Basic Translation Techniques
Translation, essentially, is the faithful representation, in one language, of what is written or said in another language. However, as proved by practice, translation cannot be viewed as a merely linguistic undertaking, but should be regarded as an aspect of a larger domain, namely, that of communication. In the case of complex texts, translation involves not only "linguistic proficiency" but also "encyclopedic knowledge" ---it always involves a process full of contradictions. Being an important aspect of "inter-cultural communication", translation has an important role to play in our epoch.
Language, as we all know, is a product of society, born and developed as a means to facilitate communication in the course of the struggle for production, class struggle and scientific
experiment. Translation is work that involves at least two languages---the "first language"
(which, in our case, is Chinese) and the "second language" (which in our case, is English). Therefore, to know both languages fairly well is one of the prerequisites for translation. In this connection, we have to bear always in mind that Chinese and English are two entirely different languages, each having its own usage and idiom, its own grammar and stylistic devices, its own cultural and social background. Moreover, we have to bear always in mind that "The mastery of language is not easy and requires painstaking effort".
Among all sorts of contridictions a translator meets with in the course of translation, the principal one is the contradiction between the translator's comprehension of the original and his capability of adequate representation (in the "target language"）. The reason is not far to seek.
First of all, accurate comprehension is always the foremost concern in translation. Without an accurate comprehension of the original, there can be no translation faithful to the original. Whether or not a piece of translation is too“l(fā)iberal”or too“mechanical”is judged primarily by whether or not the translator has acquired an accurate comprehension of the original. The difficulties involved may be lexical, contextual or terminological ones, or those arising from the translator's ignorance of the subject matter. Whatever the difficulties, they have to be carefully analysed and properly solved. In a word, the translator must understand (the original) in order to be understood (by his readers).
Secondly, adequate representation is crucial, too. Words chosen and sentences constructed must be of such a nature as will convey accurately the real meaning of the original and at the same time conform to the usage of the "target language" , so as to achieve the unity of accuracy on the one hand and "intelligibility and appropriate style" on the other---the dialectical unity of "accurate comprehension" and "adequate representation". To ensure this，we must bear in mind that Chinese and English are two entirely different languages. Even the translation of "familiar words", for instance, is not always easy. True, according to linguistics, words "denote the basic unit of a given language" and "the word is the smallest significant unit of a given language, capable of functioning alone". However, a word-for-word approach in translation will get us nowhere. In this connection, we have to bear in mind that words become alive only when they are used in the right context, and that in a complex discourse the exact meaning of many a word can be grasped only when it is studied in the light of the context. Furthermore, there are some grains of truth in this oft-quoted saying---"A good translator reads a foreign language but thinks in his own. "
Practice has taught us that translation is indeed a complex process in which a number of contradictions have to be handled dialectically and with an analytical eye. To put it briefly, though words are important, a translator should always bear in mind that it is the meaning and sense of the original, not mere words, that should be rendered accurately into the "target language". Accuracy should always be his primary concern. And he should always aim at the greatest possible degree of accuracy consistent with intelligibility and a style appropriate to the occasion. In other words, what a translator should strive to achieve is a piece of translation which is not only based on accurate comprehension of the original but also in keeping with the usage and idiom of the language translated into---a piece of translation that is characterized by the unity of "faithfulness" (which is of primary importance) and "smoothness" (which is also of great importance), the dialectical unity of content and form. This is the fundamental requirement one must endeavour to meet in translation.
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