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Chapter 2

Peter Newmark

Semantic and Communicative Translation

Guided Reading

Peter Newmark (1916) is an accomplished translation scholar as well as an experienced translator. He has translated a number of books and articles and published extaensively on translation. His publications on translation include Approaches to Translation (1981), About Translation(1983), Paragraphs on Translation段落翻译(1985), A Textbook of Translation翻译教程(1988), and More Paragraphs on Translation(1993).

In his work Approaches to Translation, Newmark proposes two types of translation: semantic translation语义翻译 and communicative translation交际翻译. Semantic translation focuses primarily upon the semantic content of the source text whereas communicative translation focuses essentially upon the comprehension and response of receptors. This distinction results from his disapproval of Nida's assumption假定,假设,设想;假装;承担,担任 that all translating is communicating, and the overriding最主要的,最优先的 principle of any translation is to achieve \success of equivalent effect is \

of loyalties, the gap between emphasis on source and target languages will always remain as the overriding problem in translation theory and practice\To narrow the gap, Newmark 系统地阐述,确切地表达;规划,构想出formulates his concepts of \translation\and \translation\which in a sense从某种意义上说 are similar to Nida's \translation\common method and could be used in many types of translation. Nevertheless, he justifies证明……正当/有理,为……辩护 the legitimacy合法性,正当;合理性,妥当;嫡出,正统 of \translations depend on the three 一分为二,二分法;本质对立dichotomies, namely, the foreign and native cultures, the two languages, the writer and the translator. Hence, it is unlikely to have a universal theory that could include all these factors. Secondly, previous discussions on methods of translation, either Nida's \does not reflect the actual reality of translation method, for each of them either recommends one or 贬低,轻视disparages the other. Thirdly, the social factors, especially the readers of the second language, only play a partial部分的;偏爱/袒/心的 role

发挥部分作用 in translation. Some texts, such as an expressive one, require a \translation\It can be seen that可以看出 by proposing the coexistence of \translation\and \translation\Newmark suggests a correlation相互关系,关联;相关性 between translation method and text type.

It should be pointed out that应该指出的是 Newmark's semantic translation differs from literal translation直译 because the former \the latter sticks very closely to source text at word and syntax level(1981:62). Literal translation, however, is held to be the best approach in both semantic and communicative translation, \that如果 equivalent effect is secured, the literal word-for-word translation is not only the best, it is the only valid method of translation\take account of考虑到,顾及,体谅 literary translation rather than non-literary translation, which is often rendered more freely in order to communicate the meaning. But he also states that when there is a conflict between semantic and communicative translation, the latter would win out胜出. For instance, it is better to render communicatively the public sign公共标志 bissiger Hund and chien mechant into beward the

dog! in order to communicate efficiently the message, but not semantically as dog that bites! and bad dog!(1981:39). Nevertheless, it is difficult for a translator to follow Newmark's translation methods in practice, which should be adopted flexibly according to the specific context and text type. A Textbook of Translation is an expansion and a revision of Approaches to Translation in many aspects在很多方面. In this book, Newmark, follwing the German linguist Karl Buhler's functional theory of language, proposes three main types of texts (i.e. expressive有表现力的,富有表情的, informative提供大量资料或信息的,授予知识的 and vocative呼格的) as well as methods of translating them (Chapters 4 and 5). Although he lists many translation methods from word-for-word translation to adaptation, he insists that \translation fulfill the two main aims of translation, which are first, accuracy, and second, economy\While semantic translation is used for expressive texts, communicative translation is for informative and vocative texts although he admits that few texts are purely expressive, informative or vocative. By stressing the wide applicability of these two translation methods, Newmark seems to overlook the function of other translation methods frequently adopted in translation