透过翻译的语言接触研究:翻译文本的“显化”特征对原生文本的历时影响

Language contact through translation: The effect of explicitness in E-C translation on original Chinese texts

语料库语言学与描写翻译研究的结合,翻译文本与原生文本比较语料库实证研究的兴起,使透过翻译的书面语言接触的考察成为可能。本文通过平行语料库和类比语料库的历时复合考察,分析翻译文本中表示对等关系的连接词显化现象对于汉语原生文本可能产生的影响,并结合隐化现象进行分析。研究发现:1)总体看来,汉语翻译文本与原生文本在对等关系连接词的使用频次上呈现较为一致的变化,衔接上使用较少的连接词,但在某些历史时期,二者呈现偏离;2)不同时期汉语翻译文本与原生文本在对等关系连接词的使用上具有相关性,翻译文本中的显化特征会迁移至原生文本中;3)从长期来看,翻译中与源语对应成分逐渐增高,英语语言的透过性影响逐渐增强,语际的显化和隐化逐渐下降,表明对等关系连接词由"意译"向"直译"转变;此外,语际显化和隐化在不同历史时期呈现出不同的变化比率,具有社会历史属性。研究认为,透过翻译的语言接触在一定历史时期会引起目标语语言显化程度发生变化,并探讨造成这种现象发生的可能因素。

The combination of corpus linguistics and descriptive translation studies gave rise to the empirical research between translated texts and original texts,which makes it possible to examine translation as a site of language contact through written texts.Adopting both diachronic and composite corpora approach,this paper purports to examine whether the explicitness in translations might have effect on target texts with reference to implicitation.It is found that:1)On the whole,translated Chinese texts have changed concomitantly with original Chinese texts in the frequencies of coordinating conjunctions,i.e.fewer connective words have been employed over time;however,in some particular period,the conjunctions employed in the two types of texts became divergent;2)The frequencies of coordinating conjunctions in translated Chinese texts and original Chinese texts over the three periods were interrelated,and the explicitness in translated Chinese texts may transfer into the original Chinese texts;3)Overall the occurrences of the equivalents to the original English in translated Chinese texts have increased,which shows that source language interference in translated Chinese texts has ascended over the three sampling periods;the decrease of explicitation and implicitationin translations suggests that literal translation has been preferred to free translation.Additionally,it can be inferred that both explicitation and implicitation bear historical and social attributes due to the diachronic change of their ratios.It is thus argued that language contact through translation may cause the change of explicitness in original Chinese texts and the possible factors behind are accordingly investigated.