1. What does Xin Daya mean?

Xin: faithful to the original text

Da: smooth and smooth

Ya: elegant, Beautiful

Simply put: faithful, smooth, beautiful.

The "faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance" proposed by Yan Fu can be said to be the "three-character scripture" on translation. Later it became difficult for people to discuss translation. This cannot help but remind people of the two lines of a poem written by Li Bai in front of the Yellow Crane Tower: "There is a view in front of me, but I can't find a way to do it. Cui Hao wrote a poem above." In this case, the eighth book can only be said from the perspective of "faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance" Let’s take a look at its guiding role in translation and its charm.

1. Faith

In a narrow sense, faith means being faithful to the original idea, that is, accurately using another language to express the meaning of the original text. Language is expressed anew. In a broad sense, according to the true meaning of science, only one word "faith" is enough for "faithfulness", that is, "all-round faith". If the original text is expressed smoothly and fluently, then it is expressive; if the original text is deliberately unexpressive (such as describing the speech of uneducated people), it is not expressive. In this case, the unexpressiveness is expressive. If the original text uses elegant written language, ancient proverbs, etc., the translation must be elegant; if the original text uses vulgar language, the translation must be rough and inelegant. In this case, inelegant means elegance.

2. Expression

Expression is the most difficult issue to “express” clearly in being honest and elegant. This can be seen from the English translation of the three words "Xin Daya". Xinheya is basically translated as: fidelity and elegance. However, the English translations of Da have their own merits: expressiveness, readability, fluency, etc. No wonder there was such a Chinese-to-English translation question in the 1994 Shandong University English Master's Entrance Examination:

"The three-character standard for translation: faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance"

Let the candidates Let's each show our abilities.

Chinese writing is logical rather than lexical, and there are very few formal things: no separation between words, no capitalization of names of people and places, and no deformation of verbs and pronouns. These characteristics sometimes cause certain difficulties in reading. This requires that the translation be easy to understand and express clearly.

In recent years, computer science has developed rapidly, and a large number of computer-related translations have emerged. Among them, there are many people who are incompetent in foreign language proficiency and professional knowledge, and this has caused some misunderstandings.

The main problems that the translation is not "expressive" are: first, the literal translation of nouns derived from verbs in English, resulting in a vague sentence structure in the Chinese translation; second, there is no separation between Chinese words, and Chinese If the translation contains words or words that can be combined into words before and after, it is easy to cause misinterpretation; thirdly, there are too many new computer vocabulary, and there is no unified Chinese translation name in China, and anyone, regardless of their level, can sign a "compiler" and hastily publish it. Each translator uses a different translation method, and readers don’t know whether they are talking about one thing or two things.

3. Elegance

Honesty and expressiveness are the "hardware requirements" for translation and have a scientific spirit. Right is right and wrong is wrong.

Elegance is a "software requirement", only a difference in feeling or degree.

Elegance is actually a form of thing. A highly practical product (hardware) coupled with exquisite packaging, appropriate publicity and high-quality service (software) can be said to be a "successful product". The same goes for translations.

So, what kind of translation can be considered "elegant"? Churchill’s statement can be used for reference.

Broadly speaking, the short words are the

best, and the old words of all.

—— Sir Winston Churchill

This is especially applicable when translating famous quotes, aphorisms, idioms, etc. in the original text.

4. High-quality translation

The quality of the translation is not only affected by the translator’s two-language proficiency and application ability, but also by objective factors such as translation time and effort. In addition to constraints, translation method is a key factor affecting the quality of translation.

In order to obtain higher-quality translations in a shorter period of time, a strategic translation method is required.

Some people "read one sentence, check one sentence, translate one sentence, and finally adjust the errors and poor translations in the full text."

Some people "have the whole text figured out." Then translate it sentence by sentence."

Most people probably translate in one of these two ways.

The high-quality rapid three-step translation method is as follows: 1. Speed ??reading (according to the method introduced in Book 6) and complete new words and grammatical analysis. ② Translating in a single volume, that is, after understanding the meaning and thought of a sentence or a paragraph in the original text, then putting aside the original text and translating silently in a fluent language to produce an "expressive and elegant" blueprint. In this process, you might as well learn from Lin Shu’s (Lin Qinnan) translation method. ③Finally ask for their trust. Finally, compare it with the original text to correct errors and omissions to meet the requirements of being faithful to the original work. Convert "faith, expressiveness, and elegance" into "expressiveness, elegance, and fidelity" so that the whole process starts from the original text and returns to the original text. Not only does it facilitate quick translation, but inspiration often strikes upon first reading. Daya comes first, making it easy to catch the spark of fleeting thoughts. At the end of the letter, the translator has a comprehensive understanding of the original work, and can try to ensure the first element of translation, "faithfulness to the original text." 2. What does Xin Daya mean?

Xin: faithfulness. Original text: Da: smooth, smooth. Ya: elegant, beautiful. In simple words: faithful, smooth, beautiful. "It can be said to be the "Three-Character Scripture" on translation, which makes it difficult for later generations to discuss translation.

This cannot help but remind people of the two lines of a poem written by Li Bai in front of the Yellow Crane Tower: "There is a view in front of me and I can't find a way to do it. Cui Hao wrote a poem above." In this case, the eighth book has to start from " Speaking of "faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance", let's take a look at its guiding role in translation and its charm.

