本文是一篇英语论文,在整个翻译实践中,译者在运用恰当的方法处理词汇层面和句法层面的困难方面获得了一些真正的经验。作为一本人们可以随时查阅的实用英语语法书,原文并不全是关于语法的,但它的目的是以精确的语法作为某种框架,激发英语学习者之间更好的交流,从而找到自己的交际风格,换句话说,因此,保持其原有的语言风格对这本语法书的翻译尤为重要。
Chapter OneINTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Translation Report
To begin with, there is evidence that the source text definitely plays a crucial rolein writing a translation report. After several weeks of searching both online andoffline, the translator selected Perfect English Grammar: The Indispensable Guide toExcellent Writing and Speaking as the source text, and the selection is based on thetranslator’s own interest as well as the urgent demand for the study of Englishgrammar.
Then, grammar always comes under the spotlight when it comes to English study.As one of the three core elements of language learning, grammar blends isolated wordstogether to create complete information, and its importance is self-evident.Traditionally, people have been subscribing to the belief that a good grasp of Englishgrammar has a pivotal role in making English writing clearer and acquiring morefluent and logically-sounded speaking. However, nowadays, people are inclined tostudy English grammar in a more practical way, not just try hard to dully recite manyboring grammar rules.
Lastly, there are relatively few Chinese versions of English grammar books.Therefore, Chinese learners of English lack the chance to experience the process ofnatural language acquisition. In consequence, it is quite conducive to translating thisbook so that English learners in China would have more access to grammar study.
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1.2 Significance of the Translation Report
Firstly, the essence of any kind of language lies in its cultural elements, andEnglish is no exception. It is the different ways of thinking that contribute to differentlanguage rules. Therefore, grammar learning is supposed to be combined with theoverall culture, and this shows the very relation between the grammar and the way ofthinking. Moreover, it is necessary to point out that the traditional way of grammarlearning does have some problems. It pays too much attention to the mastery ofgrammar rules and ignores enough practice. Therefore, the grammar mastered is toorigid to be used correctly in everyday conversation, and that is contrary to the originalintention of grammar learning.
Secondly, the book is down-to-earth and easy to understand. It teaches peoplethe logic behind grammar rules and adds some humor and pop culture elements thatmake the resource book entertaining. This book finds a new way to master thegrammar. Through the translation of such text, it is of practical significance for thetarget readers to grasp the grammar structures and really put them into use with theexamples the author provided throughout the book.
Finally, in summary, the process of translation can be seen as a path for self-improvement. During the process, the translator has clarified and delved into eachcomponent that broke down in the sentences. Many translation difficulties have alsobeen encountered in the process, such as the grammatical terms, pro-forms,attributive clauses and parentheses. Therefore, many relevant materials have beenread in order to deal with these difficulties. All in all, through translating suchgrammar-related text, the translator will be able to strengthen the ability to translate.Beyond that, the translator will also get a better understanding of various kinds oftranslation methods as more profound perception of translation is acquired.
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Chapter TwoANALYSIS OF THE SOURCE TEXT
2.1 Introduction to the Author
Perfect English Grammar: The Indispensable Guide to Excellent Writing andSpeaking was written by Grant Barrett, who is an American lexicographer anddictionary editor. The author specializes in slang and new words, and contributes todozens of monolingual and bilingual dictionaries in the English-speaking world. He isalso a co-host of the English-related public radio show called A Way with Words,broadcasting each week to listeners around the world.When the author was still in college, his composition was frequently marked downby the teachers of writing, and the proof-reader of the newspaper office where theauthor did part-time job usually helped him reduce redundancy which he couldn't comeup with by himself. Then he felt the demand to pay more attention to his own languageand set out to fix his language. Grant has been working on exploring the grammar rulesand usages in English language for quite a while. Knowing the importance of Englishgrammar and noticing some confusion in use, he considers himself seasoned enough toshare some grammar knowledge in a more practical sense. He believes in the principleof turning complexity into simplicity, and cutting the principles and theories ofgrammar into details. Moreover, he holds the hope that anyone can express theiropinions precisely with the help of this book.
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2.2 Analysis of the Source Text
Perfect English Grammar: The Indispensable Guide to Excellent Writing andSpeaking, published in March 29th, 2016, is actually a book convenient to carry, andpeople who learn the English language all over the world can use it as a tool at any time.This book has its own uniqueness compared to other grammar books. The contentsshould not be identified as stiff grammar rules but some valuable grammar guidelinesthat are supposed to really give English learners some kind of direction. As aconsequence, a good translator is always supposed to take an in-depth look into themain contents, text type and linguistic features ahead of the translation.
