Variational Translation Theory [1st ed.] 9789811592706, 9789811592713

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New Frontiers in Translation Studies

Zhonglian Huang Yongzhong Zhang

Variational Translation Theory

New Frontiers in Translation Studies Series Editor Defeng Li Center for Studies of Translation, Interpreting and Cognition, University of Macau, Macao SAR, China

Translation Studies as a discipline has witnessed the fastest growth in the last 40 years. With translation becoming increasingly more important in today’s glocalized world, some have even observed a general translational turn in humanities in recent years. The New Frontiers in Translation Studies aims to capture the newest developments in translation studies, with a focus on: • Translation Studies research methodology, an area of growing interest amongst translation students and teachers; • Data-based empirical translation studies, a strong point of growth for the discipline because of the scientific nature of the quantitative and/or qualitative methods adopted in the investigations; and • Asian translation thoughts and theories, to complement the current Eurocentric translation studies. Submission and Peer Review: The editor welcomes book proposals from experienced scholars as well as young aspiring researchers. Please send a short description of 500 words to the editor Prof. Defeng Li at Springernfi[email protected] and Springer Senior Publishing Editor Rebecca Zhu: [email protected]. All proposals will undergo peer review to permit an initial evaluation. If accepted, the final manuscript will be peer reviewed internally by the series editor as well as externally (single blind) by Springer ahead of acceptance and publication.

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/11894

Zhonglian Huang Yongzhong Zhang •

Variational Translation Theory

123

Zhonglian Huang Center for Translation Studies Guangdong University of Foreign Studies Guangzhou, China

Yongzhong Zhang School of Foreign Languages Hubei University of Economics Wuhan, China

ISSN 2197-8689 ISSN 2197-8697 (electronic) New Frontiers in Translation Studies ISBN 978-981-15-9270-6 ISBN 978-981-15-9271-3 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9271-3 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore

Preface: Indispensable Variational Translation Theory

Our Chinese monograph Variational Translation Theory was drafted in China in 1998 and published in 2002. In recognition of its widespread impact on the research and practice of translation scholars, practitioners, and graduate students, it was listed as an entry in A Dictionary of Translation Studies in China in 2011, and was labeled as the country’s first original translation theory. This English book is based in part on the 2002 Chinese book Variational Translation Theory and draws on findings and insights in the field that have come to light since its publication. It is a source of great pride and joy that the English edition is to be published by Springer. Although it is still an emerging area of translation studies, the theory and practice of variational translation should be afforded the same status as those of complete or full translation. Traditional translation studies generally focus on complete translation. Few studies have addressed incomplete translations or rewritings which have played an increasingly important role in reconstructing human knowledge and culture, and advancing cross-cultural communication. With the cultural turn of translation studies in the 1990s, incomplete translations or rewritings of source texts gradually began to be acknowledged in the field of translation studies, but no systematic research of incomplete translations or unfaithful translation phenomena were made. To advance an in-depth and systematic research of incomplete translations or rewritings, we therefore use the term “variational translation” to refer to “unfaithful” translations or rewritings, and divide translation studies into two interrelated categories: complete translation and variational translation. By drawing upon our researches on unfaithful translations and rewritings, we have found more than ten different methods of variational translation. These methods, which are intrinsically interrelated, are linked through theoretical categorization and systematization to form an organic system of variational translation methods. The book Variational Translation Theory provides its readership with a chance to gain a thorough understanding of the motivations behind translators’ variational translations, of the processes behind this kind of translation, and of the special effects and values of variational translations in reconstructing human knowledge and culture, and advancing cross-cultural communication. v

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Preface: Indispensable Variational Translation Theory

The practice of variational translation can, in fact, be traced back to oral and written communications among different ethnic tribes in early human history. There are a great number of influential variational translations in human translation practice from ancient times to the end of the twentieth century. Unfortunately, they have not been highlighted in translation studies. This book, by adopting the perspective of cross-cultural communication, justifies and addresses the practice of variational translation theoretically and systematically for the first time. Variational translation theory consists of one core philosophy, two contradictions, four key factors, seven techniques, and eleven methods. The core philosophy of variational translation is adaptation, which is subject to two contradictions. One contradiction lies between the source text and the target reader in terms of supply and demand, and the other between the content of the source text and the form of the target language. The contradictions are related to four key factors: the reader, the translator, the source text, and the target text. These factors generate seven adaptation techniques: adding, deleting, editing, narrating, condensing, integrating, and altering. Although independent, these adaptation techniques are interrelated and influence one another in translation practice. This brings about the eleven variational translation methods: selected translation, edited translation, narrated translation, condensed translation, summarized translation, summarized transcomment, transcomment, altered translation, annotated translation, transwriting, and cited translation. All these variational translation methods can allow readers to gain a better understanding of how variational translations are produced, and help them master these adaptation techniques and thereby improve their translation efficacy and efficiency. The value of variational translation theory lies in the following four points: (1) It has summarized and explored new translation methods and theoretical models, and made new reflections on a series of theoretical issues such as the law, processes, mechanisms, standards, and subjectivity of translation, which challenge the traditionally established views on translation; (2) it can deepen our understanding of translation, renovate our perception of translation, establish a pluralist viewpoint of translation, and focus on serving different readers and pursuing the social and economic benefits of translation; (3) it can improve the existing systems of translation theories and methodologies and lay a strong theoretical foundation for variational translation practice; and (4) it can provide a new perspective for further understanding the nature and richness of translation activities and a new theoretical reference for comprehensively and objectively defining the scope of translation activities. The application value of variational translation theory mainly lies in the following three points: (1) It can direct variational translation training programs and enable trainees’ output to be more compatible with social needs and developments; (2) it can guide translators to serve different target readers flexibly and creatively at the micro-level, enhance translators’ market awareness, and highlight the efficacy and purpose of translation in terms of theory and practice; and (3) it can help translators deal with massive amounts of information efficiently, thus develop better source text information processing during the translation process.

Preface: Indispensable Variational Translation Theory

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Since its publication, the variational translation theory has received positive reviews in the international journals—Meta and Perspectives, the top Chinese journal Chinese Translators Journal, and key Chinese newspaper Guangming Daily. These positive reviews have driven further researches on variational translation in China, which have been academically fruitful in this field. For example, Prof. Huang Zhonglian, one of the authors of this book, has published three research monographs and one textbook, all of which involve variational translation theory. The three research monographs are Scientific Translatology (2004), Pragmatic Translatology (2013), and Exploring Yan Fu’s Variational Translation Thoughts (2016). The first two incorporate variational translation theory into the construction of the translation discipline, and the third analyzes the genesis of the thoughts of the most influential Chinese translator, Yan Fu (1854–1921), on variational translation. The above-mentioned textbook, titled A Textbook for Translation Development from Russian to Chinese (2007), discusses how to use variational translation theory to guide translation training programs. Currently, with the aim of establishing the independent discipline of variational translatology, the authors of this book are conducting further researches for publishing a new monograph entitled Variational Translatology. Before closing, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to all the scholars, both at home and abroad, whose useful insights or materials have been incorporated into this book to further support or exemplify variational translation theory. We would also like to extend special thanks to Zhang Lu and Wang Shichao for their assistance in the preparation of this book, and to the editors of Springer for their coordination and editing work. Guangzhou, China Wuhan, China July, 2020

Zhonglian Huang Yongzhong Zhang

Introduction: Profile of Variational Translation Theory

The term “variational translation” refers to a translation activity in which the translator employs seven adaptation techniques—adding, deleting, editing, narrating, condensing, integrating, and altering—to absorb the original contents based on the overt or covert translation requests of target readers in a specific condition. The seven adaptation techniques utilized in variational translation practice can produce the following eleven variational translation methods: selected translation, edited translation, narrated translation, condensed translation, summarized translation, summarized transcomment, transcomment, altered translation, annotated translation, transwriting, and cited translation. The relationships between these eleven methods are hierarchical and inclusive, and form an organic system. Please refer to the following figure: Variational translation theory holds that, in this figure, the complete translation lies at the bottom of the figure, which is the full translation of the original work without any creative writing added. At the top is the creative writing, which has not undergone any translation actions. There is a big space between the complete translation at the bottom and the creative writing at the top in which translators can use adaptation techniques to produce eleven variational translation types (also called methods), as shown in the figure. As we move from selected translation to cited translation, the content absorbed by translators from the original work decreases gradually, and the form fades away until it completely vanishes, with the information from the original work diminishing, and the information created by the translator increasing. Therefore, among the eleven variational translation types, the original text’s information appears most in the selected translation and least in the cited translation. This is because the selected translation is nearest to the complete translation, and a cited translation is farthest from the complete translation and nearest to the creative writing. The relationships between the eleven methods of variational translation are hierarchical and inclusive. Edited translation, which is in the hierarchical level above selected translation, includes selected translation; that is to say, the adaptation techniques used in selected translation can also be employed in edited translation. Similarly, summarized translation includes the four variational translation ix

