Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Yearbook of Corpus Linguistics and Pragmatics 2015 pp 139–162Cite as

Source Language Interference in English-to-Chinese Translation

  • Chapter

Part of the book series: Yearbook of Corpus Linguistics and Pragmatics ((YCLP,volume 3))

Abstract

Translational language as a “third code” has been found to differ from both source and target languages. Recent corpus-based studies have proposed a number of translation universal (TU) hypotheses including, for example, simplification, explicitation and normalisation. This article investigates the “source language shining through” hypothesis put forward by Teich (2003: 207) by exploring source language interference in translated texts, at both lexical and grammatical levels, in English-to-Chinese translation on the basis of comparable corpora and parallel corpora of the two languages. The evidence from the two genetically distant languages is of critical importance in generalising the source language interference as a potential translation universal.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    This example is taken from a bilingual magazine (www.taiwan-panorama.com).

References

  • Baker, M. (1996). Corpus-based translation studies: The challenges that lie ahead. In H. Somers (Ed.), Terminology, LSP and translation: Studies in language engineering in honour of Juan C. Sager (pp. 175–186). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, M. (2004). A corpus-based view of similarity and difference in translation. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 9(2), 167–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, M. (2007). Patterns of idiomaticity in translated vs. non-translated text. Belgian Journal of Linguistics, 21, 11–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baroni, M., & Bernardini, S. (2003). A preliminary analysis of collocational differences in monolingual comparable corpora. In D. Archer, P. Rayson, A. Wilson, & A. McEnery (Eds.), Proceedings of the corpus linguistics 2003 conference (pp. 82–91). Lancaster: UCREL, Lancaster University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blum-Kulka, S., & Levenston, E. (1983). Universals of lexical simplification. In C. Færch & G. Kasper (Eds.), Strategies in interlanguage communication (pp. 119–139). London: Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, H. (1994). The contextual analysis of Chinese sentences with punctuation marks. Literary and Linguistic Computing, 9(4), 281–289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, W. (2006). Explication through the use of connectives in translated Chinese: A corpus-based study. PhD thesis, University of Manchester.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dai, G., & Xiao, R. (2010). A corpus-based investigation of explicitation in translation. Chinese Translators Journal, 2010(1), 76–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dai, G., & Xiao, R. (2011). SL shining through in translational language: A corpus-based study of Chinese translation of English passives. Translation Quarterly, 62, 85–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frawley, W. (1984). Prolegomenon to a theory of translation. In W. Frawley (Ed.), Translation: Literary, linguistic and philosophical perspectives (pp. 159–175). London: Associated University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, S., & Teich, E. (2001). Multi-layer analysis of translation corpora: Methodological issues and practical implications. In D. Cristea, N. Ide, D. Marcu, & M. Poesio (Eds.), Proceedings of EUROLAN 2001 workshop on multi-layer corpus-based analysis (pp. 44–55). Iasi.

