◇ Title of Lesson: Contrast between English and Chinese (1)            Week    2 

◇ Time Needed ： Two periods （ 40 minutes per period ）

◇ Teaching Objectives ：

1．  Introduce to the students some basic differences between English and Chinese.

2．  Briefly analyze the influence of these differences on translating.

◇ Key Teaching Points ：

The difference of language embodies the difference in thinking styles.

◇ Difficult Teaching Points:

The embodiment of different syntactic features in translating process

◇ Teaching Contents:

I.          Thinking Style and Diction

A.        Insubstantial （虚） vs. Substantial （实）

1.         Embodiment

e.g. In this new year, we face momentous uncertainties: war (or wars), a weak economy.

译：这新的一年里，我们面临着战争（乃至连续的战争）、经济低迷等一系列重大的不确定因素。

2.         Visualization

e.g. utterly quiet 鸦雀无声

e.g. In 1966 the North Korean team made it to the quarter finals.

译： 1966 年，北朝鲜队成功地踢进了四分之一决赛。

B.         Static （静） vs. Dynamic （动）

Examples:

1) Compare the following two sentences and decide which one is better:

   a) The pop star appeared on the stage, which caused the audience to stand up and applaud.

   b) The pop star’s presence on the stage brought the audience to their feetin applause.

2) Translate the following sentence:

They are the employers of managers as much as they are the employs of workpeople.

  译：他们不仅雇佣工人也雇佣经理。

 

II.       Thinking Style and Syntax

A.        Hypotaxis （从属结构） vs. Parataxis （并列结构）

英语注重形合，句子结构常常借助各种联结手段加以组合；汉语注重意合，少用甚至不用连接词，因而中短句居多，且句子一般松散、舒缓。有鉴于此，英汉翻译时，或化繁为简，或化整为零，或以流水句代替竹节句，才能使译文流转自如，言简意赅。

e.g. It is a pity, however, that Dr. Thomas seems not to have learned the real lesson that history offers us – namely, that the “great breakthroughs” in any technology are always preceded by a radical change in how we view ourselves, and how we behave. （流水句）

译：在任何技术取得 “ 重大突破 ” 之前，我们的行为和对自己的看法都会发生剧变 —— 这 便是历史给我们的教训。遗憾的是，托马斯大夫似乎并未真正理解这一点。 （竹节句）

B.         Impersonal vs. Personal

1.         Inanimate noun ( 无灵名词 ) as subject

e.g. Doubts began to creep into people’s minds about the likely success of the project.

译：人们渐渐对这项计划成功的可能性产生了怀疑。

2.         Preparatory word: it

e.g. It hurts! (“it”: unspecified word 虚义词 )  ——好疼！

e.g. It just struck me that I still owe you for the concert tickets.

译：我忽然想起还欠你音乐会的门票钱。

3.         Passive voice (hidden agent/doer)

e.g. It is generally believed that Hong Kong will continue to keep its prosperity and stability after its return to China.

译：人们普遍认为香港回归后会继续保持繁荣和稳定。

C.        Subject-Prominent （主语句） vs. Topic-Prominent （主题句）

Examples:

1) We could only build one house with these materials.

译：这些材料只够我们盖一栋房子。

2) I regard it as an honor that I am invited to your wedding.

译：被邀请参加您的婚礼，我感到很荣幸。

3) Bright colors and bold strokes characterize his early painting.

译：他早期绘画的特征是色彩明亮、笔触大胆。

 

III.     Homework

1.         Now that you are in for it, you must carry on.

2.         Cigarettes were the death of me.

3.         If the man who was seen to take an umbrella from the CityChurch last Sunday evening does not wish to get into trouble, he will return the umbrella to No. 10 Broad Street.

4.         If you confer a benefit, never remember it; if you receive one, remember it always.

5.         Her sighs made it clear that she was unhappy.

6.         They had no running water where they lived. Nor did they have any conveniences of life such as gas and electricity.

7.         Theatre will be reinvented and become much freer and more imaginative.

8.         Nowadays it is understood that a diet which contains nothing harmful may result in serious disease if certain important elements are missing.

9.         By the end of the war, 800 people had been saved by the organization, but at a cost of 200 Belgian and French lives.

10.     It should be noted that he and she were extremely close allies.