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Introduction: Profile of Variational Translation Theory

creative writing

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Figure of the variational translation hierarchy

methods below it: selected, edited, narrated, and condensed translation. All the adaptation techniques used in these four methods can be employed by a translator to achieve a successful summarized translation. Likewise, a summarized transcomment can be made based on all the adaptation techniques frequently used in the lower hierarchical methods. Developing these variational translation methods in translation practice requires that translators bring their subjectivity into play in accordance with the target readers’

Introduction: Profile of Variational Translation Theory

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requests or reading habits. Only through these variational translation methods can the cultural barriers of communication be easily overcome and the translated content more easily and effectively accepted by target readers. All the information conveyed in selected, edited, narrated, condensed, and summarized translation comes from the original work. In summarized transcomment, transcomment, altered translation, annotated translation, and cited translation, some information does not come from the original writing; it comes from the translator’s creative writing. Variational translation theory takes the sentence group as its pivotal unit during the variational translation practice. The mechanism of variational translation is manifested as: reader ! translator ! adaptation ! original writing. That is to say, readers’ specific translation requests, whether overt or covert, cause translators to use the seven adaptation techniques (adding, deleting, editing, narrating, condensing, integrating, and altering) to cater source texts to the target readers’ specific requests. Variational translation can highlight the use value of the original text, meet the target readers’ specific requests, and pursue the social and economic benefits of translation. Variational translation is characterized by five words: abundance, swiftness, excellence, economization, and preciseness. “Abundance” and “swiftness” refer to the fact that variational translation can contain more useful information and that the translators are quicker at finishing the translation than those carrying out complete translation. “Excellence” refers to the high quality of the information. This is because the translator usually conveys more useful information that target language readers need after filtering out the useless or irrelevant information. “Economization” is manifested in the ability of variational translation to save reading time and reduce the length of text for the target language readers. Finally, “preciseness” refers to the precise positioning of information that target readers need; thus, the translated text can be more easily accepted by the target language readers. Although variational translation processes have been in use since the genesis of human translation and interpretation, no systematic research on it has been conducted yet. Currently, we are in the information age, and cultural exchanges between countries are unprecedentedly frequent. Variational translation plays a positive role in these exchanges. Variational translation, not complete translation, is even dominant in some cross-cultural communication. However, the following issues still need to be urgently addressed by worldwide translation scholars: What is the essence of translation? How can we summarize and standardize the practice of variational translation in all walks of life? How can we translate source information effectively to allow readers to learn about foreign information as much as possible in a limited amount of time every day? We hold that in-depth research of variational translation theory can be helpful to solving these challenging issues. What is more, conducting in-depth research on variational translation theory can enable us not only to master effective translation techniques and methods and boost the efficiency of information spread in the information age, but also to better understand the nature, function, and role of translation in cross-cultural communication.

Contents

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Complete Translation and Variational Translation . . . . . . . . . 1.1 The Traditional Category of Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2 A New Pair of Translation Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2.1 An Ignored Field in Complete Translation Theory 1.2.2 The Concept Evolution of Variational Translation 1.2.3 Complete Translation and Variational Translation: A New Pair of Translation Categories . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Variational Translation Theory: An Emerging Translation Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1 What is Variational Translation Theory? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 Context for Establishing Variational Translation Theory . . . . 2.2.1 The Problem of Cognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.2 The Necessity of Establishing Variational Translation Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.3 The Probability of Establishing Variational Translation Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 The System of Variational Translation Theory . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Variational Translation Research: A Scientific Research Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 Fact-Based Research Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1.1 From Practice to Cognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1.2 From Re-Reading to Recognition . . . . . . . . . . 3.1.3 From Language to Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 Pyramid-Shaped Research Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.1 WHAT: A Study of the Variational Translation Phenomenon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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HOW: A Study of the Law of Variational Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.3 WHY: A Study of the Theory of Variational Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 Research Tasks for Effectively Developing Information . . 3.3.1 Providing Theoretical Basis for Variational Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3.2 Tapping the Potential of Translators . . . . . . . . . 3.3.3 Developing the Use Value of the Original Work 3.3.4 Meeting the Needs of Target Readers . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

The Essence of Variational Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1 The Nature of Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 The Features of Variational Translation . . . . . . . . . 4.2.1 Bird’s-eye View of Variational Translation from a Macro-perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.2 An Analysis of Variational Translation from a Micro-perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3 The Essence of Variational Translation . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Variational Translation System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1 The Figure of the Variational Translation System 5.1.1 Relations of Solid Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.2 Relations of Dotted Lines . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2 Three Components of the Variational Translation 5.2.1 Variational Translation Subject . . . . . . . 5.2.2 Variational Translation Medium . . . . . . 5.2.3 Variational Translation Object . . . . . . . .

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Adaptation Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1 Adaptation and Its Classification . . . 6.1.1 What is Adaptation? . . . . . . 6.1.2 Classification of Adaptation 6.2 Seven Adaptation Techniques . . . . . 6.2.1 Adding (a ˃ b) . . . . . . . . . . 6.2.2 Deleting (a ˂ b) . . . . . . . . . 6.2.3 Editing (a  b) . . . . . . . . . 6.2.4 Narrating (a  b) . . . . . . . . 6.2.5 Condensing (a《 b) . . . . . . 6.2.6 Integrating (a 2 b) . . . . . . . 6.2.7 Altering (a ∽ b) . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Methods of Variational Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1 Classification of Variational Translation Methods 7.2 Eleven Variational Translation Methods . . . . . . . 7.2.1 Selected Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2.2 Edited Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2.3 Narrated Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2.4 Condensed Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2.5 Summarized Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2.6 Summarized Transcomment . . . . . . . . . 7.2.7 Transcomment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2.8 Altered Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2.9 Annotated Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2.10 Transwriting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2.11 Cited Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Hierarchy of Variational Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.1 Structure of the Variational Translation Hierarchy . . . . . . . . 8.2 The Relationships Among Variational Translation Methods in the Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2.1 General Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2.2 Specific Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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The Process of Variational Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.1 The Macroscopic Process of Variational Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.1.1 The Adaptations from the Original to the Variational Translation Versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.1.2 The Adopted Adaptation Techniques and Variational Translation Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.1.3 The Reasons for Applying Adaptation Techniques . . 9.2 The Microscopic Process of Variational Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.2.1 Translating After Adapting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.2.2 Adapting After Translating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.2.3 The Integration of Adapting and Translating . . . . . .

10 The Mechanism of Variational Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.1 Target Readers Restrict the Translator’s Choices . . . . . . . . . 10.2 The Translator Determines the Adaptation Techniques . . . . . 10.3 Adaptation Techniques Constitute the Variational Translation Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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10.4 Adaptation Techniques Have an Effect on the Original . . . . . . . 162 10.5 Form Change Depends on the Inclusion of Content . . . . . . . . . 163 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 11 The Special Effects of Variational Translation . . . . . . . . . 11.1 Abundance: Large Amounts of Information . . . . . . . . 11.2 Swiftness: The Rapid Spread of Information . . . . . . . . 11.3 Excellence: High-Quality Information . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.4 Economization: Saving Time and Space in Translation 11.5 Preciseness: Precise Positioning of Information . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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12 The Standards of Variational Translation . . . . . . 12.1 A Brief Discussion of Translation Standards . 12.2 The Standards of Variational Translation . . . 12.2.1 General Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.2.2 Specific Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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13 The Scope of Variational Translation . . 13.1 Literary and Artistic Works . . . . . . 13.2 Social Science Works . . . . . . . . . . 13.3 Scientific and Technological Works References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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14 The Value of Variational Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.1 Embodying the Translator’s Life Values . . . . . . . 14.2 Highlighting the Use Value of the Original Work . 14.3 Meeting Readers’ Specific Requirements . . . . . . . 14.4 Pursuing the Social Efficiency of Variational Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.4.1 The Pursuit of Timeliness . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.4.2 The Pursuit of Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . 14.4.3 The Pursuit of Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.4.4 The Pursuit of Optimization . . . . . . . . . . 14.4.5 The Pursuit of Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Chapter 1

Complete Translation and Variational Translation

Abstract In addition to complete translations, throughout the history of translation, there have been plenty of adapted translations and rewritings of source texts that have had widespread impacts on the target readers and target cultures. In this chapter, a new pair of translation categories—complete translation and variational translation—is put forward for translation studies and the concept evolution of variational translation is described in detail. The differences and interrelations between complete translation and variational translation are also discussed and analyzed using case studies. Keywords Translation category Concept evolution

