On Fidelity in Chinese-English Translation
Introduction
Faithfulness is one of the criterias highly respected in the translation industry, the consistent pursuit of translators. This thesis is going to give a brief analysis of the principle of fidelity and discuss its absoluteness.
The principle of fidelity
Although the principle of fidelity is not well-defined yet, many view points are worth learning. So what does “fidelity” refers to
Generally speaking, the principle is that fidelity should be based on content and form from the original, emphasized in a full range. “Fidelity “refers to using the target language to express the source language, keeping with the equivalence of the original. It has two meanings:One is formal correspondence. In order to reproduce the information in the expression of target language and to express information in the form similar to the original language, words and sentences, structure, rhetoric, style are all similar to the original; the other is meaning equivalence, which requires translation to have the same deletion as the original in content, and there is no change phenomenon. Nida, American translation theorist, once said that the real translation was to use the most appropriate and the most natural language to equivalently convey the information in the original language; first content, then the form.
Literal and free translation are two basic methods. Their purpose is to faithfully express the ideological content of the original, and reproduce the artistic effect. Literal translation is not only to maintain the original content but also to maintain the original form . Free translation, is only to maintain the original content, and does not keep the original form. If the translation and the original language have the same form of language to reflect the same content, and can produce the same effect, adopting literal translation would be better.
Here are two aspects that fidelity finds express in:
One is that a faithful translation is made in the functions of the original. That is, translation should try to keep the same feature as the original. Therefore, the translator has to understand the function of the original, and faithfully convey the original features so that readers feel generally the same when reading translations and the original.
The other is that when translating, the translator must try to maintain a consistent style with the original translation. For example: “Just what is fever Simply defined, its a state in which your body temperature has risen abnormally.” If “your” is translated, the style would not be consistent. So the word “your” can be neglected. The sentence can be translated as:?????????,?????????????
There is no absolute “fidelity”
In the daily practice of translation, translators might find that absolute “fidelity” is very difficult to achieve, in cases like an article, a paragraph, a sentence or even a word. Analysis of no absolute “fidelity” in translation are as follow:
First, discrepancy between the original and the translation. In fact a translator play a dual role as a reader first, and then a translator. Translators firstly establishes a relationship with the works as a reader. Then the original is no longer an isolated entity, but a new literature that has communicated with the translator. Therefore, what translators translated is not the original, but a second text similar to the original formed in the mind of the translator.
Second, differences in culture. Understanding of the original is not simply to understand the language. As an integral part of culture, language is constrained by cultural influences. For example, “?” is often translated to “dragon”. In the west, “dragon” is regarded as evil and atrocity. However, “Long” is auspicious in China, a symbol of the royal family. So, knowledge of the two culture is necessary to “fidelity” in translation.
Third, differences in ways of thinking. It is very difficult to make the style of the original and translation together consistent, as well as good enough to cater to readers reading habits. Translation errors are easily caused. And that not only is the problem of unfaithful translation , but also may lead to “mistranslation”, causing readers misunderstanding .
“For example, from the perspective of practical translation, some translation is to convey certain information, such as product presentation and interpretation of daily life. If it has to be word for word, one hundred percent faithful to the original, the result is wasting manpower, extremely unnecessary.”(Hu Dexiang, 2001) In translation, it is reasonable to regard “fidelity” as a goal and a criteria. But it is also a must to understand the absolute “fidelity” is difficult to achieve.
Conclusion
Traditional fidelity believes that a translator is a faithful servant of the original. Translators should fully comply with the original. But in literary translation, it is not realistic.On the one hand, the translator must play their own initiative so that translation can be carried out. On the other hand, the second text is already different from the original text, therefore complete fidelity can not be achieved. But this does not mean translators are given unlimited freedom in translation. Translators should be faithful to the basic framework of the text for full use of their creativity. Without this condition, the initiative of translators will lose their basic premise.
References
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[4]Nida, E. A. Language, Culture and Translation. Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. 1993.
[5] http://pacificabuckles.com/dolphin/blogs/entry/-
[6]???;????????????????[D];??????;2005?
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