Unit4
Unit 4
Correspondence above word level
内容提要：1 translation problems arising when words start combining with other words
2 collocation
3 Some collocation related pitfalls and problems in translation
4 idioms and fixed expressions
5 The translation of idioms: difficulties
6 The translation of idioms: strategies
学习目的：By learning translation problems arising from lack of equivalence above word level, the students learn characteristics of collocation and idioms and fixed
expressions.
重点：collocation and idioms and fixed expressions
难点：various strategies which can be used for dealing with the translation of collocation and idioms and fixed expressions
教学内容：
It goes without saying that words rarely occur on their own; they almost always occur in the company of other words. But words are not strung together at random in any language; there are always restrictions on the way they can be combined to convey meaning. Restrictions which admit no exceptions, and particularly those which apply to classes of words rather than individual words, are usually written down in the form of rules.
Lexical patterning will be dealt with under two main headings: collocation and idioms.
4.1 COLLOCATION（搭配）
Collocation can be defined as …semantically arbitrary restrictions which do not follow logically from the prepositional meaning of a word?. Another way of looking at collocation would be to think of it in terms of the tendency of certain words to co-occur regularly in a given language. (由两个或两个以上相连或不相连的词构成一个意义单位，在普遍使用过程中被接受)。
For example, …那个代表昨天发表了一个演讲?(The representative made a speech yesterday.). The word …speech? often collocates with …to make? or …to hold? rather than …to say?.
Why do builders not produce a building or authors not invent a novel, since they do invent stories and plots? No reason as far as dictionary definitions of words are concerned. We don?t say it because we don?t say it (Mona Baker).
unfamiliar4.1.1 Collocation and register
Register is a variety of language that a language user considers appropriate to a specific situation.
R egister, or context of situation as it is formally termed, …is the set of meanings, the configuration of semantic patterns, that are typically drawn upon under the specific conditions, along with the words and structures that are used in the realization of these meanings? (Halliday, 1978:23). It is a useful abstraction which relates variations of language use to variations of social context. (语域：语篇的一个属性，它体现说话者之间的关系性质，他们所处的社会文化环境，涉及的话题，给特定（话语）或（文本）选定的正式程度和亲昵度。语域在词汇上尤其明显。在选词中应注意为特定（情景）或目的语受众选恰当的语域。)
Example：严肃的语域：卫生设施（sanitary facility）
中性语域：公共厕所（WC, restroom）
亲密的语域：卫生间（toilet）
口语语域：厕所(loo)
4.1.2 Some collocational problems in translation
Differences in the collocational patterning of the source and target languages create potential pitfalls and can pose various problems in translation.
4.1.2.1 Misinterpreting the meaning of a source-language collocation
A translator can easily misinterpret a collocation in the source text due to interference from his/her native language. This happens when a source-language collocation appears to be familiar because it corresponds in form to a common collocation in the target language.
1. A pigeon pair 一男一女的双胞胎
2. Out of question 毫无疑问
3. Out of the question 不可能的，办不到的
4. Mr Wilson talks a lot but Mrs. Wilson wears trousers in their house.
威尔逊先生话很多，但在家里说了算的还是威尔逊夫人。
4.1.2.2 The tension between accuracy and naturalness.
In rendering source-language collocations into his/her target language, a translator ideally aims at producing a collocation which is typical in the target language while, at the same time, preserving the meaning associated with the source collocation. This ideal cannot always be achieved. Translation often involves a tension - a difficult choice between what is typical and what is accurate.
Here are some examples of translations which have opted for naturalness at the expense of accuracy. The change in meaning involved in the following examples is not significant enough to justify cluttering the text with additional explanations or using untypical target collocations:
Example:
New Tradition offers fascinating series of traditional patterns in miniature using rich jewel-like colors that glow against dark backgrounds.
“新传统”展示会展出了一系列传统设计样式的小型版，在黑背景的映衬下，越发光彩夺目。
…Rich colors?are vivid and deep in English. But the Chinese collocation …光彩夺目?suggests brightness instead of depth of color. Though opting for naturalnss at the expense of accuracy, the change in meaning is not significant enough to justify the usage of untypical target collocation.
More examples of proper collocation:
1.恐慌平息了。Panic subsides．