1.1


Complete translation
Variational translation


The Traditional Category of Translation

In the history of the development of translational thought, there is a historical sequence for translation category, which is also the historical sequence of category. Different categories have inclusive, contradictory, opposite, and/or complementary relations, which are logical relations of categories. Sequences formed correspondingly are logical sequences. Mr. Luo Xinzhang (1983), a famous Chinese translator and translation theorist, summarized the logical development sequence of Chinese translation theories in translation history. The sequence is as follows: seeking word-for-word translation ! seeking faithful translation ! seeking similarity in spirit of original ! seeking sublimation of original. If different categories are interconnected, they constitute a system of categories. It is common for different translators and translation researchers to endow the same category with various connotations. For example, some scholars have expressed diverse personal opinions about the most frequently used three-word translation principle, “faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance.” So, it is reasonable and correct to create some new concepts or put forward some new

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 Z. Huang and Y. Zhang, Variational Translation Theory, New Frontiers in Translation Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9271-3_1

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categories from the old categories based on the philosophy of inheritance, and to further advance translation studies. In Chinese translation history, categories are sometimes presented one by one. On other occasions, categories are put forward in pairs. On other occasions still, categories are raised in more than two words. Abstract category is undoubtedly simple, while concrete category must be complex. In general, categories in translation can be roughly divided into pairs according to the perspective from which they are viewed. For example, literal translation and liberal translation from a nature perspective, literary translation and non-literary translation from a material perspective, oral translation and written translation from a medium perspective, and human translation and machine translation from a subject perspective.

1.2

A New Pair of Translation Categories

What if translation is divided according to how much the information of the source text is retained in the target text? Establishing categories of translation is a basic theoretical construction and falls within the study of translation theories. From the paired categories in the preceding section, it can be seen that scholars, such as Marcus T. Cicero, He Lin, and Lawrence Venuti, mainly set up their categories of translation under the context of complete translation. A great deal of translation phenomena indicates that a new pair of categories of translation can form. To expound the new pair of categories in detail, let us start with the discussion of translation activities in China.

1.2.1

An Ignored Field in Complete Translation Theory

From China’s Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD) to China’s May 4th Movement (1919), not all translations, in their essence, were completely faithful to the source texts. Most of them are incomplete translations or rewritings. In China, perceptions of complete translation mainly originated from literary translation of texts from Western countries after the May 4th Movement in 1919. At that time, the Chinese “Vernacular Promotion Movement” resulted in the pursuit of complete translations of Western literature lest the incomplete translations should neglect some source text contents. So, it was believed at that time that the complete translation of Western thought and literature could advance the Vernacular Promotion Movement of reforming Chinese characters and developing Chinese literature. For example, Lu Xun, a Chinese writer and translator (1881–1936), opposed abridged translations,

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claiming, “Foreign books focusing on literature and art, from time to time, adopt some ‘interesting chitchats’ or ‘jokes’ to vivify the essay so that readers do not easily get bored. However, some Chinese translators delete these, and only reserve obscure words and expressions. As a result, the translation turns out to be a book without any fun” (Lu 1982). Lu Xun’s words had profound influence on translators at the time and thereafter. However, the claim only represented one viewpoint of translation. Complete translation was suitable at that time, if one had enough time to appreciate complete translations and did not need to rush to earn one’s daily meals. In the second half of the twentieth century, as information multiplied and readers entered the information age, it became more evident that complete translation fails to meet various translation demands of target readers. After the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949, Chinese translators could have faced reality and broadly selected and absorbed information from abroad. Instead, Chinese translators closely followed the complete translation approach, prevalent in the Soviet Union and not even the slightest “betrayal” of the original was allowed in translating literary, scientific, or technological texts. With China’s economic reform and its opening up to the rest of the world in 1978, learning from Western countries became the dominant ideology in China. The choice between complete translation and incomplete translation was muddy until the third millennium quietly crept in. In this context and with this mentality, the pursuit of complete translation was unavoidable. But many unusual translation phenomena were found when the translations were gauged according to the “complete translation” framework. These unusual (incomplete) translations were often rejected and not admitted as “translations.” Naturally, researches on incomplete or adapted translations were scarce. Therefore, the irregular “variational translation” phenomena occupy no status in traditional translation studies. Nevertheless, these phenomena must have causes. By exploring their root causes, we can rediscover the great fun of translating. First of all, let us focus on the following example to see the oddities in the Chinese version. Example 1.1 They may all be regarded as contrivances for enabling a person to know the truths which are needful to him, and to know them at the prices movement at which they are needful. Other purposes, indeed, are also served by these operations; for instance, that of imparting our knowledge to others. But, viewed with regard to this purpose, they have never been considered as within the province of the logician. The sole object of Logic is the guidance of one’s own thoughts… (A System of Logic, Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, volume vii, p. 6.) 人之生也,非诚无以自存,非诚无以接物。而求诚之道,名学言之。夫求诚所 以自为也,而有时乎为人。为人奈何?设教是已。教人常以言词,然其术非名学 之所治。名为所治者,不外一己用思求诚之所当然。(严译:《穆勒名学》部首 引论,页4-5) Here, the Chinese version, written by the great Chinese translator Yan Fu, is not faithful to the original. Wang Hui (1997a) expounded that Yan Fu was a scholar proficient in Chinese and English. The wordings of his version should not be considered a “misunderstanding of the source text.” As far as Yan Fu was

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concerned, truth is not only natural truth but also a kind of knowledge of morality. Mill’s A System of Logic (1843) obtained truth by means of naming, conception, classification, and demarcation. Mill’s logic was endowed with the connotation of morality, found in Yan Fu’s translation, and internally correlated to Confucianism’s egoism. In this example, “adaptation” can be detected based on the analysis of its Chinese version. The Chinese version is different from the original text, with some adaptations having been made. The adaptations are not conventional micro-adjustments and micro-modifications of the original text. For subjective or objective reasons, micro-differences always exist between the target text and the source text. We can infer that the adaptation in this example is the outcome of Yan Fu’s subjective effort. It is the macro-modification of the source text in content and form, which gives rise to the change in perception of the style of the source text. Traditional translation studies not only ignore research on changes in meaning, form, and even style but also strongly oppose any adaptations of the original work in translation practice.

1.2.2

The Concept Evolution of Variational Translation

1.2.2.1

Concept Rudiment of Variational Translation

With deepening cognition of foreign information development and more translators’ involvement in non-complete translation practices by the end of twentieth century, we began to explore variational translation methods under specific social and historical contexts. We put forward a new translation concept: the translation variant. In 1997, we presented an article titled “Research on Translation Variants and Foreign Information Development Methods” at the International Symposium on Translation Studies held at Beijing Foreign Studies University that triggered heated discussions among the attendees. Some of the attendees agreed to our viewpoints or made some suggestive responses. In the article, we expounded that the “translation variant” was relative to the “complete translation.” Past translation research started with the original text and conducted numerous studies on the internal problems of complete translation. However, there was a lack of systematic studies on the “translation variant” from the perspective of function and culture. The “translation variant” refers to macro methods that adopt adaptation techniques like adding, deleting, editing, condensing, and annotating to convey the principal or partial foreign information, and form selected translation, edited translation, narrated translation, condensed translation, summarized translation, summarized transcomment, transcomment, altered translation, annotated translation, transwriting and cited translation. (For details, see Chap. 7) As we know, the aim of translation is to convey information, but it is restricted by the form of the information. It is the translation variant that can offer effective adaptation

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techniques and development methods to deal with contradictions between content and form. Therefore, the translation concept of the translation variant can widen our research objects and benefit translation studies and practice.

