Translation: The Child’s Practice

1.Task description

1.1 A brief debut of The Child’s Story

“The Child’s Storyis one of Charles Dickens short narratives which was published in the mid-1800s as one of his one-year Christmas short stories.The narrative is about the traveller who is on a journey to nowhere.” ( Mariaharumi12, June 12, 2014 )

First, he comes to a beautiful kid who is ever playing, and the kid asks the traveller to play games with him. But of a sudden, he loses the kid. After naming to the kid over and over once more but got no reply, he steps on his journey. Then he encounters a fine-looking male child, who is ever larning and invites the traveller to travel and larn with him. Similarly, the traveller loses him, excessively. Lateri??he meets a immature adult male, who is ever in love, and invites the traveller to love with him ; they go and run into a beautiful miss who looks like Franny. Then the immature adult male and the miss get engaged, and one time more, the traveller loses them when they are about married. And what happens between the immature adult male and the miss is merely like person ( himself ) he won’t reference, and Fanny.

Then he comes upon a middle-aged gentleman who has a married woman and several kids with him, and they are really hard-working. Subsequently, they come to several avenue at one time, and the kids step upon their ain avenue, one by one ; one to sea, one to India, one to seek his ain luck, and one dies and rises to Heaven. Then the traveller goes on his journey with the twosome. Before long, the married woman says that she is being summoned by their kid in Heaven, and she leaves them, excessively. Subsequently, the traveller besides loses the gentleman.

Finally, he comes upon an old adult male, who is sitting on a fallen trees and ever retrieving. He invites the traveller to be with him and retrieve the past life. And when the traveller is retrieving, all of his friends come back and stand around him.

1.2 A brief debut of Charles Dickens

“Charles John Huffam Dickens ( February 7, 1812 – June 9, 1870 ) was an English novelist of the Romantic and Victorian epoch and one of the most popular authors in the English linguistic communication. His plants have continued to digest in public memory for their graphic word picture, affecting play, and moral penetration. Lifelong challenger of the affluent author William Makepeace Thackeray, Dickens rose up from impoverished poorness to go a truly “ self-made adult male ” —one of the first authors to back up himself, and successfully so, wholly by his art. He was singular non merely for his perforating penetration into human nature, but for the enormous velocity with which he was able to bring forth narratives, novels, and other writings.” ( New World Encyclopedia, August 17, 2013 )

“In the history of the universe literature, Dickens is the first author who devoted himself into the creative activity of children’s images. And in his creative activity, there are 3 types of children’s images: the kids who suffer a batch ; the kids who have a tragic destiny and the kids who merely exist in the author’s head. Charles Dickens sympathized the kids who suffer in poorness or famishment. He called for the whole society to be concerned about the bad luck of the children.” ( Zhu Tingliu, April 2003, translated by myself )

1.3 Reasons for taking The Child’s Story for interlingual rendition pattern

I choose this narrative because it is a narrative with deep significance, which reflects the life procedure of homo. And the writer is taking a journey through his life, and sing his past life, from when he was a babe to his old age. While retrieving, he re-experiences every of import event in his life. For illustration, he came across and fell in love with his married woman, and one of their kids travel to heaven, and the decease of his married woman, excessively. He talks about his life in a specific manner that depicting himself as different people of different ages, while non recognizing that he is speaking about himself.

“This narrative is about how charming childhood is and that how rapidly its charming nature is fliting. The narrative negotiations about the patterned advance of age and life, and the basic way of life.” ( sarah J, March 5, 2012 ) Every one of us grows up with something lost. But we still have to maintain traveling on and concentrate on something. Life is merely like a journey, so we have no clip vibrating in the same topographic point when some of our friends or households go off and leave us entirely. We should step on our ain avenue because we have our ain finish. And possibly, the friends and households, who leave you before are waiting for you someplace.

And I love the art of dividing characters for narrative, and the procedure of presenting information about them. “Dickens characterizes the traveller, who he subsequently reveals to be his Grandfather, by depicting his yesteryear as he brings more and more characters into the narrative, we learn more about the traveler’s character and the chief events of his life.” ( sarah J, March 5, 2012 )

1.4 Cultural and lingual characteristics of the beginning text

1.4.1 Cultural characteristics

The Child’s Storyis a typical children’s literature. And children’s literature is to children’s soul what nutrient is to children’s organic structure. Children’s literature is a specific sort of literary work which is made for kids. Therefore, as a children’s literature with high quality, three facets should be included: the author’s enthusiasm, profusion of the narrative and educational significance.

