以符号学的意义理论阐释不可译性及形式对等

A Semiotic Approach to the Study of Untranslatability and Formal Equivalence

符号由符号载体、符号的所指和符号解释者组成,这三者的关系构成了符号学的三个意义:形式意义、存在意义和实用意义。这三种意义分别对应着语言的言内意义、指称意义和语用意义。通过比较同一符号在原文和译文中的意义,可以用符号学的意义理论来阐释不可译性的可能性以及导致不可译性的原因。由此可知翻译中形式对等只能是一个相对的概念,而功能对等就是翻译中的最高标准。

Signs are composed of a sign vehicle, a represent of the sign and an interpreter. The relationship among them consists of three kinds of meanings in semiotics ： formal meaning, existential meaning and practical meaning. These three meanings correspond to the three meanings in linguistics： linguistic meaning, referential meaning and pragmatic meaning. The possibility and reasons of untranslatability can be explained by the meaning theory of semiotics through comparing the meanings of the same sign in source text and target text. As a result, formal equivalence in translation is only a relative concept and functional equivalence is the highest standard in translation.