A Study Of English Loan Words And The Translation

Loanwords are also called borrowed words.Owing to such factors as international trade,cultural communication,invasion and immigration,both Chinese and English possess a stock of loanwords in almost every realm of our social life.The study of loanwords and loanword translation is of great significance both in theory and practice.In theory,it is an indispensable part of translation studies and lexicology. In practice,the study can deepen our understanding of loanword translation and thus help us with its translation.Starting with a presentation of some basic concepts about loan words,this paper firstly draws a picture of lexical borrowing,putting the focus on the borrowing between Chinese and English,and then leads to the translation of loanwords.This thesis is composed of five chapters.Chapter one reviews the studies on loanwords by some scholars,such as Luo Changpei,Liu Zhengdan,Gao Mingkai,Shi Youwei,and Wang Rongpei,and shows that they have contributed greatly to the scientific and systemic studies on loanwords. However it should be made clear that studies on loanwords in China are rather weak, and some further research in the study of loanwords and the translation is needed.In chapter two some basic concepts about loanwords are presented,such as the definition of loanword,the motivation for borrowing,paths of borrowing,and the functions of loanwords.From these we can know that loanwords can be a guide to foreign cultures and the compensation for lexical gaps.In chapter three the source languages of the loanwords in English and Chinese are summed up respectively,and the author tried to classify loanwords in English into: loanwords,loanblend,loanshift,loan translation,and morphological borrowing;and classify loanwords in Chinese into:phonetic loans,loan translations,hybrids,and letter loans.In chapter four,by analyzing the processes of borrowing in English and Chinese and the mutual influence of the two languages in lexicon,the writer probes into the borrowing between Chinese and English.Chapter five is the core of the present thesis.The author discusses the principles and techniques of loanword translation,puts forward some problems as coexistence of different versions of a same loanword,and proposes the solution of these problems. The analysis of loanword translation techniques shows that,guided by the efficiency principle in the borrowing,free translation tends to make words simpler,the number of transliteration words greatly increase,and transference becomes more and more popular in the loanword translation practice.In the conclusion,based on the analysis of social functions of loanwords and their influence on the native language,and the sum-up of the rules and techniques of loanword translation,the writer of this thesis argues that although there are different kinds of loanword classification and various translation techniques,one point is shared,that is,because of more and more international communication,the efficiency of information exchange becomes a basic demand of our modern life.Also translation techniques which are concise,unambiguous,universal,and fashionable can meet the requirements of the borrowing between different languages.