First, merely when you put your enthusiasm into your work, will the readers be motivated by you. “children ‘s literature is a sort of literature for kids to bask and appreciate beauty and pleasure.” ( Liu Xuyiian, 1995 ) Hence, for the writer, it is of importance to hold enthusiasm so that kids can read and understand the emotions and life experience in his work which helps kids to bask and appreciate beauty and pleasance. And Charles Dickens happens to be a author who puts a batch of energy into his creative activity of children’s literature. Compared with other authors, Charles Dickens put much more enthusiasm into his children’s literature, because of his tragic childhood, he knows better of the significance of childhood and that’s why there are so many kids images in his celebrated plants, and one of which isOliver Twist,in which the supporter is a kid.

Second, profusion of the narrative is necessary for children’s literature. “ As what Zhu Ziqiang stated, “children ‘s literature is the literature about stories.” ( 2005 ) .What attracts kids most is narratives that with fantastic and glorious secret plan, every bit good as exquisite and sincere emotion. It doesn’t mean that children’s literature should be more complicated than adult’s literature. All that it needs are some differences and developments merely. For illustration, in the beginning text, the traveller chiefly comes across five individuals of different ages: the kid, the fine-looking male child, the immature adult male, the gentleman, and the old adult male. The traveller comes across the first four individuals, does what they do, and so loses them. There are about no differences of its structure.. However, the individuals are different and the things they do are different. As for developments, the age of the individuals he meets is turning up, and at last, the traveller comes across the old adult male and doesn’t lose him, besides, all his friends come back.

Third, educational significance is the cardinal point which decides whether a literary work is a great children’s literature or non. Expansibility means that you can larn something out of the work itself. “children ‘s literature is a tool to learn children.” ( Zhu Ziqiang ) Children’s literature must be educational or instructed. Bing a of import sort of religious nutrient, children’s literature can non merely motivate and pull them, but besides teach them and fulfill their wonder. Children are funny about every thing around them, particularly nature, scientific discipline and life. But what they lack of are adequate consciousness and cognition to warrant what is good and what is bad for themselves. So, that’s what children’s literature for: to give them instructions while satisfyling their wonder.The Child’s Storyis a narrative about life, which is one of the three facets that attracts kids most. From it, kids can understand what they will see and what they should make in every period of life. And the other of import lesson given to them is how to confront with separation and cherish every individual around, and bask every minute with them.

1.4.2 Linguistic characteristics

Compared with other literary plants, children’s literature has its ain lingual characteristics. And they can be concluded into three words: simple, concise and vivid.

First, children’s literature is made for kids. And limited by the life experience and educational background of kids, children’s literature should non be excessively complicated, otherwise it will be hard for them tot understand. Therefore, children’s literature has to be simple, which means to utilize simple words and simple sentence construction. Children can easy understand conversational words instead than formal words. Consequently, complicated words should be avoided. Besides, long sentences are seldom used in children’s literature, alternatively, short sentences are the chief watercourse.

Eg: The sky was so bluish, the Sun was so bright, the H2O was so sparkling, the foliages were so green, the flowers were so lovely, and they heard such singing-birds and saw so many pantries, that everything was beautiful.

Second, in order to assist the kids better understand the significance and the subject of the narrative, the linguistic communication of children’s literature should be concise. There is no demand to utilize two words if one word is adequate for description ; and no demand to utilize compound and complex sentences if simple sentence is adequate for narrative. Longer may non be better.

Eg: where was that, they wondered! — whistling and ululation, driving the clouds before it, flexing the trees, rumbling in the chimneys, agitating the house, and doing the sea boom in rage.

Third, the narrative and the description in children’s literature have to be vivid so that kids can conceive of and closely associate to the images and the emotions which the author wants to demo. In order to accomplish this consequence, rhetorical device is needed.

Eg: But, when it snowed, that was best of all ; for, they liked nil so good as to look up at the white flakes falling fast and thick, like down from the chests of 1000000s of white birds ; and to see how smooth and deep the impetus was ; and to listen to the stillness upon the waies and roads.

