On Over-Europeanization In English-Chinese Translation

The discussion of the Europeanization in English-Chinese translation has to be traced back to the Opium War in the middle of the 19th Century because before that, the Chinese language, as part of the Chinese culture, has never experienced so remarkable a change as it did after the War. Under the challenge of western languages and cultures, this almost 'self-sufficient' system of Chinese was broken apart one level after another. Therefore, the Europeanization of Chinese does not stem from an internal force, but rather originates from an external pressure. The entry of western languages into the Chinese language is the greatest change in the Chinese language history since the Qin Dynasty.The successful Europeanization of the Chinese language is accomplished with the aid of modem translation. As it carried out on the platform of language, translation in a large scale will inevitably influence the target language. In China, translation plays a significant role in the extensive spreadof the vernacular Chinese in the early 20 Century and consequently in the development of the Chinese language. The influence exerted by modern translation on the Chinese language comes mainly from literal translation, which results in the phenomenon of imitating the forms of western languages by the Chinese language. Therefore, Europeanization is closely related with literal translation. However, in modern translation, the choice of literal translation method is deeply rooted in its time and cultural background.First of all this thesis analyzes the contributing factors for the Europeanization of Chinese and comes to the conclusion that the Europeanization is an inevitable event in its development. In the process of Europeanization, the historical factor is the most remarkable. In this section, the author employs the 'Polysystem Theory' developed by Israeli scholar Even-Zohar to analyze the important role of Europeanization in the New Culture Movement at that time.Although Europeanization is an undisputable fact and is still continuing in the contemporary language, we cannot accept it altogether without discrimination. At present, many over-Europeanized translations appear in the practice, which produces a malign influence on the Chinese language. Over-Europeanization is both damage to our national language and irresponsibility to our readers.In view of the negative influence of over-Europeanization, there is a necessity to put forward the criterion and requirement for the entry of Europeanization. Aiming at over-Europeanization, translators should developthe appropriate philosophy towards translating. And consequently under its guidance the appropriate translating strategy will be adopted to avoid the over-Europeanization.