论英汉之间数字的翻译英语论文.doc

本科生毕业论文（设计）册

学院 XXX学院
专业 英语翻译
班级 XXX级机器翻译1班
学生 XXX
指导教师 XXX

XXXX大学本科毕业论文（设计）任务书
编 号：
论文（设计）题目：论英汉之间数字的翻译
学院： XXX学院 专业： 英语翻译 班级： XXXX机器翻译1班
学生姓名： XXX 学号： XXXX 指导教师： XXX 职称： 副教授

1、 论文（设计）研究目标及主要任务
本论文的研究目标是探讨中英文化中数字的不同涵义和数字在文学中的应用。其主要任务是通过分析文化的影响作用提出几点数字的翻译方法。

2、论文（设计）的主要内容
本论文分为三章，第一章介绍数字和文化的关系，第二章介绍数字在文学中的修辞用法，最后一章提出了四种数字的翻译方法。

3、论文（设计）的基础条件及研究路线
本论文的基础条件是不同的翻译学家及文化学家对翻译的研究结果。
研究路线是对数字在英汉文化中的不同涵义及其应用进行详细的阐述，并在此基础上试探性地提出四条数字的翻译方法。

4、主要参考文献
Gunde, Richard. Culture and Customs of China [M]. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2002.230-267.
Kuper, Adam. Culture [M]. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1999.226.
Salzmann, Zdenek. Language, Culture, & Society [M]. Boulder: Westview Press, 1998.215-232.
郭爱萍,王丰年.英汉数字的特点及其翻译技巧研究[J].科技与出版,2006,(05).
许渊冲.白居易诗选[M].石家庄:河北人民出版社,2006:203.
5、计划进度

阶段
起止日期
1
确定初步论文题目
3月9日前
2
与导师见面，确定大致范围，填开题报告和任务书，导师签字
3月9日-3月16日
3
提交论文提纲
3月16日-3月23日
4
交初稿和文献综述
3月23日-4月23日
5
交终稿和评议书
5月8日前
指 导 教师： 年 月 日
教研室主任： 年 月 日
注：一式三份，学院（系）、指导教师、学生各一份

XXXX大学本科生毕业论文（设计）开题报告书
XXX 学院 英语翻译 专业 XXX 届
学生
姓名
XXX
论文（设计）题目
论英汉之间数字的翻译
指导
教师
XXX
专业
职称
副教授
所属教研室
英语翻译教研室
研究方向
翻译

课题论证：从数字与文化，数字的应用等方面论述数字的隐含意义以及其翻译方法。

方案设计：第一章介绍数字与文化的关系，
第二章阐述数字在文学作品中的应用，
第三章探讨数字的翻译方法。

进度计划：3月9日前确定初步论文题目
3月16日前写开题报告、任务书
3月23日前提交论文提纲
4月23日前提交初稿和文献综述
5月8日前交终稿和评议书
指导教师意见：

指导教师签名： 年 月 日
教研室意见：

教研室主任签名： 年 月 日

XXXX大学本科生毕业论文（设计）评议书
姓 名
XXX
学院
XXX学院
专业
英语翻译
年级（班）
XXX英语翻译机译1班
论 文 题 目
论英汉之间数字的翻译
完成时间
XXX/5/7
论

文

内

容

摘

要

数字作为一种特殊的语言符号，不仅具有计算功能，而且承载着丰富的文化内涵。在不同的历史文化孕育下，汉语和英语形成了各具特色的语言体系，在日常交流中，数字占据着重要的地位；在文学作品中，借助于各种修辞手法，数字更加展现了其独特的文化魅力。由于中西方文化的不同，具有隐含意义的数字在翻译中面临着巨大的困难。因此，翻译工作者在翻译文学作品中的数字时必须考虑到历史，社会，文化，习俗等各个方面的因素。
这篇论文是对数字翻译的浅析。首先对中西方的数字文化做了整体介绍，对比分析了汉英数字文化的异同点。接着分析了数字在文学修辞中的应用，及其给文学作品带来的表达效果。最后，在前人的理论基础上提出了四种应对文学作品中数字翻译的方法。