It will be easier for the kids to conceive of how white and how smooth the snow is when comparing to the chests of white birds.

And the best manner for kids to larn linguistic communication is non reading books nor utilizing tools, but conversations. They can larn and state by themselves from conversations since they are born.

Eg: What make you make here? I am ever… Come and… with me!

2. Major troubles in the interlingual rendition procedure

The transcriber encounters several jobs in the process of translating, which can be concluded into three types: cultural barriers, the antithesis, and long sentences.

2.1 Cultural barriers

In the beginning text, in the portion of playing with the kid and tilting with the male child, there are some celebrated characters in the faery narratives and some popular games or athleticss that we are non familiar with. Although by utilizing the interlingual rendition tools, the transcriber can understand what or who they are, it’s still a hard occupation to happen a perfect word in Chinese to replace.

Eg 1:

S.T. all about scimitars and slippers and turbans, and midget and giants and mastermind and faeries, and blue- face funguss and bean-stalks and wealths and caverns and woods and Valentines and Orsons.

T.T. e?????a…?a?Za??a?ˆaˆ??‹-ez‹a’???›a·?i??cY®a??a?Za·?a??i??e¬??ˆ?a?Za»™a??i??e“?e??a­?a?Ze±†c§?i??e??a??a?Za±±??za’???®?z-i????…a??eS‚a’?a????®aˆ‚

Here, the chief trouble lies in the concurrence. Lack of the basic apprehension of these representatives in the faery narratives, the transcriber falls in problem in dividing each image. Yet the transcriber still has to settle this job, so here, he chooses division as the interlingual rendition method and divides the images into several related groups so that readers can hold a better apprehension.

Eg: 2

S.T. They rowed upon the river in summer, and skated on the ice in winter ; they were active afoot, and active on horseback ; at cricket, and all games at ball ; at captive ‘s base, hare and hounds, follow my leader, and more athleticss than I can believe of ; cipher could crush them.

T.T. a¤?a¤©i??a»-a»¬a?????e‡?a?’e??i?›a†¬a¤©i??a»-a»¬a??a†°a?S?»‘a†°aˆ‚a»-a»¬a?ˆc›?a??a??aS?i??a?”eµ°i??e?‘e©¬i?????c??i??e????‰a…¶a»-?‰ˆ??‰c??c±»??????i????‰e?·e-?i??c‹-a…”eµ›e·‘i??a­¦e?†a??i????”??‘e?????a?°cs„e??aS?e??e¦?a¤si?????a??e??a¤Y?‰“e??a»-a»¬aˆ‚

In this sentence, there are games which may be good known to every kid in western states, but the transcriber has small cognition of it. Therefore, there is still some uncertainness of the interlingual rendition version.

2.2 Rhetorical antithesis

The authorship ofThe Child’s Storyhas a simple yet elegant beat and in the interim with aesthetic perceptual experience. It, nevertheless, sometimes when being translated into Chinese literally, feels non every bit beautiful as what it used to be. Hence, domestication is needed and hence, it is translated into Chinese utilizing the four-character construction.

Eg:

S.T. The sky was so bluish, the Sun was so bright, the H2O was so sparkling, the foliages were so green, the flowers were so lovely, and they heard such singing-birds and saw so many pantries, that everything was beautiful.

T.T. “a¤©??…?°”c??i??e??a…‰??Za?si?????a…‰c??c??i??eS±c??a?¶c»?i??e?Ye??e?¶e?zi??a?ˆa?‡i??e??a??c?Za??aˆ‚” In this manner, though something may be losing, the feelings and the aesthetic perceptual experience which the writer wanted to demo us remains.

2..3 Linguistic trouble — long sentences

There is another aporia in interlingual rendition — long sentences.When interpreting long sentences, foremost, the transcriber has to calculate out the syntactic construction of the original sentence ; so finds out the the cardinal component and the significance of each bed ; and so analyzes logic relationship between each bed, such as cause and consequence, and clip order ; after that, right translates the significance of the beginning text harmonizing to the character and the look of Chinese instead than merely automatically follow the beginning text. For illustration, in the undermentioned long sentence, order displacement is the interlingual rendition method. “it was delicious… ” is the cardinal component, and harmonizing to its logical relationship and the look manner of Chinese, it should be put at the terminal of the sentence.