1.2.2.2

Concept Evolution of Variational Translation

Further cognition of the benefits of the translation variant can be seen in a case study of Yan Fu’s translation practices. In 1997, we compared Yan Fu’s Chinese version of Evolution and Ethics by Thomas Henry Huxley with Huxley’s original text. We gained deeper understanding of Yan Fu’s adaptations of Huxley’s original work (detailed description in Sect. 4.2 of Chap. 4). After having deeply analyzed the relations between Yan Fu’s three-word translation principle— “faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance,” and the adaptation techniques in his translation practice, we concluded the following five points: (1) Yan’s three-word translation principle does not contradict his translation practice and any contradiction between them is a result of the misunderstanding of subsequent scholars. (2) “Faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance” is the translation principle of incomplete translation (variational translation), and the adaptation techniques are its corresponding skills in practice. They are intrinsically united. (3) Actually, “faithfulness” is not totally loyal to the original work, but to the target readers; “faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance” are the means of winning over the target readers. (4) The adaptation techniques are the basis for establishing the translation principle of “faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance” under a specific historical context. (5) The studies integrating “faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance” and Yan Fu’s translation practice can clearly show us the whole panoramic view of translation research: one side is complete translation research, and the other side is variational translation research. In 1998, to further explore the connotations of variational translation, we attended the International Russian Symposium held in Beijing Foreign Studies University by submitting the paper titled “Variational Translation Theory: A Translation Theory Facing the 21st Century.” In the paper, the definition of “translation variant” was improved as follows: variational translation (the translation variant) refers to a kind of translation activity in which the translator uses adaptation techniques such as adding, deleting, editing, condensing, annotating, integrating, and altering to ingest the main ideas or partial contents of the original according to the target reader’s special request. In the definition, the mixed use of “variational translation” and “translation variant” indicates that the concept evolution of variational translation is under the transitional period, and follows the law of a gradually abstracting new theoretical concept. Variational translation is the outcome of re-generalizing, re-abstracting, and re-refining the translation variant. Meanwhile, the definition stresses that variational translation is a human action, a kind of translation activity of mankind which cannot be done and replaced by machine translation, and that the goal of variational translation is to meet the special request of target readers. Moreover, using the term “ingest” instead of “convey”

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aims to differentiate complete translation from variational translation. “Ingest” in this book denotes effective absorption, and in the process of absorbing the information of the original text, adaptation techniques like adding, deleting, editing, condensing, annotating, integrating, and altering are frequently used, so absorption in the variational translation does not refer to the input of all of the information of the original text. Based on our further understanding of the concept of variational translation, we began to probe into the operation methods of variational translation and wrote a book titled Research on Translation Variant. In the book, we researched the practical problems of variational translation, such as the concrete adaptation techniques and operation principles of selected translation, edited translation, narrated translation, condensed translation, summarized translation, summarized transcomment, altered translation, transcomment, annotated translation, transwriting, and cited translation. The adaptation techniques and operation principles have a strong guiding effect on the translator’s variational translation practice. The book title could have used “variational translation” rather than “translation variant,” but at that time we feared boycotting “variational translation” for readers and affecting the spread of the book’s content. Although the term of “variational translation” did not appear on the book cover, it appeared in the book’s contents. The research on variational translation widens and deepens the understanding of the nature of translation. In the book On Translation Nature, we put forward a new definition of translation: a thinking and language activity in which the translator transfers the source language’s culture and information into the target language’s equivalents and tries to seek similarities between the source text and the target text. The definition can be further divided into two types. One is a narrow-sense definition: translation is a thinking and language activity in which the translator transfers source language’s culture and information into the target language’s equivalents and seeks close similarity in style between the source text and the target text. The other is a broad-sense definition: translation is a thinking and language activity in which the translator renders the source language’s culture and information to meet the specific request of target readers. The former refers to complete translation, and the latter to variational translation. It is variational translation that specializes and concretizes the former concept of translation.

1.2.2.3

The Determination of the Term “Variational Translation”

In 1999, upon finishing a plan for the research project titled Research on Variational Translation, in which we use the term “variational translation,” we applied for the National Social Science Fund of China project. Our application was approved. With the implementation of the project research, the concept of “variational translation” was gradually accepted and recognized by Chinese translation scholars. After two years of further studies at home and abroad, we had gained further understanding of variational translation, and we finalized its definition: variational translation is a translation activity in which the translator uses adaptation

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techniques such as adding, deleting, editing, narrating, condensing, integrating, and altering to ingest the original text’s contents (Huang 2001). In variational translation theory, the core concept is “variational translation”; the adaptation techniques are adding, deleting, editing, narrating, condensing, and integrating; and the variational translation methods are selected translation, edited translation, narrated translation, condensed translation, summarized translation, summarized transcomment, altered translation, transcomment, annotated translation, transwriting, and cited translation. These adaptation techniques and methods interact with each other and jointly constitute the main components of variational translation theory. The strength of the finalized definition of variational translation lies in its limitation of the object of variational translation, which makes the scope of the application of variational translation clearer—to meet the specific requests of specific target readers under specific conditions. Meanwhile, the classification of adaptation techniques is made more concrete and correct through refinement, changing amplification, omission, contraction, annotation, combination, and modification to adding, deleting, editing, narrating, condensing, integrating, and altering. The refinement is derived from the law research on variational translation carried out for our monograph titled Research on Translation Variant. The seven adaptation techniques constitute eleven variational translation methods in variational translation theory. Determining the definition of variational translation was a process. The definition went from foreign information ingestion to translation variant to variational translation, namely, a cognition process from phenomenon to nature, which also reflects the process of in-depth understanding of variational translation. With the widespread reception and recognition of the concept of variational translation and its practice in Chinese translation circles, Chinese translation scholar Xu Jianzhong wrote a paper titled “Translation Variation: A Future Trend” (2000) and published it in Babel, the journal of the International Federation of Translation.

1.2.3

Complete Translation and Variational Translation: A New Pair of Translation Categories

The in-depth understanding of global cultural exchange in the late twentieth century meant that people started to understand the connotations of translation from the language field to the culture field. A new definition of translation was put forward by famous contemporary Chinese translation scholar Wang Kefei: “Translation is a cultural activity in which the translator expresses in another language, the meaning contained in one language” (Wang 1997b: 12). Compared with previous definitions of translation, the outstanding features highlighted in Wang Kefei’s definition are the translator and culture. That is, translation is a cultural-level activity. The same year witnessed the publication of Wang Kefei’s monograph titled History of Translation Culture. In the book, Mr. Wang held that “the significance of

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translation will be more prominent if translation is placed under the macro-context of culture history, which means that although translation is a code-switching between two languages, it not only is a kind of code-switching, but also represents and reflects social interaction, cultural communication, and mutual promotion between society and culture” (Wang 1997b: 371). Therefore, from a linguistic perspective, the maximum requirement of translation is the text conversion between two languages; from a cultural perspective, it is cultural communication. Translation scholars in China and abroad have similar understandings of translation. Listed below are some traditional definitions of translation. (1) Chinese Encyclopedia (Language Volume, 1988) defines translation as an activity in which the meaning of what has been said or written is expressed in another language. (2) Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English with Chinese Translation (Revised Third Edition, 1984) defines translation as giving the meaning of something (said or written) in another language. (3) Professor John Catford of the University of Edinburgh defined translation as “the replacement of textual material in one language (SL) by equivalent textual material in other language (TL).” (4) Barkhudarov, a linguistic translation theorist of the former Soviet Union, held that “translation is the process of converting the verbal product of a language into the verbal product of another language without meaning and form changed.” (5) United States translation theorist Eugene A. Nida held that translating consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style. From the perspective of these dominant viewpoints, the common ground of the translation process is to maintain the completeness of the original work in terms of meaning and form. Failing this due to carelessness, the translator will be criticized. As such examples are numerous and easily found in translation-related works and departments, there is no need to list them here. Nevertheless, the cultural communication channel does not totally depend on the channel of complete translation. If this were the case, the world’s cultures would not be diverse. To demonstrate that variational translation is quite different from complete translation in cross-cultural communication, two revelatory examples are presented below for discussion: Example 1.2 Huang Zhan, a great advertising master in Hong Kong, once made comments on translating advertisements in the book Advertising Translation: Deliberate Treason. He wrote that, strictly speaking, advertising translation is not translation but interpretation. It is a kind of communication method that deliberately indoctrinates the original with creative meaning in accordance with requirements. This is completely different from literary translation, which requires faithfulness to the original and similarity in spirit. Advertising companies adapt advertisements

