再论科技术语汉译方法的变迁

Survey of Terminology Translation in China

在不同历史时期，中国科技术语汉译特点分明。西汉至宋元时期，有零星的术语翻译现象。明清时期，西方科技著作被大量译介到中国，利玛窦、徐光启、傅兰雅、徐寿、严复等中外学者创造性地研究利用汉字或汉字系统，奠定了科技术语汉译的基本方法；与此同时，大量日本人用汉字翻译的西方术语也进入中国。20世纪80年代以后，中国科技术语的汉译方法形成了五种常用方法：意译、音译、形译、意音兼顾和创新译法。

Translation of Chinese terminology is distinguished in different historical periods. From the Western Han Dynasty to the Song and Yuan Dynasties, terminology translation is sporadic. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a large number of western books were translated into Chinese, and the basic methods of terminology translation were created by Matteo Ricci, Xu Guangqi, Fryer, Xu Shou, Yan Fu, etc. During the same period, a large number of Chinese-translated western terminology were brought into China by Jap- anese translators. Since 1980s, there have been formed five commonly used methods of terminology translation, that is, semantic translation, transliteration, pictographic translation, combination of transliteration and semantic translation, and coinage of new characters.