    Google Scholar 

  • He, X. (2003). Explicitation in English-Chinese translation. Journal of PLA University of Foreign Languages, 2003(4), 63–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hopkinson, C. (2007). Factors in linguistic interference: A case of study in translation. SKASE Journal of Translation and Interpretation, 1, 13–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hundt, M., Sand, A., & Siemund, R. (1998). Manual of information to accompany the Freiburg-LOB corpus of British English. Freiburg: University of Freiburg.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kenny, D. (1998). Creatures of habit? What translators usually do with words. Meta, 43(4), 515–523.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laviosa, S. (1998). Core patterns of lexical use in a comparable corpus of English narrative prose. Meta, 43(4), 557–570.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laviosa, S. (2002). Corpus-based translation studies: Theory, findings, applications. Amsterdam: Rodopi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laviosa-Braithwaithe, S. (1997). Investigating simplification in an English comparable corpus of newspaper articles. In K. Klaudy & J. Kohn (Eds.), Transferre necesse est. Proceedings of the second international conference on current trends in studies of translation and interpreting (pp. 531–540). Budapest: Scholastica.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu, M. (1991). Han Ying Duibi Yanjiu yu Fanyi (Contrastive of Chinese and English and Translation). Nanchang: Jiangxi Educational Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lü, S., & Zhu, D. (1979). Yufa Xiuci Jianghua (Talks on grammar and rhetoric). Beijing: Chinese Youth Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malmkjær, K. (1997). Punctuation in Hans Christian Andersen’s stories and in their translations into English. In F. Poyatos (Ed.), Nonverbal communication and translation: New perspectives and challenges in literature, interpretation and the media (pp. 151–162). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mauranen, A. (2007). Universal tendencies in translation. In M. Rogers & G. Anderman (Eds.), Incorporating corpora. The linguist and the translator (pp. 32–48). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • McEnery, T., & Xiao, R. (2002). Domains, text types, aspect marking and English-Chinese translation. Languages in Contrast, 2(2), 211–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McEnery, T., & Xiao, R. (2004). The Lancaster Corpus of Mandarin Chinese: A corpus for monolingual and contrastive language study. In M. Lino, M. Xavier, F. Ferreire, R. Costa, & R. Silva (Eds.), Proceedings of the fourth international conference on language resources and evaluation (LREC) (pp. 1175–1178). Lisbon: The Cultural Centre of Belém.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nevalainen, S. (2005). Köyhtyykö kieli käännettäessä? Mitätaajuuslistat kertovat suomennosten sanastosta. In A. Mauranen & J. Jantunen (Eds.), Käännössuomeksi (pp. 141–162). Tampere: Tampere University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pym, A. (2005). Explaining explicitation. In K. Károly & Á. Fóris (Eds.), New trends in translation studies (pp. 29–43). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott, M. (2009). The Wordsmith tools (version 5.0). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teich, E. (2003). Cross-linguistic variation in system and text: A methodology for the investigation of translations and comparable texts. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Toury, G. (1979). Interlanguage and its manifestations in translation. Meta, 24(2), 223–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toury, G. (1995). Descriptive translation studies and beyond. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, L. (1985). Zhongguo Xiandai Yufa (Modern Chinese grammar). Beijing: Commercial Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, K. (Ed.). (2004). Shuangyu Duiying Yuliaoku Yanzhi yu Yingyong (The development of the compilation and application of parallel corpora). Beijing: Foreign Language Education and Research Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, K., & Qin, H. (2010). A parallel corpus-based study of translational Chinese. In R. Xiao (Ed.), Using corpora in contrastive and translation studies (pp. 164–181). Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xiao, R. (2005). The Babel-English-Chinese parallel corpus. Lancaster: UCREL, Lancaster University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xiao, R. (2010). How different is translated Chinese from native Chinese. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 15(1), 5–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiao, R. (2011). Word clusters and reformulation markers in Chinese and English: Implications for translation universal hypotheses. Languages in Contrast, 11(1), 145–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiao, R. (2012). Ying Han Fanyi zhong de Hanyu Yiwen Yuliaoku Yanjiu (Corpus-based studies of translational Chinese in English-Chinese translation). Shanghai: Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xiao, R., & Dai, G. (2010). Idioms and word clusters in translational Chinese: A corpus-based study. Foreign Language Research, 2010(3), 79–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xiao, R., McEnery, T., & Qian, Y. (2006). Passive constructions in English and Chinese. Languages in Contrast, 6(1), 109–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiao, R., Rayson, P., & McEnery, T. (2009). A frequency dictionary of Mandarin Chinese: Core vocabulary for learners. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xiao, R., He, L., & Yue, M. (2010). In pursuit of the “third code”: Using the ZJU Corpus of translational Chinese in translation studies. In R. Xiao (Ed.), Using corpora in contrastive and translation studies (pp. 182–214). Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Linguistics and English Language, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK

    Richard Xiao

Authors
  1. Richard Xiao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard Xiao .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Filología Inglesa, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain

    Jesús Romero-Trillo

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Xiao, R. (2015). Source Language Interference in English-to-Chinese Translation. In: Romero-Trillo, J. (eds) Yearbook of Corpus Linguistics and Pragmatics 2015. Yearbook of Corpus Linguistics and Pragmatics, vol 3. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17948-3_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation