An Analysis Of Textual Coherence In Translation

The past few decades have seen numerous changes in the linguistics and translation fields. Among them, one change worth particular attention is linguists' increasing emphasis on text analysis. Under such circumstances a new approach to linguistics entitled text linguistics has come into being. In this new area, many linguists and researchers have made contributions through their analysis of text structure, text cohesion, the role of context in text interpretation, etc. With this new development, there is another trend taking place on the translation scene. It is the inclination to combine linguistic theory with translation practice. What is discussed in this paper concerns both linguistic and translation phenomena.As indicated by the title, the focus of this paper is on the analysis of textual coherence in real translation situations. With regard to the concept of coherence, different interpretations have been provided, yet no consensus has been reached. After a survey of views held by language researchers, the author offers the conclusion that, coherence, as the invisible network of a text, represents the semantic connection which underlies the surface structure of a text. Its establishment involves both the intra-textual and extra-textual elements. It is a process which requires the participation of many disciplines, including semantics, pragmatics, logic and psychology. However, as this paper deals with the study of textual coherence in the real translation situation, other subjects such as the characteristics of the source language and the target language or the target readers' cognitive models are all incorporated into the research. By doing so, the author tries to express the view that a translator should try to reproduce in his translation the inherent coherence. It is one that can fully reflect the writing purpose of the writer and one that the target readers can comprehend it to the point that the original readers have interpreted it.When analyzing coherence in translation, the paper takes 'sequences of sentences' or 'complex sentence' as its starting point. By investigating expressions of textual coherence in translation, the thesis explores better ways to attain functional equivalence between the English and Chinese texts. Meanwhile, it also examines other differences and similarities between Chinese and English.The structure of this paper goes as follows:Chapter One presents a brief introduction to the objective, methodology and arrangement of the paper.Chapter Two and Three Serve as the theoretical basis for the analysis. Chapter two surveys the history of coherence study and then discusses the factors involved in coherence construction. Chapter Three provides an account of the relationship between coherence and translation in which the author seeks to prove that recognizing and reestablishing coherence in the target language is necessary in translation. In addition, the feasibility of taking text as the unit of translation is also discussed.Chapter Four, Five and Six deal with various treatments of textual coherence in translation. Through such analysis, the writer demonstrates that, owing to linguistic and cultural disparities, adjustments are often necessary in the process of reconstructing coherence in the target text.A conclusion is drawn at the end, in which the author gives her own understanding of reconstructing textual coherence in translation.The present thesis does not give an exhaustive list of all devices applied to reconstruct textual coherence in translation. Only those prevailing translation methods are discussed.