problems in translation and their implications for language instructional materials production

Abstract

This study makes an attempt to investigate the problems in Chinese-English translation, recommend techniques for solving such problems, and spell out implications for methods and materials for language instruction. Chapter I first defines the term 'translation', then gives an introduction to the background, treatment, and scope of the study, and ends with <m inventory of important terms used. Chapter ll reviews 12 types of syntactic structures in Chinese and English, showing their similarities and differences, recommending possible ways and means of overcoming structural differences in translation, and specifying requirements for good translation. Chapters lll, IV, and V constitute the core of the study, involving problems in translating Chinese into English, techniques for resolving the translation problem between the two languages, and language instructional materials production. Chapter lll gives a description of the source, treatment, and analysis of the data. It is in this chapter that various linguistic errors that arc evident in Chinese-English translation have been identified. Such linguistic errors come mainly from three aspects, namely syntactic, vocabulary, and semantic. Of the three types of errors. syntactic errors are the largest in number representing 55.84%, while vocabulary errors and semantic errors are about the same representing 21.91% and 22.25%, respectively. This indicates that, although the major problem of students' translation comes from errors in syntactic structures in English, the problems arising from vocabulary and semantic errors, separately or combined, are grave, too. Chapter IV is concerned with translation techniques aimed at removing the expression problem resulting from linguistic errors discovered in the previous chapter. The techniques recommended are 'addition', 'subtraction', and 'alteration'. These three techniques go hand in hand instead of being mutually exclusive. By observing all these three techniques, one will render the translation work between Chinese and English accurate in thought and fluent in structure, thus attaining the long-desired unity of form and content. Chapter V brings itself to bear on language instructional materials production with special reference to English. Among other things, it is strongly recommended that the elective method be adopted, and that varied drills and challenging exercises be devised for student-centered activities in class with a view to (I) mastering various aspects of English structure, especially those found difficult and error-prone, and (2) enriching the stock of English vocabulary with concentration on contextual meanings and uses. TI1e purpose of such materials production is to transfer what Krashen calls the 'Learnt' ability to the 'Acquired' ability, thus achieving Chomsky's ideal of 'linguistic competence' and 'linguistic performance', and reaching the acme of translation skills: 'accuracy in comprehension' and 'fluency in expression.' Chapter VI concludes the study by giving a summary of d1e major issues discussed and by suggesting areas for further research.