| 论文简介 |
This study tries to conduct a corpus-based empirical research on the length of expressions and how they move in the process of Chinese English translation, with “expression” defined as word groups separated by punctuation marks within sentences. It is a comparative study on the English versions of Luotuo Xiangzi translated by Evan King, Shi Xiaoqing, and Howard Goldblatt.
Pilot study shows that, in the original text, the length of whole sentences varies tremendously while the length of expressions does not disperse widely, which is not so true in translated works. What’s more, their average length, or the frequency of punctuation marks within sentences, differs in different versions.
Inspired by quantitative linguistic research, we cut the sentences into expressions and tag them with certain numbers, which makes it practical to observe the order change of expressions in translations. By calculating the average distance of change and its dispersion, we can find a theoretically reasonable range for the proper move of expressions, which will then be tested and modified by investigation on the acceptability.
Results show that: 1) the length of sentences and expressions vary in different versions of the same original; 2) expressions move within certain distance which is different in accordance with their types; 3) the length and order change of expressions in translation indicates the characteristics of the translator therefore can be considered reliable stylistic markers. |
(创新港)
