On The Translation Strategy Of Noun-Verb Conversion In English-Chinese Translation

The linguistic heterogeneity of languages such as English and Chinese is deeply rooted in the different modes of thinking that the two language communities actually have. Zhang’s studies (1986) on modern English vocabulary have shown that the English language, with more frequent use of nouns, tends to be more static. The Chinese language, on the contrary, is more dynamic, with its preference of using verbs. Moreover, many English nouns such as gerunds, abstract nouns as well as some multi-category nouns are in fact derivatives of verbs, where the mechanism of word formation is concerned. This is exactly one of the major challenges to English-Chinese translation. The author of the present thesis has a deep understanding about this characteristic when translating the book John Brookes Garden and Landscape Designer into Chinese.During the translation process, how to identify those atypical nouns mentioned above and adopt appropriate translation strategies accordingly has become an issue of major concern to the translator. With this issue in mind, the author of the present thesis intends to carry out research upon the translation strategies of noun-verb conversion in English-Chinese translation. Based on a literature review of previous studies, the author has attempted to classify those atypical nouns into three major types. In addition, the conversion strategies corresponding to each type are implemented. The author deems that those English nouns derived from certain verbs have to be converted into corresponding verbal expressions in Chinese if they in nature are action related atypical nouns. It is also believed that appropriate translation strategies should always be adopted on the basis of understanding the differences between the thinking modes of both the source and target language speakers. Only in this way can the translated version be more readable or acceptable.