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from abroad to Hong Kong’s advertising market, making their version quite different from the source advertisement in terms of meaning and form. Actually, what the translator does in advertisement translation is “adaptation” or “interpretation,” which involves choosing the elements from original advertisements and making some alterations to cater to the target audience. So, Hong Kong advertising experts no longer call their work “translation,” but call it “creative interpretation”; a kind of ingenious treason (see Zhou 1998: 55). Example 1.3 Ba Jin, a well-renowned Chinese writer and translator, once gave his opinion on translation. He said that the translation that changes the original work in terms of style, tone, and meaning does not belong to free translation, but edited translation or adaptation. We think that people who truly understand advertising translation must believe Mr. Huang’s opinion and that people engaging in translation studies will accept the translation classification made by Ba Jin. Traditional translation research focuses on translation without adaptation, and can be called “complete” or “full” translation. In contrast, translation that changes the original work in meaning, form, and/or style is newly named “variational” translation. There is a dialectical relationship between inheritance and development, and variational translation is the inheritance and development of an original work. A new classification standard of translation can be derived from the above discussion. That is, based on the extent to which the content and form of the original work is preserved in the target text, we can get two categories of translation. These categories are complete translation and variational translation. The defining feature of variational translation is adaptation. Adaptation may occur within the original text or may appear outside of the original text. Adaptation and non-adaptation can be considered a watershed of translation studies. One side is complete translation studies, and the other is variational translation studies. The combination of the two sides constitutes translation studies in their totality. Until now, most translation studies in China and abroad have only focused on complete translation, while few researches have involved variational translation. What is more, the research of variational translation practice and theory is regarded abnormal and is even totally opposed by some translation scholars. For example, in a translation seminar in 1997, a representative proposed that research on the variational translation phenomenon should not be needed because it belonged to the research field of information science. In that seminar, someone even directly objected to the concept of variational translation. Complete translation and variational translation cover the diverse translation types discussed in above sections. Variational translation exists in both written translation and oral interpretation. In oral interpretation, the only variational translations are selected translation, edited translation, and narrated translation (see Zhang et al. 2000). Variational translation exists in all kinds of genres, with adaptation of the original work occurring to different extents. Even machine translation will involve variational translation in the future. Machine translation,

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like variational translation, aims to improve efficiency in utilizing the foreign information. Therefore, the combination of machine translation and variational translation will significantly improve the efficiency of making full use of the foreign information. For example, the present findings show that the application of computers can automatically produce selected translations from the original. The distinction between complete translation and variational translation is a necessity of history. It can make some concepts of complete translation and variational translation more suitable for development in the translation discipline and current translation practice, clarify people’s obscure understanding of the nature of translation, and rectify people’s habitual prejudices against variational translation.

1.2.3.1

The Relationship Between Complete Translation and Variational Translation

For the same original work, should different reader groups use the same version of a complete translation? Or should different reader groups have different variational translations made by means of adaptation? Let us see the following example. Example 1.4 Building bridges to the future—with soy (1) Scientists in the United States say they have found a way to make tanks, tractors, cars, and even bridges out of soybeans. (2) A University of Delaware team called ACRESA (Affordable Composites from Renewable Sources) has filed a patent for a process that could end with cheaper, lighter, and greener materials. They will replace the existing composites—plates, planks, or beams of lightweight but costly petroleum resins, reinforced with glass fibers—to make material as stiff as steel but lighter. (3) The first industrial partner is the US tractor firm Deere & Company, which predicts a $50 million market for farm equipment made of soy. (4) Soy is one of the world’s great crops. The United States alone grows more than 60 million tons a year. Soy products get into mayonnaise and medicines, anti-corrosion varnishes, fungicides, and shampoos. Soy is used as a milk substitute, as cat food, and as a cosmetic. (5) Soy protein is being tested in Illinois as an estrogen substitute and North Carolina scientists think it could contain a cancer prophylactic. Soy oil costs half as much as the polyester, epoxy, and vinyl ester resins used in modern composite materials to make everything from ship hulls to aircraft parts. (6) But this is the first time beans have been promoted as potential box girders for bridges or shown off as panels for hay balers. Just as builders stiffen concrete with steel rods, materials scientists have toughened the soy oils by adding chemicals and then stiffened them further with fibers of glass. (7) A sample of the new soy composite went on show in Illinois last week: a 2.5 m by 1 m glass-reinforced, soy-based prototype baler part weighs 11 kg—a quarter of the weight of its metal equivalent. Richard Wool, a chemical

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engineer who directs the ACRES group, says that one day hay or straw might be used to reinforce the resin. (8) Soy fabric-makers could face competition from the farm next door: another US group has discovered new stuff for water-resistant, biodegradable containers. It is made from corn. The complete translation is as follows: 用大豆建造未来的桥梁 (1) 美国科学家声称,他们已找到了利用大豆生产坦克、拖拉机、轿车甚至是 桥梁的方法。 (2) 特拉华大学的一个称为Acres(从再生资源中提取可利用合成物)的研究小 组已申请了一项工艺的专利,将采用更加便宜、轻便和天然的材料来代替 现有的复合物,如金属、木质板材或重量轻成本高的束状石油树脂(其中加 入了玻璃纤维以提高强度),可使材料象钢一样硬而重量则轻得多。 (3) 首家工业合作伙伴是美国Deere拖拉机公司,他们预测采用大豆为原材料 生产农用设备的市场将达5千万美元。 (4) 大豆是世界上产量最大的农作物之一:仅美国全年产量就超过6千万吨。 大豆制品涉及蛋黄酱和药品,防腐清漆,杀菌剂及洗发香波。大豆可用作牛 奶的替代物、猫食及化妆品。 (5) 试验证明大豆蛋白质可代替雌性激素,其内部含有防癌物质。豆油成本只 及聚酯、环氧树脂及乙烯基酯树脂的一半,它们用在现代复合材料中以生 产从船体到飞机零件等各种东西。 (6) 不过,这回大豆还是第一次被选作桥梁桁架及干草带编织机镶板的可行性 材料。正如建造筑工人在混凝土中加入钢筋以提高其强度一样,材料科学 家为韧化豆油在其中加入了化学物质,还掺入了玻璃纤维以进一步提高强 度。 (7) 上星期,一种新型大豆复合材料在依利诺斯展出:它是一件2.5 m  1m用大 豆制成并加入玻璃纤维的编织机零件,重11公斤——只及同等金属零件重 量的四分之一。领导Acres小组的化学工程师Richard Wool说,将来有一天 可能会用干草或麦秸来提高树脂强度。 (8) 不过,大豆生产商可能会面临来自同行业的竞争:另一家美国集团又发现了 一种用于生产防水、可降解容器的原料,它来自谷物。 The variational translation is as follows: 用大豆造桥 (1) 美国科学家声称,大豆还可用来制造坦克、拖拉机、轿车,甚至是桥梁。 (2) 大豆可用来制蛋黄酱、药品、防腐清漆、杀菌剂、洗发香波等。大豆蛋 白质可代替雌性激素,含有防癌物质。豆油成本只及聚酯、环氧树脂及乙 烯基酯树脂的一半,可以生产从船体到飞机零件等各种东西。 (3) 大豆用作桥梁桁架及干草带编织机镶板的生产材料尚属首次。材料科学 家在豆油中加入化学物质和玻璃纤维即可韧化豆油,使之坚硬如钢且重量 较轻。 (4) 1997年11月,一种新型大豆复合材料研制成功:这是一个用大豆制成的玻璃 钢编织机零件,面积为2.5 m  1 m,重11公斤,仅为同类金属零件重量的四 分之一。

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(5) 产研结合的首家工业伙伴是美国Deere拖拉机公司,他们预测采用大豆为 原材料生产农用设备的市场将达5千万美元。 Analysis (1) The title is adapted to attract target readers. In China, “jerry-built project” is a notoriously famous term that can create suspense in readers’ minds and highlight the new science and technology in the variational translation. In addition, the expression “building bridges” in the title is not limited to its literal meaning; it introduces the idea that soy can be utilized as raw material in many industrial fields. (2) The specific research organizations are not in the interests of the target readers, but are in the interests of some scientific and technological workers. If the variational translation is published in the newspaper, only the production principle needs to be explained. (3) Paragraph 3 addresses future work and should be adjusted to appear at the end of the piece. Paragraphs 4 and 5 can be combined. Only the current industrial functions of soy need to be highlighted and those related to food can be deleted. (4) The simile in Paragraph 6 can be deleted. Paragraphs 6 and 2 can be integrated to clarify the working principle. (5) In Paragraph 7, only the latest research findings are chosen and the time gap must be taken into account so that the target readers can know the occurrence and application timeline of the new technology. (6) Paragraph 8 is redundant and can be deleted. Now the relationship between complete translation and variational translation will be discussed based on the example above.

1.2.3.2

Major Differences Between Complete Translation and Variational Translation

There are many differences between complete translation and variational translation, which will be mentioned later throughout this book. Here, major differences are compared at the macro-level. (1) Content What the complete translation pursues first is maximal conveyance of the meaning of the original work, with the meaning retained faithfully when both meaning and form cannot be conveyed at the same time. For variational translation, the contradictory relationship between the content and form is eliminated, usually by ignoring the original text’s form and retaining its core contents. As Example 1.4 shows, only the contents related to the soy’s new utilization and function are retained, with the rest of the contents deleted. From the macro-level, the adapted version does not include the first half of Paragraph 4 and the whole of Paragraph 8 because their content is not closely related to the theme of scientific news.

