【作者】 刘艳婷；

【导师】 龚晓斌；

【作者基本信息】 江南大学 ， 英语语言文学， 2012， 硕士

【摘要】 在人类语言不断进化与发展的过程中,名词一直受到语言研究者的重视。作为生成名词和名词性结构的主要途径之一,名词化自然引起了广泛关注。名词化结构的形成过程反映着人类认知的发展方向,即朝事物性的方向发展。作为一个语法过程,名词化包含两个层次:词法层面的名词化与句法层面的名词化。第一个层次是通过添加派生词缀或者零转换将其他词类的词(主要为动词和形容词)转化为名词;第二个层次是用名词短语代替动词结构、形容词结构或小句。对名词化现象的研究最早可追溯到古希腊时期的柏拉图和亚里士多德。之后,各国语言学派及学者纷纷对此语言现象进行不同角度的研究,得到不同的结论。这些探究无疑加深了人们对这一语言范畴的认知,但大多研究是从语言学角度分析名词化现象的成因、形成过程及特点和功能,多为描述性研究。虽然也有部分中国语言研究者做出了对英语名词化结构汉译的探讨,但研究的深度相对不足,忽略了在译文中重现原英语名词化结构的功能,并且缺乏针对性和系统性。英语作为一种曲折性语言,为名词化结构的使用提供了便利和必要性,名词化也在英语语言中发挥着无可替代的作用。首先,名词化结构在英语小句中担任语法成分,表明语义关系;其次,通过使用名词化结构,原来的小句被“打包”为名词性短语,这样词汇密度和信息量会相应增加,语言也更简洁、正式;第三,使用名词化结构往往会导致部分主观信息的丢失,如动作的执行者或原句中的限定性成分,语言会显得更加客观。名词化结构在英语语言中的作用并非局限于此。对于英语名词化结构的汉译而言,这些功能是语言翻译者不可忽略的重要方面。以更好地在译文中重现英语名词化结构的功能为主旨,本文选取奈达的功能对等理论、可译性限度以及补偿策略作为主要理论框架,探讨英语名词化结构的汉译问题。翻译对等是翻译理论体系中最经典的理论之一,广泛应用于多种语言及文体的翻译实践中,旨在创造源语和目的语最大程度的对等。多位学者曾就翻译对等发表各自见解,其中奈达的对等理论影响最为深远。奈达的翻译对等思想经历了不断完善的过程,最终发展成为功能对等理论。就英语名词化结构的汉译而言,考虑到英语语言及英语名词化结构的特点,绝对对等是无法实现的。鉴于英语名词化在英语文本中的重要功能,功能对等理论适用于指导英语名词化结构的汉译实践。而在追求最大限度功能对等的过程中,可译性限度成为译者不得不面对的障碍。翻译中的可译性限度要求译者能够灵活采用适当的翻译策略,从而在最大程度上重现源语魅力,达到最大限度的对等。这时,翻译补偿性策略就适时而出。为使研究更加深入、具体,本文集中探讨英语名词化结构最基本的文体功能:正式性功能。本文分析了名词化的正式性与语域之间的关系。从语场方面来看,名词化在较正式的实用语篇中的出现频率较高;从语旨方面看,专业人士、文化程度高的成人之间的交流使用名词化较多,而有儿童、非专业人士或文化程度低的人参与的交流中名词化结构出现的频率偏低;从语式方面看,在书面语中名词化结构的出现频率要高于口语。英语曲折性较强,具有名词优势的特点,而汉语孤立性较强,惯用动词。因此,在英语名词化结构的汉译问题上,若要达到最大程度的功能对等,就必须对原语言结构进行转换,使得译文在实现正式功能对等的前提下更适合汉语的表达习惯。本文主要采取四种补偿性策略,分别是选用专业词汇,双音书语词汇,汉语四字结构以及汉语古式句。不论选择何种具体的翻译策略,翻译目的都是要尽可能多地传达源语意义,达到最大程度上的意义相符及功能相似。总之,本文以功能对等、可译性限度和补偿性策略为理论指导,探寻英语名词化结构汉译的有效途径。在前人研究的基础上,着重探究如何在汉语译文中实现英语名词化的正式功能对等,旨在为名词化结构的翻译做出贡献。更多还原