Eg:

S.T. When it blew, it was delicious to listen to the air current, and fancy what it said, as it came hotfooting from its place — where was that, they wondered! — whistling and ululation, driving the clouds before it, flexing the trees, rumbling in the chimneys, agitating the house, and doing the sea boom in rage.

T.T. eµ·e?Z?-¶i??a?¬c?ˆe?Zi?????e±?c?ˆa??a»¬e??cs„e??i??a»Za»-a»¬a??a?‡cs„e‚?a??a®¶e‡?a?†a?™eˆ?a‡?i??a‘?a•?eˆ?e?‡i??e??eµ¶c?ˆa‰?e??cs„a?‘i??aZ‹a??a?†? ‘i??e·‘e?›a?†c?Ya›±i???’?aS?a?†???a±‹i??e??a??a?-?µ·?µ??±??¶?a’†a“®i??e?™a?Y???a»¤a??e«?a…?cs„aˆ‚

3. Other interlingual rendition methods used in the interlingual rendition pattern

In this subdivision, four sorts of interlingual rendition methods are adopted by the transcriber to cover with the troubles mentioned above. They are actual interlingual rendition, elaboration, transition and free interlingual rendition.

3.1 Actual interlingual rendition

Sincethe Child’s Storyis a short novel for kids, most of its linguistic communication is rather simple and straightforward. Therefore, actual interlingual rendition is a practical and the major method applied in the interlingual rendition pattern. Actual interlingual rendition is the interlingual rendition of text from one linguistic communication to another “ word-for-word ” , instead than giving the sense of the original. For this ground, actual interlingual renditions normally mis-translate parlances. For illustration, a actual English interlingual rendition of the German word “ Kindergarten ” would be “ garden of kids, ” but in English the look refers to the school twelvemonth between pre-school and first class. And of class, this is merely a counter- illustration to clear up what actual interlingual rendition is. As to the application of this method in interlingual rendition pattern, we can take the interlingual rendition below as an illustration:

S.T. Then they would hear a really small, distant voice weeping, “ Father, male parent, I am another kid! Stop for me! ”

T.T. c„¶a?Za»-a»¬a?sa?¬a?°a?ˆe?“a??a°?i??a??e??cs„a?°eY?a??a‘?a-Si?s“c??c??i??c??c??i????‘???a? cs„a?¦a?ˆa??a­©a­?i??a??a?‹???c­‰c­‰??‘i??”

As a affair of fact, actual interlingual rendition is a method that ever used with other interlingual rendition methods. Take the illustration above as an illustration: “I am another child” can non be translated straight into “??‘???a?¦a?ˆa??a­©a­?aˆ‚” Because harmonizing to the context, we can deduce that the kid is another kid of the gentleman. So a “a? cs„” should be added for finishing the significance of the sentence. And this is another interlingual rendition method, elaboration.

3.2 Free interlingual rendition

Free interlingual rendition is a interlingual rendition method which is used to uncover the deep deduction of the original by agencies of giving the signifier of the beginning text for the interest of elegance and intelligibility in the mark linguistic communication.

Eg 1:

S.T. The sky was so bluish, the Sun was so bright, the H2O was so sparkling, the foliages were so green, the flowers were so lovely, and they heard such singing-birds and saw so many pantries, that everything was beautiful.

T.T. a¤©??…?°”c??i??e??a…‰??Za?si?????a…‰c??c??i??eS±c??a?¶c»?i??e?Ye??e?¶e?zi??a?ˆa?‡i??e??a??c?Za??aˆ‚

i??Sacrificing the signifier of the beginning text and interpreting it into four-character form.i?‰

Eg 2:

S.T. white flakes falling fast and thick.

T.T. ??«a¤©c™?e›?a?«eˆYe?ze??aˆ‚ ( Changing the sentence construction. )

3.3 Amplification

Though there’s a rule forestalling transcribers from adding any significance to the original work, transcribers, nevertheless, sometimes should provide some necessary words in the interlingual rendition to finish the significance or the construction because English and Chinese are two different linguistic communications and have different ways of use.

Eg:

S.T. the foliages, even of the forest trees, began to fall.

