Transformation Of Thought Patterns In Translation

Thought and language are closely related. Language is the material form of thought. The contents and patterns of thought influence and to some degree determine the ways of expression. Translation begins with language and ends in language. Therefore, language, thought and translation are deeply interconnected. The universality of thought content and thought pattern is the basis of translation, but different peoples have their own thought patterns. The varieties of thought patterns lead to various language expressive forms, which is the origin of the problems we often encounter in the process of translation. In this paper, the author will venture to explore the different thought patterns between English and Chinese and subsequently to present the main idea that a translator should constantly transform thought patterns, and suppress the negative interference of thought patterns in the course of translation for the purpose of getting a better understanding of the original, and thereupon providing a translation of high quality. In the first chapter, the author briefly analyzes the definition, characteristic and classification of thought pattern. More attention is paid to the factors that shape thought pattern. These factors are historical circumstances, geographical location, climatic environment, social and economical development, philosophical views, and religious beliefs among which the philosophical thoughts play the leading role. The discussions in Chapter Two are centered on the relationship of thought, language and translation. The author firstly expounds the dialectical relationship between thought and language: thought shapes language; language influences thought. Therefore, it can be inferred that thought pattern shapes the mode of expression. As we know, translation is a kind of linguistic activity. Now that language and thought are closely interrelated, thought and translation are tightly bound. Therefore, translation is not only a linguistic activity, but also a thinking activity. Chapter Three is the main part of this paper. The author elaborates the relationship between thought patterns and modes of expression, and then makes a thorough comparison between Chinese thought patterns and English counterparts: holistic thinking and individual thinking, thinking in images and thinking in notions, subjective thinking and objective thinking, intuitive thinking and rationalistic thinking, as well as spiral thinking and linear thinking. Moreover, the author explicates the impacts upon translation imposed by these thought patterns, and put forward the argument that translators should transform thought patterns in the process of translation, so as to produce a translation of accuracy, correctness, and faithfulness.