Common Translation Problems and Solutions for English Majors

趙孟菲+尹玉娟

（昆明醫科大學海源學院）

Abstract： The cultivation of translation competence is essential in the whole language-learning process for English majors. This paper has summed up some common translation problems that English majors encounter in doing translation， offered instances that are mostly collected from their translation exercises and subsequently proposed corresponding solutions.

Key words： translation； problems； solutions； English majors

I. Introduction

It is generally accepted that listening， reading， speaking and writing are the most basic aspects to master a language. Yet， for students who major in foreign languages， translation competence is also considered essential. This paper， with the methods of illustration and comparison， will analyze some common problems that English majors encounter in doing translation and will propose corresponding solutions.

II. Analysis of Problems and Solutions

Translation is “conversion of text from one language to another” （“Translation”）. In other words， translation is a process to deal with two particular languages. There are problems that many English majors share in doing translation.

First of all， many students usually focus more on details rather than regard the text as a whole. Mechanically they do the translation word-for-word and sentence-for-sentence. For instance：

尤其在鄉間，上千年來人們一直以不變的方式生活著。種植莊稼和葡萄，釀酒和飲酒，喂牛和擠奶，除草和栽花。

Translation： Especially in the countryside， people have been living in the same styles for thousands of years----plant crops and grape， make wine and drink it， feed cows and milk them， kill grasses and give birth to flowers.

（Ma 38-39）

In this instance， the translator simply did the translation word-for-word even without considering the grammar. However， with comprehensive understanding of the whole text， the translator then organizes his own words to express what he understands. Therefore， the students should highlight the understanding of the whole text instead of mechanically translating. The translation above can be improved as follows：

This is particularly true in the countryside where people have been living in the same styles for thousands of years. They grow crops and grapes， brew and drink wine， feed and milk cows， weed and plant flowers. （Ma 39）

Besides， the translated texts are not going as fluently and naturally as those written in original languages. It is quite easy to distinguish the translated from the original. For example：

Winners are not afraid to do their own thinking and to use their own knowledge.

Translation： 勝利的人不害怕自己思考并運用自己的知識。

Improved Translation： 勝者無懼于運用自己的知識進行獨立思考。

（Ma 61）

In this example， the improved translation， with well-chosen phrases and reasonable sentence order， is much more authentic than the previous version. It is crucial to make the reorganization of the translated words sound native. Thus， English majors should try hard to improve both the source language and the target language.

Additionally， many students do not possess sufficient vocabulary in specialized fields like biology， medicine， psychology， etc， which results in their unsatisfactory performance in related translation. For instance：

These studies suggest that species frequently take advantage of the physics of pollen motion by generating specific aerodynamic environments within the immediate vicinity of their female reproductive organs.

Translation： 這些研究顯示，風媒植物在傳粉過程中，常在緊靠雌性生殖器官附近的區域，形成特定的空氣動力環境，來利用花粉運動的物理原理。

（Zhao）

Most students translated “female reproductive organs” into “雌性生殖器官” which is obviously inappropriate. As a matter of fact， “雌蕊” which is a biological term should be adopted in this translation. Hence， the students should enlarge their vocabulary， especially in specialized fields， so that they can perform well in related translation.

III. Conclusion

In conclusion， it is of great significance for English majors to develop their translation competence. It is possible to get rid of the common problems they share. The corresponding solutions provided in this paper are expected to help them perform better in the following study of translation as well as the whole language-learning process.

References

[1]. Ma， Degao， ed. Spark： Translation Instruction of TEM 8. Qingdao： China Ocean University Press， 2010.

[2]. “Translation （disambiguation）.” Wikipedia. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.

[3]. Zhao， Danmin. The exercise of the English-Chinese Translation Course. 2016. MS.

[4]. Zhou， Ying. The material from the English-Chinese Translation Course. 2016. MS.