Diction in Translation （译文选词）,Major Points,The meaning of diction in translation The reasons for using diction The methods of diction The application of diction to translation practice,The meaning of diction,1. Identify and determine the meaning of a ST word. (选义选择原文字词之义) 2. Find an appropriate word in the target language to express the determined meaning of the ST word.,Example 1,government of the people: 1 belongs to 2 人民的政府/属于人民的政府 book of illustrations: 1 contains 2 配有插图的书籍 man of wealth: 2 is a characteristic of 1 富有的男人 the wealth of the man: 2 possesses 1 男人的财富 man of judgment: 1 does 2, but 2 characterizes 1做出决断的男人 judgment of John: 2 does 1, or X (someone) does 1 to 2 （对）约翰的判断 cup of tea: 1 is a measure of 2, or 1 contains 2 一杯茶 ten of them: 1 is the constituency of 2 他们当中的十个 head of a pin: 1 is a part of 2 针头 (E. A. Nida, 1999:72-73),Example 2,“够意思！不过我的意思你还是收下，不要不好意思。” 第一个“意思”：慷慨/友善 generous / kind 第二个“意思”：坚持 insist 第三个“意思”：尴尬/难为情 embarrassed “Really kind you are! But I insist that you should accept it. Dont be embarrassed.” (宋天赐等，2002：373),The reasons for using diction,Polysemy Difference in collocation( i.e. language usage / mode of expression) Free/flexible/improvised use of words （i.e. use words impromptu）,1. Polysemy,light music: 轻音乐 light loss: not heavy 轻微的损失 light car: having little weight 轻便的汽车 light heart: relaxed 轻松的心情 light step: gentle 轻快的脚步 light manners: frivolous 轻浮的举止 light outfit: handy 轻巧的装备 light work: requiring little effort 轻松的工作 light voice: soft 轻柔的声音,good contract有效合同 good-sized相当大/大号的 good sense判断正确 good offices斡旋 good five years至少五年 hold good（继续）有效 good while长时间 good question！难（以回答的问）题 good-mother婆母；岳母 goodwife夫人，主妇,打,打铃 to ring a bell 打稻谷 to thresh rice 打败仗 to suffer a defeat 打老婆 to batter ones wife 打地基 to lay the foundation 打家具 to make furniture 打毛衣 to knit a sweater 打井 to dig a well 打借条 to write an IOU 打篮球 to play basketball,2. Difference in collocation( i.e. language usage / mode of expression),E. A. Nida: Languages do not differ essentially in what they can say, but in how they say it. (1993: 2) 大雨heavy rain 大风strong wind 红茶black tea 浓茶strong tea 黄金时间prime time 喝汤eat soup,3. Free/flexible/improvised use of words （i.e. use words impromptu）,People tend to extend word meaning in their utterances and writings. They are not restricted by the dictionary meaning of words. 香港译界: 词无定译 （译无定法） Humpty Dumpty (a character in Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll): When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less.,-There is more to their life than political and social and economic problems; more than transient everydayness. 他们的生活远不止那些政治的、社会的和经济的问题，远不止一时的基本的柴米油盐问题。 -树梢上隐隐约约的是一带远山, 只是有些大意罢了。 Over the trees appear some distant mountains, but merely in sketchy silhouette.,Words dont have meaning. Words dont have meaning. People give meaning to them. As William Shakespeare wrote in his Romeo and Juliet, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Both in the English language and the Chinese language, a word may have many different meanings and parts of speech. For instance, according to A New English- Chinese Dictionary, the word go has more than 149 meanings and more than 50 collocations as well as 6 parts of speech.,such as: A.去,走， B. 归，属 C.诉讼 D.运转 E.通,到 F.消失 G.断开 H.花费 I.试一下 J.围棋 K. This is a mere apology for soup.(这实在不成其为汤/这只是汤的粗劣的代用品。) L. She had a wet nurse for the infant Mary.(她雇了一名奶妈为玛丽喂奶。),The methods of diction,How to Determine the Meanings of a Word. 2.1. To determine the meaning of a word in accordance with its part of speech in the original text. e.g. AHe likes mathematics more than English. 他喜欢数学甚于喜欢英文。（V.） B. Like father, like son. 有其父必有其子。（Prep.） C. Like knows like. (N.) D. He was deserted by his girl. E. She presented me with a pen.,2.2 To determine the meaning of a word according to the context of situation and its collocation in the sentence A. He is the last person to be blamed. 怎么也不该责备他。 B. Miniskirts are the last things shed wear. 她最不愿穿的是迷你裙。 C. This is the last place where I expected to meet you. 我怎么也没有料到会在这个地方见到你。,D. He was in the States last year. 他去年在美国。 E. She took off her boots and dove into the river. 她脱掉靴子，然后跳进河中。 F. The flight took off on schedule. 航班准时起飞。 G. There was a take-off in Chinas economy in the 21st century.,2.3. To determine the meaning of a word according to the original logic relation. A. The police arrested the thief. B. The thief arrested the police.,3.Extension of Meaning of a Word (词义的引申) While translating, at times, we just cannot find the right and appropriate meanings for words in a dictionary. Then we are obliged to extend the meanings of the words according to the words fundamental and basic meanings. Awkwardness and mistranslation may well occur provided that we are rigidly and inflexibly confined to the explanation and meanings of the words in a dictionary. A: Will I pass the examination? B: You can count on it.,3.1. Ways of Extendin