指
导
教
师
评
语

年 月 日
指 导 教 师

职称

初评成绩

答辩小组
姓名
职称
教研室
组长

成员

答辩记录：

记录人签字： 年 月 日
答辩小组意见：

组长签字： 年 月 日
学院意见：

评定成绩： 签章

年 月 日
XXXX大学本科生毕业论文（设计）文献综述
Literature Review
In linguistics, a number is a symbol or word that represents a quantity or an amount. After human society had developed into a certain phase, numbers, with the help of symbols, were born to meet the needs of social activities, and are developing with human civilization. Numbers come from the nature, from understanding and summary of the material world, and from observation and exploration of the objective world. From ancient times till now, daily life can not go on without numbers. Human beings have reached a consensus that words created human civilization, and words were created by numbers. Words may pose obstacles to communications. However, numbers are always the same. There has been, both at home and abroad, considerable interest in this field of research in recent years.
In our daily life, we often meet with something which does not have a clear quantitative boundary and has to be described by certain fuzzy expressions. Besides, the objective world is all-embracing, while languages are relatively hysteretic. Therefore, the meanings human expresses inevitably possess the characteristic of fuzziness, such as deep and shallow, high and low, fast and slow and so on. The boundary between the two adjectives in each pair is not clear, which is a reflection of both the fuzziness of objects and human's demands of fuzziness in communications. Fuzziness is an objective attribute of the languages. The birth and rise of fuzziology and fuzzy linguistics break a new field and provide a new method to language study. After American scholar Lotfi Askar Zadeh published his paper "Fuzzy Sets" in Information and Control and proposed fuzzy set theory in 1965, discussions and studies on semantic fuzziness and fuzzy linguistics have drawn great attention. Under the guidance of translation equivalence theory, scholars such as Zhao Yanchun and Zhang Ying, etc., propose the concept of "fuzzy equivalence" to translate words with semantic fuzziness. Influenced and restricted by cultural contexts, numbers sometimes lose their accurate referential meanings and contain semantic fuzziness. Instead of conveying the original meanings, the numbers in Chinese classical poetry and idioms often perform other functions, which lead to difficulties in translation.
"Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text", (Bhatia, 1992:1,051) Born nearly at the same time with language, translation is one of the most long-lasting activities in human history. It is playing a significant role in communications of literature, art, philosophy, science, technology, politics, economics, etc., which objectively promotes world peace and development.
Great achievements have been made by scholars at home and abroad in Chinese classical literature translation. Angus Charles Graham, Arthur David Waley, Ezra Pound, Herbert Allen Giles, Witter Bynner and so on are all expert translators in this field. Chinese translators, including Jiang Tinggan, Weng Xianliang, Xu Yuanchong, etc., contribute a lot to Chinese classical poetry translation both in theory and practice. Moreover, relevant studies on Chinese classical literature translation have been carried out and elaborate on different aspects.

本科生毕业论文设计

题目： 论英汉之间数字的翻译

作者姓名： XXX
指导教师： XXX
所在学院： XXX学院
专业（系）： 英语翻译
班级（届）： XXX届

完成日期 XXX 年 5 月 7 日

An Analysis on the Translation of Numbers between English and Chinese

BY
XXX
Prof. XXXX, Tutor

A Thesis Submitted to Department of English
Language and Literature in Partial
Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of B.A. in English
AtXXXX University

May 7th, XXX

摘 要

数字作为一种特殊的语言符号，不仅具有计算功能，而且承载着丰富的文化内涵。在不同的历史文化孕育下，汉语和英语形成了各具特色的语言体系，在日常交流中，数字占据着重要的地位；在文学作品中，借助于各种修辞手法，数字更加展现了其独特的文化魅力。由于中西方文化的不同，具有隐含意义的数字在翻译中面临着巨大的困难。因此，翻译工作者在翻译文学作品中的数字时必须考虑到历史，社会，文化，习俗等各个方面的因素。
这篇论文是对数字翻译的浅析。首先对中西方的数字文化做了整体介绍，对比分析了汉英数字文化的异同点。接着分析了数字在文学修辞中的应用，及其给文学作品带来的表达效果。最后，在前人的理论基础上提出了四种应对文学作品中数字翻译的方法。

关键词 数字 文化 翻译

X

Abstract

Numbers as a kind of special linguistic symbols, not only have the function of calculation, but also bear rich cultural connotations. Under the influence of different history and culture environments, English and Chinese languages develop into different systems. In daily communication numbers occupy an important position. In literary works, with the aid of all kinds of rhetoric devices, numbers can show more about its unique cultural charms. Because of the difference of Chinese and western cultures, numbers with implied meanings are facing huge difficulties in translation. Therefore, when translating numbers in literary works, translators must take history, society, culture, customs and other factors into consideration.
This thesis is about the translation of cultural numbers between English and Chinese. First of all, Chinese and English cultures about numbers are analyzed from an overall view, comparing the similarities and differences between them. Then the application of rhetorical numbers in literature and its functions are discussed. Finally, on the basis of predecessors' theories about translation, four kinds of tentative methods are put forward in dealing with the translation of numbers in literary works.

