On Avoiding Chinglish From The Perspective Of The Interpretive Theory Of Translation

Chinglish, a misshapen language violating norms of English, is identified as one of the most urgent and difficult problems in Chinese-English translation. On the basis of researches of many a scholar, the paper analyzes the causes of Chinglish from the perspective of Interpretive Theory of Translation, and contends that Chinglish is caused by insufficiency in interpretation, influence of Chinese because of lack of deverbalization, and deficiency in re-expression resulting from failure to do justice to the resources of target language. The thesis attempts to prove the translation process proposed by the theory can help Chinese translators avoid Chinglish.The Interpretive Theory of Translation is developed by the ESIT group, with Danica Seleskovitch and Marianne Lederer as its representatives. The two key concepts which are applicable to the avoiding of Chinglish are the theory of sense and the translation process. Sense, according to Interpretive Theory, is the target of translation, is what the writer’s meaning beyond language, is what the translator deverbalizes form linguistic signs. Translation process consists of three steps:understanding, deverbalizing, and re-expressing. The ESIT group proposes that translators shall first interpret the text fully to grasp all the nuances of sense (understanding), then retain what has been comprehended whilst let go of the linguistic signs (deverbalizing), and finally re-express the sense grasped in idiomatic target language (re-expressing).The thesis raises a point that the Interpretive Theory, its translation process in particular, is instrumental in helping translators avoid Chinglish—its two emphases that the target of translation is sense deverbalized of concrete shape and translators shall re-express the sense in idiomatic target language can protect translators from the influence of Chinese and urge translators to compose a translation as a writer does.The paper surveys some typical examples of Chinglish from the perspective of Interpretive Theory of Translation. It first points out their inadequacies:unnecessary modifiers, unnecessary verbs and nouns, redundant twins, repeated reference to the same thing, noun plague, pronouns and antecedents, saying the same thing twice, misplacement of phrases and clauses, dangling modifiers, parallel structure, logical connectives; and then analyzes their causes:insufficiency in interpretation, lack of deverbalization, and deficiency in re-expression; and finally formulates new versions by following the translation process: understanding, deverbalization, and re-expression, to justify the argument that the translation process can help translators avoid Chinglish.