1. Faith In a narrow sense, faith is the idea of ??being faithful to the original work, that is, accurately re-expressing the meaning of the original text in another language. Broadly speaking, according to the true meaning of science, only one word "faith" is enough for "faithfulness", that is, "all-round faith".

If the original text is expressed smoothly and fluently, then it is expressive; if the original text is deliberately unexpressive (such as describing the speech of uneducated people), it is not expressive. In this case, the unexpressiveness is expressive. If the original text uses elegant written language, ancient proverbs, etc., the translation must be elegant; if the original text uses vulgar language, the translation must be rough and inelegant. In this case, inelegant means elegance.

2. Dada is the most difficult issue to "express" clearly in Xindaya. This can be seen from the English translation of the three words "Xin Daya".

Xinheya is basically translated as: fidelity and elegance. However, the English translations of Da have their own merits: expressiveness, readability, fluency, etc.

No wonder there was such a Chinese-English translation question in the 1994 Shandong University English Master's Entrance Examination: "The three-character standard for translation: faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance." Let the candidates show their talents. Chinese writing is logical, not lexical, and has very few formal elements: no separation between words, no capitalization of names of people and places, and no deformation of verbs and pronouns.

These characteristics sometimes cause certain difficulties in reading. This requires that the translation be easy to understand and express clearly.

In recent years, computer science has developed rapidly, and a large number of computer-related translations have emerged. Among them, there are many people who are incompetent in foreign language proficiency and professional knowledge, and this has caused some misunderstandings.

The main problems that the translation is not "expressive" are: first, the literal translation of nouns derived from verbs in English, resulting in a vague sentence structure in the Chinese translation; second, there is no separation between Chinese words, and Chinese If the translation contains words or words that can be combined into words before and after, it is easy to cause misinterpretation; thirdly, there are too many new computer vocabulary, and there is no unified Chinese translation name in China, and anyone, regardless of their level, can sign a "compiler" and hastily publish it. Each translator makes a translation, and readers don’t know whether they are talking about one thing or two things. 3. Yaxinheda is the "hardware requirement" for translation and has a scientific spirit.

Right is right and wrong is wrong. Ya is a "software requirement", only a difference of feeling or degree.

Elegance is actually a form of thing.

A highly practical product (hardware) coupled with exquisite packaging, appropriate publicity and high-quality service (software) can be said to be a "successful product".

The same is true for translations. Broadly speaking, the short words are the best, and the old words of all. ——Sir Winston Churchill This is especially suitable for translating famous quotes, aphorisms, idioms, etc. in the original text.

4. High-Quality Translation The quality of translation is not only affected by objective factors such as the translator’s two-language proficiency and application ability, as well as the impact of translation time and effort, but also the translation method. key factor in translation quality. If you want to obtain higher-quality translations in a shorter period of time, you must have a strategic translation method.

Some people "read a sentence, check a sentence, translate a sentence, and finally adjust the errors and poor translations in the whole text." Some people "understand the whole text and then translate it sentence by sentence." ”

Most people probably translate in one of these two ways. The high-quality and rapid three-step translation method is as follows: 1. Speed ??reading (according to the method introduced in Book 6) and complete new words and grammatical analysis.

② Translating in a single volume, that is, after understanding the meaning and thought of a sentence or paragraph in the original text, the original text is put aside, and a fluent language is used to translate silently to produce an "expressive and elegant" blueprint. In this process, you might as well learn from Lin Shu’s (Lin Qinnan) translation method.

③Finally ask for his trust. Finally, compare it with the original text to correct errors and omissions to meet the requirements of being faithful to the original work.

Convert "faith, expressiveness and elegance" into "expressiveness, elegance and trustworthiness" so that the whole process starts from the original text and returns to the original text. Not only does it facilitate quick translation, but inspiration often strikes upon first reading.

Daya first, it is easy to catch the spark of fleeting thoughts. At the end of the letter, the translator has a comprehensive understanding of the original work, and can try to ensure the first element of translation, "faithfulness to the original text." 3. What does "faithful and elegant" mean?

"Faithful and elegant" is a requirement for translation. Achieving "faithfulness and elegance" requires foreign language translation and classic Chinese translation.

"Faith" means faithfulness, and the translation should express the meaning of the original text as much as possible.

"Da" refers to smooth and smooth flow. This is based on "xin", which further smoothes the translation and expresses it in a natural way close to the native language.

"Ya" is elegant and graceful. It is necessary to make the translation "similar" to the original text, such as the playful expression in the original text. In translation, it also combines the characteristics of everyday language to express this interest. "Elegance" is a very high "translation context", so readers should be consistent with emotional fluctuations when reading the translation.

Extended information

"Faith", "Da" and "Elegance" were proposed by Yan Fu, an emerging enlightenment thinker in the late Qing Dynasty in my country. His "Examples of Translation" in "Tianyan Lun" "Speaking of: "There are three difficulties in translation: trustworthiness, expressiveness and elegance. It is very difficult to seek trustworthiness. If trustworthiness is not enough, it will not be achieved if it is not translated.

" "Faithfulness" means that the meaning does not contradict the original text, that is, the translation must be accurate, without deviation, omission, or arbitrary addition or deletion of meaning; "da" means that the translation is not rigidly bound to the form of the original text, and the translation is smooth and clear; "elegance" refers to the choice of language in the translation The words should be appropriate and the article itself should be elegant, concise and elegant.