Key words numbers culture translation

XI

Contents

Introduction 1
Chapter I 2
Numbers and Cultures 2
1.1 Chinese culture about numbers 2
1.2 English culture about numbers 6
1.3 Similarities of cultural implication in numbers between Chinese and English 7
1.4 Differences of cultural implication in numbers between Chinese and English 8
Chapter II 10
Numbers’ Usage in Literary World and Its Functions 10
2.1 Numbers used as rhetorical devices 10
2.1.1 Hyperbole 10
2.1.2 Splitting of numbers 12
2.1.3 Metaphor and metonymy 13
2.2 Functions achieved by the use of numbers 14
Chapter III 15
The Translation of Numbers between English and Chinese 15
3.1 Literally translation 15
3.2 Literally translation with notes 16
3.3 Liberally translation 19
3.4 Omitting numbers 20
Conclusion 23
Bibliography 24

37

Introduction

From the perspective of linguistics, numbers are symbols that represent accurate quantities. However, with the development of human society, more and more cultural features are added to numbers and numbers have enriched human civilization at the same time. From ancient time on, daily life can hardly go on without numbers. Besides their counting function, numbers play an important role in literary world. We can find many idioms involving numbers, such as “千载难逢” (Such a thing only happens once in a thousand years) and “乱七八糟” (at sixes ad sevens). In literary works, numbers are always used as rhetoric devices, which make sentences difficult to comprehend. Consequently, higher requirement are proposed in the translation of implied-meaning numbers.
There are three chapters in this thesis. Chapter One mainly discussed culture and numbers and put forward some points of similarities and differences of implied-meaning numbers on the basis of comparing Chinese and English cultures. The second chapter is a superficial introduction of the rhetorical usage of numbers in literary world, which not only attracts the foreign readers’ strong interests, but also greatly reveals the abundant Chinese traditional culture. Correspondingly, this leads to more accurate requirements in translation. Thus the last chapter put forward four kinds of tentative translation on the basis of former researches methods applied. They are respectively called literally translation, literally translation with notes, liberally translation and omitting numbers in translation. Literally translation is chose in the situation where numbers have almost the same meaning in two cultures, mostly are real meanings. Literally translation with notes is usually used when numbers are hard to understand because of cultural implications. Liberally translation is applied in order to suit to the target cultural conventions by reducing or enlarging the quantity. Translation by omitting numbers can be used in translating some numbers without concrete meanings, so that the original messages can be expressed without using numbers. Finally, an overall conclusion comes to summarize the thesis.
Chapter I
Numbers and Cultures

Culture and language depend on each other. Language exists in the soil of culture, and culture is reflected in the form of language. Numerals as an important part of language have vivid cultural allusions. In different languages, numerals are restrained by their own cultural environment, as a result of which readers from different cultures can not easily get the same literary images. The reason lies in that both Chinese and English have a large quantity of cultural connotations. Without knowing them, one can not understand the writers’ deep meaning, let alone appreciate the original beauty of literature and art. Thus we have to get the knowledge of cultural background of numbers in order to make intercultural communication more effective an efficient.

1.1 Chinese culture about numbers
From ancient time on, numbers have always been used as measurement units. However, with the development of human society and culture, they are gradually given more and more other connotations besides their original meanings. Consequently, some numbers are favorable, while some others are considered to be unlucky. Some of them even become magic numbers in different languages. With the influence of its abundant culture, Chinese numerals have their unique connotations. In the following the culture background behind the numbers will be elaborated.
One, besides its calculating function, also has implicit meanings or sometimes called fuzzy meanings such as “unique”, “every”, “whole” in Chinese. In Chinese traditional Taoism “one” is usually used to designate Tao, the beginning of the world, the original unity at the basis of creation, from which everything is generated. That is“道生一，一生二，二生三，三生万物” ( Tao gave birth to the one, the one gave birth to the two, two gave birth to three, and three gave birth to ten thousand things. ) in Daode Jing (《道德经》). One is a quite symbolic number, meaning “total” and “single-mindedness”. This is the reason why it is often quoted in Chinese idioms and commonly used in famous sayings and proverbs. For example，“一帆风顺” ( plain sailing ), “一箭双雕” ( to kill two birds with one stone ), “吃一堑，长一智” ( a fall into the pit, a gain in your wit ), “一朝被蛇咬，十年怕井绳” ( once bit, twice shy ).
Even numbers are regarded as beauty and luck in Chinese culture because philosophy in China is Dualistic philosophy which believes that “Yin” and “Yang” together form the world. Due to this, Chinese people are in favor of even numbers. Two as the smallest even number is literarily called “双” (shuang) and “两” (liang) in Chinese. Chinese people are longing for “好事成双”(happiness comes in pairs) and “两全其美” (satisfy both parties), which is exactly the reflection of its connotations of goodliness and fortune. At the same time, its original meaning can also be found in some idioms to show the opposition of one or lucky gains, such as “一心不可二用” (one can’t focus one’s mind on two things at the same time) and “一石二鸟” (kill two birds with one stone).
Three is the number implicating success and nobleness in Chinese traditional culture. Chinese ancient philosophers divided the universe into the heavens, the earth and the creatures and they believed that everything including what is invisible and untouchable in the universe is generated by three (the so called“三生万物” in Chinese). From nothing to something, or something to infinity, “three” plays a circle role. Therefore, they sacrifice the heads of a pig, a bull and a goat as san sheng(“三牲”) to God for great events in order to get bless and protect from mysterious strength. In ancient