1.2 A New Pair of Translation Categories

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Compared with complete translations, the information in variational translations can be: (1) less than that in complete translations, such as in selected translations; (2) approximately equal to or less than that in complete translations, such as in edited translations, in which the translator organizes the content better or adds some headings to show the clear logic of the content and optimize the original text’s functions and its effects on the target readers; and (3) more than thatin complete translations, such as in transcomment, annotated translation, and transwriting, which amplify and expand the contents of the original work. (2) Macro-form Content determines form, and the adaptation of meaning governs the adaptation of form. Deleting some content means deleting part of structure of the original. This is also true of structural adjustment. If Paragraph 8 were not deleted in Example 1.4, Paragraph 3 could be moved to the end of the text to serve as the starting point of future research. Generally, adaptation in macro-form is most evident in genre and structure. For instance, poems can be translated into prose or vice versa, chronological narration can become inverted narration, description can become narration, lyrics can become exposition, and dialogue can become indirect speech. In terms of quantity or scale, (1) the information of the original work may be shrunk, such as in selected translation, narrated translation, and condensed translation; (2) the information of the original work may be expanded, such as in transwriting and annotated translation; or (3) the form of the original work may even be totally beyond recognition in the translation, which means that it retains no macro- or micro-form of the original work, such as in narrated translation and altered translation. (3) Input of translators The input of translators usually necessitates time, intelligence, and knowledge. Under a purpose-driven translation context, the adaptation of the original form and content changes the traditional input structure for traditional translators who are usually engaged in complete translation. The intellectual work that translators put into, for example, information selection, structural analysis of the original work, consistency of the topic and the text, analysis of readers’ requirements, and macro-organization and micro-adjustment of the original will be much greater than those working on a complete translation. Complete translation may be poorly received by target readers despite involving more manpower and material and financial resources. Variational translation, however, can secure better reception with less temporal and financial input. Dealing with the same original work, a translator engaging in complete translation will make great efforts to deal with each and every detail of the original no matter whether the detail is useful or not to the target readers. A translator engaging in variational translation can select specific and useful content from the original to translate for target readers. By deleting and adjusting the original text’s contents after reading the whole text, the translator may spend less time translating a variational translation than a complete

14

1 Complete Translation and Variational Translation

translation. But the translator’s intellectual labor put into a variational translation to judge the content value of the original work based on their scientific and technological knowledge is far greater than that put into a complete translation. (4) Information quality Variational translations, which are made using the translator’s careful information selection and adaptation of the original work, are generally better in terms of information quality than translations made using the complete translation method. For example, there is an article introducing the long-tested performances of the F-16 fighter jet. Some of the examples listed in the article happened in the 1980s, some in the 1990s, and some in the twenty-first century. The time sequence is not in chronological order, which makes readers think that the writer does not have a clear mind. If the original article’s chronology is straightened out before the translator starts to translate using the complete translation method, the information quality of the translation would be much better than that of the original article. The purpose of variational translation is to help target readers obtain more desired information and to increase the useful information proportion of the variational translation. These are the reasons why variational translations are much better and more acceptable for target readers than complete translations. Variational translation assigns greater importance to the quality of the resulting translation than complete translation. For instance, in Example 1.4, redundant information was removed before the original work was edited and translated. Thus, the variational translation is shorter than the complete translation, with target readers’ desired information more concentrated and the new applications of soy highlighted. In sum, the variational translation is concise, its contents stand out, and it is disseminated easily to and accepted quickly by target readers. (5) Comparison between translation and creation “Translation” here refers to complete translation, and “creation” means the creation of translators, which is work independent from the original text. In complete translation, the creation of a translator is always limited and even suppressed. Due to the passion of creation, some translators are eager to work creatively in their translations. In variational translation practice, when possible, translators can bring their creations into full play. As long as the target readers need the creation, the creative portion of the text can be increased to make up over 50% of the translation. The typical example of this kind of variational translation can be seen in the appreciation of foreign literary work, in which the translator selects a newly published foreign literary work, applies adaptation techniques like selecting, condensing, and narrating to the original during the translation, and finally adds some creative writing to introduce and guide the appreciation of the principal or partial content of the literary work. Selected translation is the starting point of the variational translation hierarchy. What is the basis upon which translators can carry out selected translation?

1.2 A New Pair of Translation Categories

15

Table 1.1 Differences between complete translation and variational translation Variational translation type

Selected translation Edited translation Narrated translation Condensed translation Summarized translation Summarized transcommentary Transcommentary Transwriting Altered translation Annotated translation Cited translation Note It is advisable

Different points compared with complete translation (Suppose the unit of complete translation is 1) Information

Macro-form

Information quality

>1

Input of intellectual labor of translator >1

Ratio of translation versus creation >1

1

1

>1

1

>1

1

>1

>1 >1 1

1< or >1 1< or >1 1

>1 >1 >1

>1 >1 >1

>1 >1 >1

>1

>1

>1

>1

>1

1 >1 for readers to view this table based on the information provided in Chap. 7

They rely on their foreign language knowledge and specialized knowledge, and put more intellectual efforts into selecting information. Selection is the beginning of creation and imbues selected translation with basic creativity. Supposing the unit of a complete translation is 1, the differences between complete translation and variational translation are shown in Table 1.1.

1.2.3.3

Connection Between Complete Translation and Variational Translation

Although variational translation is not totally faithful to the original text in terms of meaning and form, it contains information from the original work, which is the connection and common ground between variational translation and complete translation. Complete translation and the original work appear to be twins, but are not because complete translation actually cannot be 100% faithful to the original work in meaning and form. The content of variational translations is partially or entirely from the original work. Variational translations are intended for specific

16

1 Complete Translation and Variational Translation

Table 1.2 Connections between variational translation and complete translation Variational translation type

Different points compared with complete translation

Selected translation Edited translation

Complete translation of partial content Complete translation of whole content of original work or complete translation of partial content of original work after editing Probably contains complete translation of partial content of original work Almost no complete translation of whole content of original work

Narrated translation Condensed translation Summarized translation Summarized transcomment Transcomment

Probably contains complete translation of partial content of original work Probably contains complete translation of partial content of original work Contains complete translation of whole content of original work or complete translation of partial content of original work Transwriting Contains complete translation of whole content of original work or complete translation of partial content of original work Altered translation Probably contains complete translation of partial content of original work Annotated Contains complete translation of whole content of original work or translation complete translation of partial content of original work Cited translation Contains complete translation of whole content of original work or complete translation of partial content of original work Note It is advisable for readers to view this table based on the information provided in Chap. 7

target readers, so translators of variational translations use some adaptation techniques to render the original work. Both complete translation and variational translation involve translating the original work and contain the information of the original work. The figure of the variational translation hierarchy in Chap. 8 shows that complete translation is the starting point of variational translation, and the translation techniques used in complete translation are probably used or necessarily adopted in all variational translations. The specific connections between complete translation and variational translation will be elaborated upon in the subsequent chapters from different aspects. Here, only the general connections are discussed. There are two types of complete translation: one type involves translating the whole content of the original work faithfully, and the other type involves translating part of the content of the original work faithfully. These processes are respectively called complete translation of full content and complete translation of partial content. Connections between variational translation and complete translation are shown in Table 1.2.

References

17

References Huang, Zhonglian. 2001. On the System of Variational Translation [A], included in the Proceedings of Symposium on the Construction of Translation Studies in Qingdao. Lu, Xun. 1982. Lu Xun’s Essays on Foreign Literature [M]. Beijing: Foreign Literature Press. Luo, Xinzhang. 1983. On China’s Self-contained Translation Theory. Translation Newsletter, (7). Qian, Zhongshu. 1979. Lin Shu’s Translation [A], included in Four Old Articles [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Classical Books Publishing House. Wang, Hui. 1997a. Yan Fu’s Three Worlds [A], included in Scholars (No.12) [C]. Nanjing: Jiangsu People’s Publishing House. Wang, Kefei. 1997b. On Cultural History of Translation [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. Xu, Jiangzhong. 2000. Translation Variation: A Future Trend. Translatio, (4). Zhang, Li et al. 2000. Variants in Interpretation. China Science & Technology Translators Journal, (3). Zhou, Zhaoxiang. 1998. Translation and Life [M]. Beijing: China Translation and Publishing Corporation.

Chapter 2

Variational Translation Theory: An Emerging Translation Theory

Abstract This chapter mainly introduces the differences and connections between variational translation and variational translation theory, the context of establishing this theory, and the system of variational translation theory. In addition, the necessity and probability of establishing variational translation theory are highlighted and elaborated in detail from different perspectives. Keywords Variational translation System

2.1


Variational translation theory
Context


What is Variational Translation Theory?

