A Study on the Application of Linguistics in Translation

張星 文召

【Abstract】As a bridge of communication， translation plays an extremely important role in the history of human development and the opening-up process of nations. Therefore， it is necessary to pay more attention to the development of translation. The thesis analyzes the relationship between translation and linguistics based on previous research and the views of scholars at home and abroad， especially applied linguistics and cognitive linguistics. It intends to have a thorough and logical study on the application of linguistics in translation， so as to explore better theoretical guidance for translation in foreign language teaching and learning.

【Key words】Translation； Applied Linguistics； Cognitive Linguistics

【作者簡介】張星，南京師范大學外國語學院翻譯碩士；文召，南京師范大學外國語言學及應用語言學碩士。

1. Introduction

In the course of human development， translation has played an indispensable role in promoting exchanges in civilizations of different nations. It can even be said that without translation， exchanges and interactions among different civilizations cannot be carried out effectively. The level of Chinas modernization has been greatly improved since the policy of reform and opening up； translation has played an important role in this process.

However， according to the research， there is still a long way to go to improve the level of translation of students， to meet the needs of the rapid development of modern society. A crucial reason is the neglecting of the training of translation skills in foreign language teaching and learning.

2. The source of the relationship between translation and linguistics

John C. Catford， a famous British linguist and translator， had a detailed introduction on the source of the relationship between translation and linguistics in his masterpiece A Linguistic Theory of Translation. In the preface， he pointed out “since translation is related to language， when analyzing and describing the translation process， various categories that have been established in the language description must be fully used. In other words， we must adopt a language theory， that is， general linguistics theory” （Mu Lei： 1993）. In this book， Catford began with a linguistic theory and described in detail the definition of translation and various basic types to illustrate how to divide and distinguish full-text translation， partial translation， complete translation， limited translation， literal translation， free translation， etc.

Except what discussed by Catford about the source of the relationship between translation and linguistics， Yuan Xiaoyi （1997） once pointed out “there is no doubt that translation theory was included into linguistics category when it was firstly discussed systematically， because it is a linguistic phenomenon in the first place”. But at the same time， he pointed out that translation theory surely cannot just be a branch of linguistics or the so-called “applied linguistics”； it seems to be inherently interdisciplinary. Despite this， translation has made sustained progress with the help of linguistics.

3. Translation and applied linguistics

The convening of the first International Conference on Applied Linguistics （AILA） in 1964 was the beginning of applied linguistics as an independent discipline. Foreign language teaching was one of the only two themes established on this conference.

Listening， speaking， reading， writing and translating have been written into the syllabus as the five major skills in foreign language teaching and learning. However， studies show that teachers and students tend to pay more attention to the training of the first four items in the practical teaching and learning， while ignoring the importance of translation. For most foreign language learners， translating is simply listed as one of the five major skills， while its importance is not really emphasized.

3.1 Traditional positioning of translation in foreign language teaching and learning

The traditional view is that listening and speaking are the two most basic skills in language learning. However， this is not the case. Translating also plays a crucial role in the process of foreign language learning. In the course of communication， the first thing is to be able to understand after listening to what the other person is saying. That is to say， the listener can translate the language information he heard into the language that he can understand. If two speakers of different languages speak only their own mother tongues， then both of them will be lost in the process of their language interaction. Therefore， translation plays a really essential role in the interactions among different languages and cultures.

3.2 New positioning of translation in foreign language teaching and learning

The author believes that the realization of listening， speaking， reading and writing is based on the process of translating. Only with the successful translation between mother tongue and the foreign language， then the communication process can be realized. To a certain extent， translation runs through the entire process of foreign language teaching and learning. Without translation， foreign language teaching and learning cannot be conducted in the first place.

The goal of learning a foreign language for most people ??is only for communicating with native speakers on a daily basis instead of using the language for special translation purposes. Therefore， they do not think there is a necessary to learn translation. This view is rational， to some extent. While it only regards translation as a utilitarian purpose， which is not conducive to language learning. Zhang Changyun （1995） once pointed out “translation enables students to check their level of knowledge of a foreign language and be aware of how far they have been in language learning process”. Translation can not only increase students vocabularies of a foreign language， consolidate their command of foreign knowledge and culture， but also enables students to improve the proficiency in different language conversions， thus further promoting their foreign language learning.

4. Translation and cognitive linguistics

4.1 Cognitive linguistics

With the appearance of cognitive linguistics， translation and general linguistics began their cooperation again after being apart for a period of time. Cognitive linguistics is a new discipline that emerged in the 1980s. This emerging discipline has more advantages and psychological reality than the prevailing objectivist linguistics.

Tan Yesheng （2012） pointed out that cognitive linguistic theories should be applied to translation studies； descriptive and interpretative research shall be conducted based on common cognitive categories， in order to show its rationality and feasibility at both theoretical and practical levels. He believes that in the framework of cognitive linguistics， translation is not a process of converting textual meaning from one language to another， but a process of constructing meaning and reconstructing meaning in a new context. Translation is a kind of communicative activity depending on different contexts. The essential feature of translation is the cognitive construction of meaning. Therefore， the teaching and learning process of translation should be organized based on the communicative characteristics of translation and the cognitive process of meaning construction.

4.2 Cognitive translation teaching approach

As mentioned earlier， the students level of translation in learning foreign languages is generally low. There are several reasons for this phenomenon. For example， students have not paid enough attention to translation， the bilingual basis is relatively weak， the ability of understanding and expressing both languages is inadequate， and the students do not have enough awareness of rhetoric and style. Therefore， cognitive linguists proposed a teaching approach for cognitive translation aiming at these situations. The cognitive translation teaching approach is more advantageous in terms of teaching objectives， modes， contents， means， methods， and evaluation systems comparing with the traditional one. By using cognitive translation teaching approach， problems appearing among students can be solved effectively.

5. Conclusion

Translation has built a bridge for the communication and integration of various civilizations. Therefore， it is crucial for forming this colorful and diversified world culture in current era. The realization of effective translation requires not only a good grasp of different languages， cultures， customs， and social systems， but also the assistance of other related fields. Many theories in translation are inextricably linked with linguistics. Only by relocating the position of translation and applying linguistic theories into it， can we find better theoretical guidance for translation in foreign language teaching and learning.

References：

[1]Mu Lei.Catford and A Linguistic Theory of Translation[J].Language and Translation，1993（2）.

[2]Tan Yesheng.A Perspective of Cognitive Linguistics in Translation Teaching[J].Foreign Language World，2012（3）.

[3]Yuan Xiaoyi.Linguistic Complex of Translation[J].Journal of Foreign Languages，1997（4）.

[4]Zhang Changyun.Commenting on “the status of translation in Russian teaching as a foreign language”[J].Foreign Language Teaching Abroad，1995（2）.