In the science fiction novel titled The Planet of the Apes （1963）, Pierre Boulle tells a story about a completely reversed world where the apes dominate the humans. Coming from the normal world that is ours, a small...In the science fiction novel titled The Planet of the Apes （1963）, Pierre Boulle tells a story about a completely reversed world where the apes dominate the humans. Coming from the normal world that is ours, a small group of people is totally embarrassed and confused by observing this strange world. On the planet of the apes that they have discovered, it is the apes that are more intelligent than the humans. On the earth, it was the other way around. That observation results in their perplexity. The two communities, human and simian, bear with one another the relationship that corresponds to what Lotman calls ＂enantiomorphic pairings＂. In this context, a series of questions deserves to be raised： Is a ＂common language＂ possible between the two communities in the enantiomorphic pairings？ If the answer is yes, under what conditions could they succeed in opening up a space where they can have something in common？ In rereading The Planet of the Apes with reference to Lotman＇s semiotics of culture, we would like to formulate a response to those questions. Our claim is that the experience of finitude of one＇s own language can make possible an access to the new form of universality requisite for the cross-cultural communication： commonality without common points.展开更多
Word meanings change with time. This paper analyzes the meanings of three language units from Jane Austen＇s Pride and Prejudice and their Chinese renderings by seven translators. These three units are recollect, hand...Word meanings change with time. This paper analyzes the meanings of three language units from Jane Austen＇s Pride and Prejudice and their Chinese renderings by seven translators. These three units are recollect, handsome, and come upon the town. By studying the linguistic, situational, or cultural contexts of each language unit, the analysis shows that of the renderings of these three language units, the accuracy rate is three out of seven, one out of seven, and two out of seven respectively. The paper points out that one of the most important causes of the low accuracy rates is that these language units denote old-fashioned meanings. Another cause of the low accuracy rates is that some of the translators are not careful enough in their identification of the meanings of these language units. The paper suggests that in the translation of a classic novel like Pride and Prejudice, translators need to analyze carefully the linguistic, situational, or cultural contexts of a tricky language unit in the novel for very likely it denotes an old-fashioned meaning. Translators could also consult and compare what a tricky language unit means in other places of the novel, use an encyclopedic dictionary instead of a dictionary of contemporary English, and study the notes on tricky words in the novel made by established scholars.展开更多
Translation, or interpretive and language code conversion of the text, is considered as an independent complex type of speech activity which consists of such stages as perception, understanding and interpretation of t...Translation, or interpretive and language code conversion of the text, is considered as an independent complex type of speech activity which consists of such stages as perception, understanding and interpretation of the foreign-language text and actual translation, that is selection of language means for the expression of the interpretive version of the original. Considerable attention is paid nowadays to the translations of works of such literary genre as literary fairy tale. Fairy tale is a type of prosaic folklore, which is met in the folklore of various peoples. Not only have literary fairy tales grown on the basis of folklore, but they also inherited its genre characteristics, developing and transforming them. Translation as an interpretive conversion of the text is considered within the concept ＂secondary text＂. The conspicuous feature of secondary texts is the double reference of the word： to its own culture referent and to a foreign culture referent. The secondary text cannot be completely understood and appreciated without its reference to ＂the second plane＂. Subjected to analysis are the problems of preserving original pragrnatics in secondary texts. The challenge of national fairy tales translation lies in the discrepancy of cultural concepts of the two nations and in considerable distinctions between the characters of Russian and British national fairy tales. The traditions of Russian national culture and the consistency of grammatical gender expression in the Russian language lead to gender shifts in the translation of English literary fairy tales.展开更多
文摘In the science fiction novel titled The Planet of the Apes （1963）, Pierre Boulle tells a story about a completely reversed world where the apes dominate the humans. Coming from the normal world that is ours, a small group of people is totally embarrassed and confused by observing this strange world. On the planet of the apes that they have discovered, it is the apes that are more intelligent than the humans. On the earth, it was the other way around. That observation results in their perplexity. The two communities, human and simian, bear with one another the relationship that corresponds to what Lotman calls ＂enantiomorphic pairings＂. In this context, a series of questions deserves to be raised： Is a ＂common language＂ possible between the two communities in the enantiomorphic pairings？ If the answer is yes, under what conditions could they succeed in opening up a space where they can have something in common？ In rereading The Planet of the Apes with reference to Lotman＇s semiotics of culture, we would like to formulate a response to those questions. Our claim is that the experience of finitude of one＇s own language can make possible an access to the new form of universality requisite for the cross-cultural communication： commonality without common points.
文摘Word meanings change with time. This paper analyzes the meanings of three language units from Jane Austen＇s Pride and Prejudice and their Chinese renderings by seven translators. These three units are recollect, handsome, and come upon the town. By studying the linguistic, situational, or cultural contexts of each language unit, the analysis shows that of the renderings of these three language units, the accuracy rate is three out of seven, one out of seven, and two out of seven respectively. The paper points out that one of the most important causes of the low accuracy rates is that these language units denote old-fashioned meanings. Another cause of the low accuracy rates is that some of the translators are not careful enough in their identification of the meanings of these language units. The paper suggests that in the translation of a classic novel like Pride and Prejudice, translators need to analyze carefully the linguistic, situational, or cultural contexts of a tricky language unit in the novel for very likely it denotes an old-fashioned meaning. Translators could also consult and compare what a tricky language unit means in other places of the novel, use an encyclopedic dictionary instead of a dictionary of contemporary English, and study the notes on tricky words in the novel made by established scholars.
文摘Translation, or interpretive and language code conversion of the text, is considered as an independent complex type of speech activity which consists of such stages as perception, understanding and interpretation of the foreign-language text and actual translation, that is selection of language means for the expression of the interpretive version of the original. Considerable attention is paid nowadays to the translations of works of such literary genre as literary fairy tale. Fairy tale is a type of prosaic folklore, which is met in the folklore of various peoples. Not only have literary fairy tales grown on the basis of folklore, but they also inherited its genre characteristics, developing and transforming them. Translation as an interpretive conversion of the text is considered within the concept ＂secondary text＂. The conspicuous feature of secondary texts is the double reference of the word： to its own culture referent and to a foreign culture referent. The secondary text cannot be completely understood and appreciated without its reference to ＂the second plane＂. Subjected to analysis are the problems of preserving original pragrnatics in secondary texts. The challenge of national fairy tales translation lies in the discrepancy of cultural concepts of the two nations and in considerable distinctions between the characters of Russian and British national fairy tales. The traditions of Russian national culture and the consistency of grammatical gender expression in the Russian language lead to gender shifts in the translation of English literary fairy tales.