A theory is a system that summarily reflects the essence of a realistic object, and the law of a concept and principle. It is an organic system composed of concepts, principles, and hypotheses, and is formed with systematized rational cognition and knowledge. Variational translation theory is a scientific principle and ideological system reflecting the essence and law of variational translation in its practice. It takes variational translation as its research object, focusing on the general characteristics and laws of the process of variational translation, and seeking suitable general principles and methods. Some Chinese scholars say that the theory of variational translation is a replica of certain foreign theories, such as the German skopos theory and Komissarov’s “Translation Pragmatics Theory” (1999). After comparing the two theories with our systematic viewpoints of variational translation presented in this book, you will find that what some Chinese scholars have thought is wrong. Nonetheless, the relationship between variational translation and these two translation theories cannot be severed and needs to be studied. Based on the research on variational translation practice, the theory of variational translation put forward in this book is established with strict logic. It is about the rational cognition and knowledge system of the nature, characteristics, and operational law of variational translation. Of course, it needs to be further examined and © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 Z. Huang and Y. Zhang, Variational Translation Theory, New Frontiers in Translation Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9271-3_2

19

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2 Variational Translation Theory: An Emerging Translation Theory

verified in practice. Variational translation theory possesses the following characteristics: (1) (2) (3) (4)

It It It It

is verified knowledge; is a product of history; is the summary of human variational translation practice; and has a strict, logical system consisting of a series of concepts and inferences.

The relationship between variational translation and variational translation theory can be summarized in three points: (1) Variational translation is an important operational method of translation. As an operational method of solving specific translation tasks under special conditions, variational translation can adapt the original text and construct a new piece of work. (2) By starting with variational translation practice and using techniques like summarizing, narrating, condensing, and integrating to deal with the original work, we can put forward various variational translation methods and establish variational translation theory by putting these translation methods into practice and verifying their effectiveness. (3) Similarly, by starting with variational translation theory and using methods like analogy, deduction, and analysis, we can put forward various variational translation methods to promote the further development of variational translation practice, which in turn enriches variational translation theory.

2.2

Context for Establishing Variational Translation Theory

Without a clear idea of variational translation, it can be easily confused with indiscreet translation and arbitrary translation. Therefore, it is necessary to elaborate the reasons for and theoretical context of establishing variational translation theory in order to understand its necessity and possibilities.

2.2.1

The Problem of Cognition

“From the standpoint of culture history, the meaning of translation lies in communication, which is not directly proportional to whether the translation is really faithful to the original work or not” (Wang Kefei 1996:196). In the history of translation practice, complete translation has not occupied mainstream translations. However, the theories of complete translation are dominant in translation studies and academic forums. For a long time, people have believed in the principle that translation should be absolutely faithful to the original work, and should be equivalent in meaning and form to the source text. Although the historical role of complete translation theory has been remarkable in promoting translation studies

2.2 Context for Establishing Variational Translation Theory

21

and practice, there are countless incomplete translations in China and abroad, not completely faithful to the original work, which have had enormously positive influences on the target societies and cultures from ancient to modern times. Must these incomplete translation phenomena be ignored in translation studies? The phenomenon of adapting original work occurs frequently in translation practice, and the attitudes toward variational translation vary widely. Some translators keep silent about having practiced variational translation, and others who have adapted source texts in their private translation practice still openly object to the adaptation of original work. Currently, the practice of adapting original works is very popular. We can derive adaptation techniques and principles from variational translations to establish the theory of variational translation, which in turn can better guide the practice of variational translation effectively. First, we must reveal the advantages, effectiveness, mechanisms, and laws of variational translation. Variational translation is the complement of complete translation; they are not incompatible. Some methods of complete translation and variational translation once triggered controversies in periods of large-scale human translation activities. Some examples are the period of translating Buddhist scriptures from the Chinese Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 AD) to the Chinese Tang and Song dynasties (960–1279 AD), the translation of science and technology texts from the late Chinese Ming dynasty to the early Chinese Qing dynasty (around 1616 AD), and the translation of Western humanities and social sciences texts around 1911 in China. Facing the upsurge of translation activities in the twenty-first century, shall we still cling to complete translation, or shall we bring both complete translation and variational translation into full play? These questions need our answers. It is well known that it is the translation methods, especially the translation outlook that determines the successful transformation from the low output of the extensive translation mode to the high output of the intensive translation mode. Only after understanding the essence and basic law of translation at the theoretical level and its guiding ideology can we have a good command of adaptation techniques frequently used in variational translation, make proper comments and judgments on variational translations, change our mindset if it is incompatible with the temporal developments in translation studies, and boost the productive forces of translation practice. To achieve these goals, we should enhance our understanding of translation and carry out an all-around analysis of variational translation from a theoretical perspective. Our views on translator and target reader are very important because they are two crucial subjects that determine whether we can rectify the traditional prejudices against variational translation. In fact, the Karl Marxism famously pointed out that the study of human activities should focus on the subject. Unfortunately, this important world outlook and methodology have not received due attention. People often simply equate subject with subjectivity. When talking about problems of human motives, purposes, and needs, people usually do not carry out scientific analysis and research. Abandoning the research of subjectivity is equal to deserting a major research field. Research on translators and target readers has long been

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2 Variational Translation Theory: An Emerging Translation Theory

neglected. Even if the two subjects have been researched, the research of both is conducted under the category of complete translation, which cannot explain many translation phenomena, and ultimately cannot provide a thorough understanding of the function and special effects of translation in terms of cross-cultural communication. Looking at the current translation and culture studies in China and the rest of the world, we can easily see that the research only deals with cultural information conveyance between two languages. There are not many people who examine cultural exchanges beyond the level of two languages and focus on information conveyance between two languages from the perspective of macro-cultural exchange. For a long time, variational translation has not been duly recognized by most translation scholars. This does not, however, mean we should give up variational translation studies because the existing translation phenomena will neither disappear nor be negated. Just as Zhou Zhaoxiang, a famous translation scholar in Hong Kong said, “The translation methods of guiding translators to strictly follow the original work and retain all the original meaning and form are no longer ideal ones in the information age” (see Zhou Zhaoxiang 1998:38). This implies that incomplete translation methods should be explored to meet various needs of target readers in the information age. Many people worry that the affirmation or encouragement of variational translation will lead to arbitrary translations. In fact, there is an essential difference between variational translation and arbitrary translation. The former refers to an adaptation activity in which the translator consciously adapts the original work in order to meet the specific needs of target readers, and the evaluation criterion for the quality of the adapted version is to see whether the target readers are satisfied with the translated version. Meanwhile, the latter refers to an indiscreet translation in which the translator deliberately ignores sentences in the original text that are hard to understand and translates the work carelessly. It is the indiscreet translation with which target readers are not satisfied. Of course, unsuccessful variational translations can easily fall into the category of indiscreet translation or arbitrary translation. However, the variational translator has no conscious inclination to indiscreetly and arbitrarily adapt the original work. So, this worry is not founded, just as making a lighter is not equal to committing arson, and creating a kitchen knife does not lead to killing people.

2.2.2

The Necessity of Establishing Variational Translation Theory

2.2.2.1

Call of the Times

There are many reasons for establishing variational translation theory, the motivation of which primarily depends on the objective demands of society. Only social demand can be the fundamental cause of its emergence.

2.2 Context for Establishing Variational Translation Theory

23

The information age calls for the prosperity and innovation of theory, which spurs the theory of variational translation to come into being. It is both an old theory, because the adaptation techniques of variational translation existed more than 1000 years ago, and a young theory, because translation scholars have not understood it or put forward the concept until recent years. Employing adaptation techniques of variational translation was prevalent in the Tang dynasty (618–907), and peaked in the late Qing dynasty and during the early stages of the Republic of China (around 1911 AD). As China now experiences its fourth climax in translation practice and the strategy of Go-out is implemented, the role of variational translation will demonstrate its enormous power in cultural exchanges. Human beings must improve the effectiveness of creation to meet their own survival and development needs. To achieve this, we must consider that, in the information age, the quantity of information increases at a speed beyond people’s imagination. The macro-selection of information on the internet is the first step, and then the selected information needs to be further screened for the target readers or end-users. Nowadays, everyone can translate using diverse translation methods, and people can read and write faster than ever. Ignoring the current social context and the target readers’ requests, and continuing to regard complete translation as the sole translation method will inevitably turn the translator into a slave of the original work. This is not conducive to the development of translation studies and cultural exchange. The emergence of variational translation theory has a profound social context. Every kind of translational thought reflects one kind of social reality and social change. Until the Second World War, the development of society was relatively slow, and translators had time to carry out complete translations. After the war, however, the great progress of science and technology made human society move forward at an unprecedented speed, and the development of productive forces largely enhanced in quality and quantity. In this social context, ignoring the changes in the nature of translation from traditional translation to today’s translation and blindly maintaining the mode of complete translation will hinder the development of translation practice and translation studies. The end of the twentieth century functioned like the end of an era—as a moment of introspection, summary, and making new decisions. It marked the beginning of the new century, implying bidding farewell to the past and starting another thousand-year journey of prosperity toward the future. Exploring the theory of variational translation encompasses both the manifestation of history and the call toward the future.

