Comparison of Subject Prominence and Topic Prominence and Chinese-English Translation Skills

摘要：英語強調形式與語法，其結構往往是由主謂賓組合。而漢語強調意思的領會，一個話題可充當主語，再加之評述，他人便可以揣摩出其意。本文旨在基于對主題顯著與主語顯著進行對比研究從而找到漢譯英的翻譯技巧。

關鍵詞：主語顯著;主題顯著;英漢對比;翻譯技巧

Abstract： English composed of subject and predicate pays much attention on the formality and grammar，while Chinese has more emphases on the understanding of meaning. One person can guess the meaning when the subject is the topic. The purpose of this paper is to study the C-E translation skills based on the comparison of subject-prominence and topic-prominence.

Key words： subject-prominence， topic-prominence， comparison， translation skills

1.The comparison of the subject between English and Chinese Sentences

English is a subject-prominence language in which sentences structures are built on subject-predicate pivot.（Xiong Bing，2012：115）Through analyzing the word order over many languages，Zhang Zhenbang proposed five basic sentence patterns SVC，SV，SVoO，SVOC.（Zhang Zhenbang，2017：15-16）.In Chinese，the subject is literally the subject matter to talk about， and the predict is what the speaker comments on.（Chao，1968： 69-70）Through the comparison of two different languages， the differences are as follows. Mostly， Chinese often has double subjects and English often has only one subject. There is formal subject in English like “it”. The role of the passive voice is not very important in Chinese but is very popular in English.

2.C-E translation skills

2.1 Identify the real subject

There are a lot of topics in Chinese sentences， and every subject in different clause may be different. Shen Xiaolong proposes that Chinese sentences present a linear flow and turn， which seeks rhythm and cadence without being constrained by the form. （申小龍， 1988：59）We need to analyse the sentence and find the real subject when the subject is not fixed. For example，in the sentence “we broke up and my heart was broken”，“we” is the real subject.

2.2 Use the impersonal pronoun “it”

In English， the impersonal pronoun is also called “dummy subject” （Xiong Bing， 2012：128）. It is often used to replace the concept of time， distance or natural phenomena. For example， in the sentence “it must be pointed out that nothing has been done”.

2.3 Use the passive voice

In English， the role of passive voice is of great significance.The extensive application of the passive voice is related to the different way of thinking in west country.On the other hand， the passive voice is usually subjective and can illustrate the question directly.For example，“his hair was cut last weekend”.

References：

[1]Xiong，Bing.?Comparison?of?English?and?Chinese?and?Translation：?An?Introduction

[M].Wuhan：?China Central Normal University Publishing House，?2012.

[2]Zhang， Zhenbang. A New English Grammar Coursebook [M]. Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press， 2017.

[3]Chao， Yue Ren. A Grammar of Spoken Chinese[M]. Berkeley & Los Angeles： University of California Press， Ltd.，1968.

[4]申小龍.中國句型文化[M].?長春：東北師范大學出版社，?1988.

作者簡介：

王星瑤，女，湖北，襄陽，漢，湖北文理學院外國語學院英語系，職稱：無，學歷：本科在讀生.研究方向：英語教育 .