T.T. ? ‘a?¶a?™a?ˆa§‹?Z‰e??i??c”se‡?e?z?z-a?­cs„? ‘???a?Ya?ˆa§‹aˆ’e??aˆ‚

Here, “fall” is one word in English and it has to be translated into two words in Chinese because in the sentence, there are two topics “leaves” and “trees” sharing the same verb “fall” , which is capable in English while incapable in Chinese.

3.4 Conversion

Because of the difference of sentence construction and look wont in English and Chinese, it is evidently nonsensical if we mechanically turn some parts of address or sentence ingredients from English to Chinese and frailty versa. So, to work out this job, transition is needed. By and large, there are two types of transition: transition of words and transition of ingredients.

3.4.1 Conversion of words

There are several ways of transition of words: nouns can be converted into adjectives, verbs and adverbs ; adjectives can be translated converted into nouns, verbs and and adverbs ; verbs can be converted into nouns ; preposition can be converted into verbs and adverbs can be converted into nouns.

Eg 1:

S.T. they were activeafoot, and activeon horseback; at cricket, and all games at ball ;

T.T. a»-a»¬a?ˆc›?a??a??aS?i??a?”eµ°i??e?‘e©¬i?????c??i??e????‰a…¶a»-?‰ˆ??‰c??c±»??????aˆ‚ ( adverbs to verbs )

Eg 2:

S.T. they could see the sundownreflecting ruddybefore them through the trees.

T.T. a»-a»¬e??c?‹e§?a¤•e??cs„c??e?zc©?e?‡? ‘???e??a?°a?†a»-a»¬e??a‰?a?†aˆ‚i??adjective to nouni?‰

Eg 3:

S.T. So,with many cryings at separating, they went, lone, down those avenues, each kid upon its manner ; and the kid who went to Heaven, rose into the aureate air and vanished.

T.T. a?Z???i??c¦»a?«???c?·c?·i??a»-a»¬a?ˆa??a?ˆa??a?°eµ°a?‘e‚?a?›e?“e·?i?????a??a­©a­?e????‰e‡?a·±cs„e·?i??eˆ?e‚?a??aZ»a¤©a ‚cs„a­©a­?i??a?™a?‡a?°a?†e‡‘e‰?cs„c©?a?­i??c„¶a?Z?¶?a¤±a?†aˆ‚ ( noun to verve, verb to noun )

3.4.2 Conversion of ingredients

Conversion of ingredients refers to the transition from one ingredient to another ingredient, for case, from adverbial to subject, from property to predicate, ect. When interpreting, we should interpret the text harmonizing to the grammar in English, and to the full see the ways of look in Chinese every bit good as the logic and the asperity, merely by agencies of which, can we work out a simple yet fluid interlingual rendition.

Eg 1:

S.T. and existent Theaters where they saw castles of existent gold and Agrise out of the existent Earth,

T.T. e????‰c?Ya®z???e™?i??a»-a»¬a??e‚?e‡?c?‹a?°a?†?‹”a?°eˆ?eµ·cs„c”±c?Ye‡‘c™?e“¶a»????cs„a®«?®? ( from predicate to impute )

Eg 2:

S.T. And she was gone. And the traveler and he were leftentirely together.

T.T. a??a°±eµ°a?†i??c•™a?‹?-…e??eˆ…a’?e‚?c»…a?«e™?a??a???­¤aˆ‚ ( from complement to predicate )

Decision

This thesis is based on the Report on Translatingthe Child’s Story. And unfeignedly, it is much more hard to compose this thesis than to interpret the beginning text. The most hard portion in the whole processs is analysing the cultural and lingual characteristics of the beginning text. In order to calculate out the characteristics, the writer has to read the beginning text over and over once more and to section the whole transition into paragraphs, sentences and words. Each bed has different characteristics. The writer has to do an option on which to be delete and which to be remained. Then he has to form his words carefully otherwise he can non show what he wants to present. And of class, there are troubles in the procedure of interpreting. Cultural barriers and long sentences are two chief points that sometimes make the writer confused. And the rhetorical antithesis is a considerable point when the writer wants to interpret the beginning linguistic communication into mark linguistic communication. Although there are several jobs in the manner of the writer, he still overcomes them and finishes the interlingual rendition and the study, through which, cognition and satisfaction are acquired. And the most of import point he realized is that to be a qualified transcriber, one should larn more and pattern more. And the writer will continually heighten and better his interpreting ability.