A Study On Prepositions In English-Chinese Sight Translation

This thesis aims to explore the role played by prepositions in English-Chinese sight translation and present coping strategies within the theoretical framework of the Interpretive Theory,in particular,the Triangular Model.In the practice of sight translation,interpreters tend to employ literal translation and syntactic linearity in most cases so that they can produce an output fast;however,due to their innate flexible usages and versatile meanings,prepositions often hinder a fluent and accurate rendition,for they abound in the long and complex sentences,which de facto are hard to interpret in the first place.Since there is a finite overlap between English prepositions and their Chinese counterparts,literal translation cannot be applied all the time.On the one hand,sight translation has been studied in terms of general guiding principles and pragmatic tactics,all of which target at the comprehensive process without much focus on the features of a specific language.On the other hand,even though the great importance of English prepositions is recognized,researches and studies,limited in number,mainly concentrate on classification and prepositions in simultaneous interpreting.Therefore,prepositions in EnglishChinese sight translation are barely dabbled in.The Interpretive Theory has not only offered incredible insights into the whole process of interpreting,with sight translation included,but also helped to study the prepositions in EnglishChinese from a brand-new angle.In consistency with the Triangular Model,prepositions of high frequency have been combed through,and strategies,including literal translation,conversion to another part of speech,repetition and omission,have been put forward with examples to clarify.Furthermore,14 subjects,divided into two groups according to their interpreting experience,are invited in an experiment so that how prepositions influence the delivery can be analyzed in detail.The following hypotheses are proved.A segmenting signal as prepositions are,they facilitate the understanding of sentences while at the same time impede a fluent rendition;the intensity of prepositions in a sentence exerts a direct impact upon both accuracy and fluency of a rendition;enough practice definitely guarantees a satisfactory translation.