TranslationStandardsbyLinYutang

【Abstract】By analyzing the translation standards by Lin Yutang， this paper aims to give a brief understanding of the translation standards raised by Lin Yutang， thus making the translation standards more practically significant in translation activities.

【Key words】Translation Standards； Lin Yutang

Introduction

Translation standards are regarded as the guidance in translation activities， as well as the way to evaluate the quality of translation. Lin Yutang has made the greatest contribution to Chinese translation theory， who was the first one to make a specific explanation of the translation standard. In 1932， he brought up three translation standards， which were “ Zhongshi， Tongshun， Mei”. Meanwhile， he interpreted the translation standards as three responsibilities of translators from another perspective， which were “ in translation ， the translator should be responsible for the original author， the reader and the art”.

1. Literature Review

During the republic of China， Yu Dafu put forward the translation standards of “ Xue， Si， De”， which meant translators should learn， think and get something before doing translation； Mao Dun stated the “charm or spirit” of translation， which was similar to Guo Moruo` s idea of “fengyun（charm） translation”； Lun Xun insisted on “metaphrase” or “word for word” translation， which played an activity role in enriching Chinese vocabulary； Lu Yang interpreted the translation theory by Lin Yutang and his “aesthetic translation”（2005， 05）. This paper is to analyze the translation standard by Lin Yutang thus providing a more clear guidance in the translation activities.

2. Analysis of the Standards by Lin Yutang

Lin Yutang brought up three translation standards in his thesis Discussion on Translation， which were “Zhongshi， Tongshun， Mei”. “Zhongshi” is faithfulness. He put forward and explained in detail the four implications of faithfulness. The first implication is that faithfulness doesn` t mean a word-for-word correspondence， the correct way of translation is sentence-for-sentence translation. The second implication is that the translator should aim at not only expressing the meaning of the source text， but also conveying the spirit of the source text. The third implication is that absolute faithfulness is impossible. Lin argued that the translator could not render all facet of a sentence at the time—the beauty of meaning， spirit， implication， style and sound. The fourth implication is fluency. In fact it is also the second principle put forward by Lin Yutang， which is “Tongshun”. It seems illogical that in his translation theory， fluency is both the second criterion and the fourth implication of the first criterion. As one of the three translation criteria， fluency is also part of faithfulness. Without fluency， it is almost impossible to reach faithfulness. When translating literary works， the translator has to consider the aesthetic quality of the translation， which is the meaning of the third criteria “Mei”. Lin held that besides its utility， the aesthetic quality of the translation should be given consideration.

3. The Application of “Zhongshi， Tongshun， Mei”

“Zhongshi” and “Tongshun” are basically the same with “Xin” and “Da” by Yan Fu. The “Mei” by Lin Yutang is quite different with “Ya”. And the application of this standard is also representative for Lin Yutang.

Example： 尋尋覓覓，冷冷清清，凄凄慘慘戚戚。

Translation： So dim， so dark， so dense， so dull， so damp， so dank， so dead.（Lin Yutang， 2005）

The fourteen words in the original give the reader the impression of being monotonous and pressing， and produce the artistic conception of being lonely and languishing in boredom. The words Lin chose and the sentence form he used are not only “Zhongshi” and “Tongshun”， but also “Mei”. Lin rendered reduplication in the form of alliteration and repetition， and fully conveyed the original artistic conception to the readership.

Conclusion

Lin Yutang is a famous translator in the 20th century of China. Through the study， the paper gives a brief unstanding of the translation standard. “Zhongshi， Tongshun， Mei” has great significance in the translation field. And the translation theory in our country will be improved with the study by scholars and with the development of the time.

References：

[1]陸洋.論“美譯”——林語堂翻譯研究[J].中國翻譯，2005，05.

[2]林語堂.Moment in Peking[M].北京：外語教學與研究出版社，2005.

[3]林語堂.林語堂自傳[M].陜西：陜西師范大學出版社，2005.

[4]王哲甫.中國新文學運動史[M].北京：杰成印書局，1993：259.

作者簡介：楊牧園（1992-），女，成都理工大學在讀碩士，英語筆譯專業。