chinese and English， with a view to analyzing what differences between such two languages and how to translate well guided by the theory， which has been， and is hot issue in the translation field today.By analyzing Theory of Linguistic Adaptation in form and meaning， the paper clarifies how this theory can be used in more translation including differences between the two languages is a great approach to practice translation better.

【Key words】 Form and Meaning; Translation; Theory of Linguistic Adaptation

【作者簡介】刘奕廷，华东理工大学。

1. Chapter 1 Theory of Linguistic Adaptation

Theory of Linguistic Adaptation was put forward by Verschueren （1999） in his book Understanding Pragmatics. As translators need to take various factors into account， such as society， culture， they must pay attention to the comprehensive research about different languages. In this sense， translators have many choices when they do translation， from “what to translate” to “how to translate”， they need to dynamically adapt themselves to the linguistic structure and put themselves into one particular context so as to make sure that there is an equality of style and structure between the source language and target language.

2. Chapter 2 Analysis of Theory of Linguistic Adaptation

（1） On form

1） “Oh， she is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld.”

Translated as this “噢，她是最漂亮的女子，在我所见的女子当中。” The translation version is“噢，她是最美丽的姑娘，比我见过的姑娘都要美。”From the two versions， it is obvious that form is the priority during the whole translation process. That means the adaptation to structure needs to be considered when translation continues， making target readers clearly understand what the source language talks about.

2） “Some people wear trendy clothes to attract attention. Others drive flashy cars. A glass of Cutty Sark will not turn any heads. But if you insist on creating a stir， you can always ask the bartender for one of them.”

This is the advertisement of a kind of Scottish whisky. The adaptation of form is also necessary from this sentence ， for the translation should obey the original style and bring target readers， like Chinese，a mood of tasting such kind of whisky.

It is translated into this “有些人穿着时髦引人注目，有些人驾着漂亮新车惹人羡慕。卡特思绝不上头，不会让你飘飘然。但君想尽显风流，还是卡特思酒。”

The translated version obeys the original structure of English， which adapts the form and style of the advertisement， adding a sense of attraction to readers with some words translated into accepted Chinese lines.So， readers feel they can enjoy such kind of wine easily and even understand connotation behind the wine advertisement.

（2） On meaning. Then， the adaptation to meaning is the key part when we translate， which， sometimes， is more significant than the adaptation to form discussed above.

（3）“一肚皮的酒，几乎化成酸醋”. The translation of “酸醋” needs to adapt to how readers understand the word， which is based on the context of the whole passage. Tthe phrase means “be jealous or be a green-eyed monster”. Accordingly， the phrase should be translated as “jealousy” instead of the direct form “sour vinegar”———western readers will be confused of what the kind of vinegar means. “一肚皮的酒”should not be translated directly as “stomach full of wine”， which is just the literal meaning， not adaptable to the meaning behind it.

The complete translation of the sentence is “The considerable amount of wine Hsin-mei had consumed earlier was burning inside and made him sick with jealousy”.

3. Chapter 3 How to Guide Translation

When doing translation， translators actively choose to express the adaptation of different languages. Translators need to adapt the context and structure of the source language and adapt the same things of the target language. Both aspects make a successful translation———That is why Theory of Linguistic Adaptation should be considered in translation. Therefore，In real translation practices，knowing differences between Chinese culture and Western culture including formal and informal situations can help further research.

References：

[1]莫愛屏.语用与翻译[M].高等教育出版社，2010.