【Abstract】 In the course of language evolution and development, great emphasis has been frequently laid on nouns. Nominalization, a primary process in which nouns and language structures functioning as nouns are formed, has also received universal attention. The formation of nominalization reflects the fact that“human cognition is advancing in the direction of thingness”(Halliday, 1996, p. 44) Being a grammatical process, nominalization includes two aspects in this thesis, namely, lexical nominalization and syntactical nominalization. Lexical nominalizations are formed by adding derivative affixes to words of other parts of speech (mostly verbs and adjectives) or through conversion, while syntactical nominalization is the substitution of nominal expressions for verbal structures, adjective structures or clauses. Nominalization is one of the most common characteristics of human languages. Studies on nominalization can trace back to Plato and Aristotle of the ancient Greece. Since then, various linguistic schools and scholars have discussed nominalization from different perspectives, arriving at diverse conclusions, which definitely contributes to the deepening of people’s understanding of this language category. However, these are mostly drescriptive studies carried out on a linguistic basis, concerning the causes, formation process, features and functions of nominalization. There are some discussions in China dealing with the translation of nominalization into Chinese, which are not systematic and specific enough, with no appropriate attention on the reproduction of the functions of English nominalized structures in the target language.As an inflected language, English provides the convenience and necessity for the application of nominalized expressions, and those structures are playing an irreplaceable part in this language. To start with, nominalization serves grammatical roles and indicates semantic relations in clauses. Secondly, via the process of nominalization, original English expressions could be“packaged”into more concise language structures including more information. Moreover, the objectiveness of English discourses would be increased as a result of the omission of the doer of actions or the finite elements when nominalization is applied. The functions of nominalization are not confined to what have been mentioned above and still need to be further explored. When it comes to the translation of English nominalization into Chinese, those essential functions should never be ignored.With the purpose of reproducing the functions of English nominalized structures in the target language, the thesis adopts three major theories to explore the most efficient strategies for the translation of English nominalization into Chinese, namely, the theory of functional equivalence advocated by Nida, limits of translatability and compensation strategies.Translation equivalence is one of the most classic theories, widely employed in the translation practice of various languages and language styles, with the aim of achieving equivalence between the source language and the target language to the largest extent. Many scholars have put forward their views on translation equivalence, among whom Nida is the most influential. Nida’s theory of translation equivalence has witnessed constant improvements and finally developed into the theory of functional equivalence. As for the translation of English nominalization into Chinese, absolute equivalence is impossible, considering the characteristics of the English language and English nominalization. Given the prominent functions that nominalization realizes in English discourses, the theory of functional equivalence should be taken as the guiding principle in the translation process. Nevertheless, in the course of pursuing the maximal level of functional equivalence, translators are usually confronted with the obstacle of untranslatability, which requires translators to come up with proper translation strategies in a flexible manner so as to reproduce the charm of the original and achieve the maximal level of equivalence. This is where compensation strategies are applied.To add to the specificity and thoroughness of the research, major attention is laid on the most fundamental stylistic function of English nominalized structures: formalness. An analysis of the relationship between the formalness of English nominalization and register is conducted in this thesis. From the angle of field, nominalization often appears in formal practical discourses; for tenor, professionals, educated adults employ nominalization more frequently than children, lay-man or the illiterate; in terms of tenor, the frequency of nominalization in written language is higher than that in spoken language.English is an inflected language featuring the preponderance of nouns over verbs while Chinese is more isolated with a tendency of applying more verbs. Therefore, with regard to the translation of English nominalized structures, the transformation of the source message is inevitable for a rendering that conforms to the Chinese way of expression and reflects the function of the original. Four compensation methods are tentatively recommended in this thesis, which are respectively the application of specialized and technical terms, the application of written Chinese disyllabic vocabularies, the application of Chinese four-character phrases and the application of Chinese classical sentence patterns. No matter which specific translation strategy is chosen, the ultimate purpose is to transmit the original information as much as possible, achieving semantic correspondence and functional similarity to the full extent.To sum up, the thesis takes functional equivalence, limits of translatability and compensation strategies as its theoretical guidance, exploring the efficient methods to translate English nominalization into Chinese. Based on the researches conducted by previous scholars, stress is put on the ways to realize in the target language the stylistic function of formalness that nominalization exerts in English, aiming at contributing to the studies on the translation of nominalizations.更多还原