To ensure translation quality, a good translator must meet certain conditions. First of all, he must have a solid foundation in the spoken and written language of his own language. This is often overlooked. The process of translation includes understanding the original text and expressing the original text. If the translator cannot master Chinese well, he will not be able to correctly understand the original text when translating from Chinese to foreign countries, and will not be able to skillfully use his mother tongue to express the original text when translating into foreign countries. There are many examples of mistranslations caused by improper understanding of one's mother tongue. For example, someone translated "I am a monk holding an umbrella." into: "I am a lone monk walking the world with a leaky umbrella." (Time December 5, 1994 p.37). This is obviously caused by a lack of understanding of the catchphrase "A monk holding an umbrella is lawless." The correct translation should be: "I am a monk under an umbrella, defying laws human and divine." If necessary, you can also add comments. When translating, sometimes the meaning of the original text is understood, but it is found that it cannot be expressed accurately. Please look at the two translations of the following sentence:
Subways, sewers and other underground passage-ways must be blocked to prevent unobserved access into inner city.
Translation 1: Subway, Sewers and other underground passages must be blocked to prevent undetected entry into the city.
Translation 2: Subways, sewers and other underground passages must be tightly sealed to prevent enemies from sneaking into the city.
It is not difficult to see that translation 1 is inaccurate and less fluent, while translation 2 is more accurate and fluent. It can be seen that the ability to understand and express the mother tongue directly affects the quality of translation.
Secondly, a good translator must have a high level of foreign language writing. There is no doubt about this. A good translation requires the translator to not only master comprehensive knowledge of foreign language grammar, but also have a large vocabulary, otherwise the quality of the translation will be affected. Please look at the two translations of the following sentence:
Everything seemed to be cut and dry in the minister's office.
Translation 1: In the minister's office, everything seemed to be cut and dry They are all boring and boring.
Translation 2: In the minister's office, everything seems dull.
Translation 1 is wrong. The idiom "be cut and dry" means "everything rarely changes", so translation 2 is accurate. This shows that if the translator lacks foreign language literacy, the translation quality will not be basically guaranteed.
Third, in addition to mastering the two languages, one must have sufficient understanding of the cultural background knowledge of the two languages. Relevant cultural background knowledge is all-encompassing, including history, geography, politics, economics, science, customs, etc. Simply focusing on language while ignoring the cultural differences caused by different cultural backgrounds can easily lead to mistranslations and random translations. With the deepening of international exchanges, more and more people are realizing that in cross-cultural communication, their lack of understanding of foreign cultures has hindered the smooth progress of cross-cultural communication. This is particularly evident in translation. The same country has different cultural backgrounds in different periods. Translators must not take it lightly and translate randomly without seeking a deeper understanding. Be sure to understand the original text in conjunction with the era, region, and other relevant backgrounds. If you have any questions, you can also check relevant information and reference books, or even send an e-mail to the native speaker for advice. For example, what exactly is five o'clock shadow? Is it the "five o'clock shadow"? Of course not. If you look up the "New English-Chinese American Encyclopedia", you will know that it refers to a man's beard. After shaving in the morning, there will be stubble that grows by 5 p.m. What’s even more frightening is that some translators think that because they are Chinese, they must understand Chinese culture, so they take it for granted and translate at will. For example, in some official publications, "Bada Shanren" is translated as "eight famous recluse monks". In fact, "Bada Shanren" refers to the Qing monk painter Zhu Da. Translate "Twenty-five Histories" into "the history of twenty-five dynasties". In fact, "Twenty-five Histories" refers to twenty-five historical books, not "the history of twenty-five dynasties". It can be seen that the translator's knowledge and cultural accomplishment determine the quality of his translation to a large extent.
Fourth, of course, a good translator must also master some translation theories and techniques. Translation theories and techniques are a summary of previous translation experiences. Learning some translation theories and techniques can help you avoid detours and achieve twice the result with half the effort. After all, the amount of practice in translation classes is limited. You cannot expect that your translation level will be greatly improved by studying for a few hours per week.
Therefore, the key to translation teaching is to teach students the principles and methods, and to master the means of obtaining information and independent learning methods. This is the purpose of the translation tutorial to introduce the principles of translation.
Fifth, we must have a rigorous attitude and meticulous style. When doing translation, you must not rely on literal meaning. You must diligently check reference books and be good at using online resources to solve difficult problems. Beginners to translation should also distinguish the difference between interpretation and translation. Interpretation requires agility and expressiveness, while translation requires rigor and accuracy. To improve your interpretation ability, you must speak boldly, listen more and speak more; to improve your translation ability, you must practice writing diligently and be good at comparison and summary. Only through comparison, identification, and careful consideration of words and sentences can we continue to improve.
The above five points should be the basic qualities of a translator. In short, a solid foundation in Chinese and English, profound cultural accomplishment, a high sense of responsibility and a spirit of excellence are essential qualities for every translator.