Meaning And Style Approximation And Their Selection Mechanism In C-E Translation For Global Communication

By focusing on translation of publicity materials, this dissertation discusses the underlying mechanisms and approaches for achieving approximation in translation. It is argued that translation of publicity materials is more selective and ideologically confined than that of literary works and science documents, although the common translation standards such as loyalty to the source text, expressiveness and accessibility still generally apply. Compared with translation studies as a whole, studies about the translation of publicity materials are relatively new and there is a lack of systematic theorization at the macro and micro levels. In this context, it is necessary to explore publicity material translation in a theoretical framework.A comparison of any two languages would show both commonalities and differences. Whilst commonalities provide the basis of translation, differences pose challenges. For instance, the common SVO structure in English and Chinese saves a translator much trouble, but differences at lexical, syntactic and discourse levels between the two languages make absolute equivalence in meaning and style almost impossible, not to mention other factors that have to be taken into consideration, such as the translation purpose, target readership, patronage, ideology and source text quality. For that reason, it is more realistic to achieve approximation, rather than equivalence. Approximation can be regarded as a continuum, with equivalence at the very end. It is fair to say that equivalence represents perfect translation while approximation is the hallmark of qualified translation. To go a step further, approximation is achieved through approximation in meaning and style. Based on relevant linguistic theories, the author takes a closer look at the components of meaning and style and attempts to work out a meaning and style selection mechanism in translation. According to such an understanding, approximation in meaning and style largely constitutes the micro basis underpinning prevalent translation theories such as functional equivalence, Skopos theory and reader's reaction. To do a proper job, a translator has to take atomic as well as holistic views. Although a linguistic unit at a higher level consists of smaller linguistic units, translation is by no means a process of piecing together corresponding smaller units in the target language. Therefore, translation is a process of reconciling atomic analysis with holistic grasp of meaning and style. While linguistic units at various levels play their due parts, the holistic meaning always overrides atomic meaning if there is a conflict.One of the approaches to meaning is to differentiate language meaning from speech meaning. Language meaning is static whereas speech meaning is dynamic. To proceed from the static language meaning is only a necessary, rather than sufficient, condition for translation, as translation is a purposeful speech act and qualified translation can hardly be described or explained without incorporating speech meaning. To be specific, speech meaning is expressed as reference, as contrasted with sense, at the lexical level, and propositional meaning, as contrasted with sentence meaning, at the sentential level. Where reference/sense or propositional/sentence meaning coincide with each other, formal and functional approximation can be achieved at the same time. Otherwise, reference or propositional meaning should prevail and only functional approximation can be achieved. Beyond the sentence level, the pragmatic meaning should be emphasized, including illocutionary meaning. In other words, reference is subordinate to propositional meaning, which is in its turn subordinate to pragmatic meaning. In addition, the translation purpose, patronage, ideology and background knowledge constrain the selection of meaning in a broader context. Generally speaking, the smaller the translation unit is, the more likely it is to achieve formal and functional equivalence at the same time. The meaning selection mechanism proposed in this dissertation attempts to conceptualize the meaning selection process at various levels, through which the meaning approximation is realized.The core components of style are functional variety and text type. Therefore, approximation in functional variety and text type serves as the basis of style approximation. In comparison, other components of style, such as temporal/regional features and idiosyncrasy, are of secondary importance in publicity material translation. As publicity texts are generally formal, the appropriate functional variety is mostly formal or consultative. Based on their functions, texts can be divided into expressive, informative and vocative texts. While approaching to approximation in text type, the translator should respect the inherent features of the target text type so as to render the translation more acceptable. Such a strategy would inevitably have an impact on meaning selection. In general, vocative and informative texts are more oriented to the readers. For that reason, features of the same text type in the target language have a stronger constraint on the meaning selection in the source text. In comparison, expressive texts are more author or speaker-oriented and features of the same text type in the target language have a weaker constraint on the meaning selection in the source text. The proposed selection mechanism and approximation strategy could be used as a valuable reference in publicity material translation.