An Approach To Reproduction Of Semantic Coherence In E-C Translation Based On Lexical Cohesion

Semantic coherence is a terminology frequently used in translation studies and itis increasingly becoming one of the most important yardsticks for translation qualityassessment. However, most translators and translation critics equate semanticcoherence with “smoothness” or “fluency” which is interpreted based on intuition,lacking clear and systematic supporting theory. This thesis takes lexical cohesionproposed by Halliday and Hasan as the entry point and analyzes semantic coherentfunctions produced by specific lexical cohesive devices in English texts in order todiscuss the necessity of their equivalent reproduction in corresponding Chinese texts,offering a feasible theoretical ground for translators to choose proper translatingstrategy and overcome semantic barriers in the translating process.It is believed that cohesion and coherence are two major features of a text.Cohesion refers to visible connections among different elements which set upsemantic links and networks within the text while coherence concerns the overallsemantic effect created by those semantic links, implementing certain functions incertain context. It is found that lexical cohesion takes shape through the semanticrelation among lexical items in the text. Especially, the lexical cohesive chain in theEnglish literary text carries out specific functions, such as delivering textual themes,conveying rhetorical effects, enriching the usage of vocabulary and identifying theexact meaning of polysemous words. Therefore, the identification of lexical cohesionplays a significant role in constructing and understanding the semantic coherence. Onthe basis of previous studies, lexical cohesive devices in this thesis will be roughlyclassified into four categories, namely repetitive reiteration, similarity reiteration,contextual co-occurrence, and collocational co-occurrence, which are used to shedlight on their coherent functions in English texts. The application value of this thesis, apart from its emphasis on the identifyingprocess, lies in the fact that it attaches great importance to the equivalent reproductionof the English lexical cohesion device with particular markedness into Chinese. HenceEnglish literary texts are selected as the researching object and the comparativemethod with several Chinese versions is adopted in this thesis, in the meantime, thetranslation principle of “semantic relation equivalence” is tentatively put forward. Oncondition that lexical cohesive devices and their coherent effects are adequatelyidentified as well as the wording and textual arrangement in Chinese are allowed, it issuggested E-C translators should try to reproduce the original lexical cohesion ormake proper conversions within the same cohesion category so as to retain theexpressive way of lexical meanings and the semantic relation among lexical items,reproducing its semantic coherent effect and avoiding the semantic fake-coherence orincoherence caused by translators’ overstress on the so-called “smoothness” and theirinclination to “domestication”.As a whole, the identification and reproduction of semantic coherence are able toeffectively assist translators to analyze English texts and solve various difficultiesthey confront in E-C translating process. Therefore, this thesis is expected to befurther explored and deepened in translation teaching and translation studies.