2.2.1 Main Contents and Text Type
To begin with, the main contents of the source text is in relation to Englishgrammar, which has drawn much attention over quite a long time. This book is ashort but remarkably thorough guide to English usage with the principles andpractices of composition. This book also gives a large number of enlighteninginstructions that people need to improve their comprehensive ability for language useand it incorporates a fairly all-sided source about the English language, andmeanwhile, it focuses on solving the problems often encountered by learners in thecourse of using English as well as helps English users clarify some of thegrammatical points that are easily mixed up. This grammar book is virtually notunfathomable and it provides the language learners from novices to advancedstudents with quick and authoritative information, which covers the scope from thebasic English thinking to advanced language style. The translator selected Chapter 5to Chapter 8 of the source text to translate, these chapters give basic concepts andgrammatical constructions, which mainly include sentence structures, verbs, nounsand determiners. Following the explanation of each grammar point, precise examplesare presented to help the learners have a better understanding.
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Chapter Three TRANSLATION DIFFICULTIES...................................8
3.1 Translation Difficulties at Lexical Level.........................................8
3.1.1 Translation of Grammatical Terms.....................................8
3.1.2 Translation of Pro-forms.........................8
Chapter Four TRANSLATION METHODS........................................ 12
4.1 Translation Methods at Lexical Level.................................... 12
4.1.1 Selection of Word Meanings.................................... 12
4.1.2 Explanation....................................15
Chapter Five Summary.......................................26
5.1 Translation Experience........................................................ 26
5.2 Limitations and Suggestions...............................................27
Chapter FourTRANSLATION METHODS
4.1 Translation Methods at Lexical Level
In order to make the translation of the lexical items more whizzy, pertinenttranslation methods were selected. Specifically speaking, the source text PerfectEnglish Grammar: The Indispensable Guide to Excellent Writing and Speaking iscentered on common grammatical points, which involve a large number of grammaticalterms. For the sake of non-ambiguity and readability, the method of selection of wordmeanings was adopted to translate these terms. Moreover, the general pro-forms in thesource text would be unreadable to the readers due to their ubiquitous existence.Accordingly, attempting to create a qualified translation that conforms to the Chineseusage, the translator selected explanation as the method to ensure the smoothness of thesource text.
4.1.1 Selection of Word Meanings
In this translation practice, the translator translated many grammatical terms,which bring about challenges. Aiming at the grammatical terms, the translator appliedthe method of selection of word meanings for the sake of reflecting the original style.Selecting word meanings is subject to the context, and it directly affects what kind ofcontext the language wants to reflect, meanwhile, the context determines the specificmeaning of various words (Ge, 2001, p. 28).
The in-depth logic within the grammar should be considered when it comes to thetranslation of grammatical terms. These terms have distinctly different definitions inChinese, and thus needing to be understood in combination with the context and thescience that they belong to. The purpose of selecting the word meanings is to make thetranslation faithful, natural and precise in expressing the meaning of the source text.
英语论文
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Chapter FiveSummary
5.1 Translation Experience
During the whole translation practice, the translator got some truly rewardingexperience in applying pertinent methods to deal with difficulties at both lexical leveland syntactic level. As a practical English grammar book that people can turn to at anytime, the source text is not all about grammar but it aims to inspire bettercommunication among English learners with precise grammar as some kind offramework so as to find their own communication style or in other words, to have theirown perception of what they want to express exactly and what is the best way to do it.Consequently, maintaining its original language style is extraordinarily important to thetranslation of this grammar book.
After fully parsing out the source text, the translator got some helpful informationabout the translated text. And the whole process of analysis also helps to well organizethese different translation difficulties, which are the translation of the grammaticalterms and pro-forms at lexical level as well as the translation of attributive clauses andparentheses at syntactic level. Through the medium of many relevant literature, thecorresponding translation methods have been proven to be reliable to ensure a qualifiedand natural translation. The experience will be put forward in the following parts.
Firstly, the method of selection of word meanings was adopted to translate thegrammatical terms. These terms have been given non-standard definition by differentgrammarians, and that has brought about disorder in their usage. Consequently, toachieve appropriate translation, the logical thoughts behind the grammar should betaken into account on the basis of referring them to the dictionary.
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