Compression:Thought On Chinese-English Translation On Grounds Of The Differences Between Chinese And English Cognitive Styles

This thesis probes into the differences between Chinese and English cognitive thinking, the former one a scattering pattern and the latter a focused one. Distinctive patterns of manifestation are also discussed in this thesis. In the translation of a complex Chinese sentence, analysis is required before a translator locates the main clause, after which process the subordinate clauses, by one method, can be compressed into phrases and even into words. This process can be defined as compression whose semantic motivation could be categorized as topicality, eventuality, causality and agency. Topicality means the topic or center of a certain article or sentence. Eventuality is the dynamic nature of an event which, through an agent, is achieved by its causality. Given the roles the subordinate clauses play in a particular complex Chinese sentence, these clauses can be compressed into participle, absolute construction, nouns, attributive clauses, post modifiers and appositive clauses,etc. By means of this skill, a translator might polish his/her version and enhance the understanding of both Chinese and English.