2.2.2.2

The Philosophical Basis of Variational Translation Theory

As a phenomenon of translation, variational translation has existed in translation practice ever since ancient times, both in China and in the rest of the world. It has been utilized in Yan Fu’s translations in China, Kato’s translations in Japan, Ezra Pound’s translations in the United States, the different versions of the Bible in

24

2 Variational Translation Theory: An Emerging Translation Theory

Western countries, and contemporary scientific and technological translations worldwide. All these variational translations that have played powerful roles in reconstructing human knowledge and promoting the progress of human science and technology have involved adapting original work. We can say that the philosophical basis of variational translation theory is adaptation (or change). “Adaptation” connotes “change,” which is embodied in the ancient Chinese classic Book of Changes, and sees change as a striking but gradual process. Compared with the micro-changes a text undergoes in complete translation, the changes (adaptations) in variational translation may be viewed as macro-changes—that is, immediate and substantial changes. The long-term existence of variational translation in the history of translation practice brings us abundant materials for translation studies, which is the objective basis of establishing the theory of variational translation. The existence of the theoretical object determines the existence of the theory. Like complete translation, variational translation exists as this object in translation activities, and variational translation theory, which reflects this objective phenomenon, also has material basis. There is an essential difference between variational translation and complete translation; that is, variational translation has a research field—macro-adaptation of original work. Therefore, variational translation has its own special characteristics that have become a special basis for the establishment of variational translation theory. This stipulates the special nature of the theory itself.

2.2.2.3

The Research Gap in Translation Theory

By examining the history of translation studies systematically, we can find that: (1) Researching translation from the linguistic level, we have established complete translation theory; (2) Researching translation from the literary level, we have established medio-translatology; and (3) Researching translation from the cultural level, we are establishing comparative cultural theory. Research from the literary level started from the perspective of media. At present, scholars are increasingly studying literary translation and translation literature from the perspective of comparative culture, mainly focusing on the loss, deformation, amplification, and extension of the information in an original work when shifting from one language to another. “Medio-translatology mainly concerns the unique value and significance of literary translation as a human practice of cross-cultural exchange” (Xie Tianzhen 1999:1). Chinese scholar Le Daiyun once pointed out (Guangming Daily 2000) that comparative literature had developed into a new phase of cross-cultural and interdisciplinary literature research, and its main

2.2 Context for Establishing Variational Translation Theory

25

task would cross the boundaries set up by the scholars of different disciplines worldwide in ancient and modern times, taking the “Other” as the important methodology to improve comparative literature. Through comparative literature, we can promote tolerance and understanding among different cultures. No matter how they expand their research scope, their starting point and foothold are still in comparative literature. In any case, the study of the two is the result of translation, and most of the results are those of variational translation. How can the original work be adapted? How much space for adaptation is there between the complete translation and the variational translation? What types of variational translation are there in this space? Which factors would allow the original work to form translation literatures and translation cultures in cross-cultural communication? From the perspective of the researcher and the research direction, translation is mainly approached worldwide from the linguistic level, and the results of translation (including complete translation and incomplete translation) are researched from the perspectives of comparative literature and comparative culture. So, who will research the translation process of incomplete translations or rewritings? From what point of view should we engage in the research? It is the theory of variational translation that focuses on these research questions.

2.2.2.4

Need for Translation Theory Development

(A) Realistic challenges With the development of civilization and the advent of the information age of science and technology, translation activities have become more frequent and new challenges to translation theory have arisen. The traditional theory of complete translation cannot answer for many translation phenomena, and rejects researching unusual translation phenomena, including variational translation. Therefore, variational translation theory has become the inevitable product of the development of translation theory, and the establishment of the theory is not only an urgent demand of the times but also a theoretical answer to realistic challenges. Since the twentieth century, the research on translation theory has gradually flourished in the field of social sciences, becoming more and more prosperous in the 1980s and 1990s. With gradual, in-depth understanding of translation activities, the understanding of translation theory has been deepened, and the horizon of understanding has also been widened at a fast pace. The problems in the research are more and more obvious as the theoretical research deepens. One of these problems is that there is a disconnection between translation theory and translation practice due to the lack of pragmatic translation theories to directly guide the practice; that whether the present domestic theoretical research has undergone a period of adjustment or stagnancy indicates the expectancy of practice theory. Therefore, we must adhere to practice-oriented

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2 Variational Translation Theory: An Emerging Translation Theory

theory, combining translation theory research with the practice to establish a practically effective translation disciplinary system. There are three reasons for the disconnection between the theory and practice of translation in China. (1) As far as the present translation studies are concerned, foreign translation theories have been introduced in large numbers since 2000, making China an assembly place and distributor of foreign translation theories. This should not be blamed. But neglecting the in-depth development of the abundant practice and theory of Chinese translation in Chinese translation circles inevitably renders the overseas translation theories less applicable in guiding Chinese translation practices and does no good for establishing a translation theory with Chinese characteristics. (2) The research means are traditional and backward, and the translation studies are conducted from the viewpoint of Chinese translators’ remarks on different dynasties. It is a pity that few people can sum up translators’ experiences and engage in translation theory studies based on the combination of the translators’ practices and their remarks. Because of the lack of professional teams and the necessary experimental (descriptive) means, it is difficult for researchers to holistically grasp the relationship between translation theory and practice. (3) In terms of methodology, the work of looking for motivations and evidence from various disciplines is more than summing up translation practice experiences. What is more, there has been more deductive work than inductive work in translation studies. These have reversed the laws of cognition. Looking at so many wonderful thoughts and arguments made on translation at the end of twentieth century, we may think we see the hope of China’s translation studies, but we are wrong. Although many translation scholars are conducting interdisciplinary studies, they seldom derive convincing viewpoints from documents of translation practice. In short, we lack the academic fruits that can be derived from the actual context of Chinese translation practice. This disconnection gives rise to the problem of a deviation between the actual situation and the ideal situation. Establishing variational translation theory is one of the paths to solving the deviation and disconnection, and is therefore the logical starting point for researching variational translation. In translation studies, we must face reality and face the facts. In the past, we only focused on summarizing normal translation experiences and achievements, ignoring unusual ones. Some people even regard variational translation as an abnormal phenomenon and are reluctant to explore its advantages and disadvantages in translation practice for the purpose of overcoming its disadvantages. “Variational translation” evokes the word “adaptation.” But in addition to “adaptation,” the rest of variational translation is dedicated to translating faithfully. It is difficult to find the

2.2 Context for Establishing Variational Translation Theory

27

cut-in point for broadening and developing translation theory without probing into the problems of incomplete translation. Interestingly, the problem resulting from this reality is the key to researching translation theory. Contemporary translation theory should use two-way thinking and consider translation problems from many aspects. The problems of the reality need to be explained theoretically. For various reasons, there are many problems in translation. These problems are not microscopic, and do not belong to word choice or word order adjustment, but to the adaptation of the content and form of the original work at the macro-level. How can this be explained? How can students be taught this? Can these issues all be dismissed as indiscreet or arbitrary translations? What have these adapted translations achieved historically in promoting social development and cultural exchange? Conducting in-depth research of variational translation theory can deepen our re-understanding of translation theory, for it does not fall into the research field of traditional translation theories. It is impossible for any discipline to define its connotation and scope clearly at the beginning. Therefore, leaving a research gap is to leave space for other disciplines to develop, which in turn is likely to give rise to new disciplines. (B) The prerequisites of the development of translation theory The first prerequisite for developing translation theory is the reflective nature of human thinking. As far as translation theory is concerned, every era has had a variety of theoretical systems suitable for the requirements of its times. Over time, the theoretical system can no longer meet the needs of practical development, and will be criticized and improved accordingly to form a new theoretical system. In the final 20 years of the twentieth century, many foreign translation theories were introduced in Chinese translation circles, but none of them could totally conform to the actual context of translation studies and practices in China. Chinese translation circles, therefore, seem to have entered the reflective period recently. Reflection is the recognition of the nature of translation. But this nature has different levels and aspects. Therefore, reflection is the comprehensive recognition of these levels and aspects. The second prerequisite is the demand of reality. In past centuries, the interpretation and translation work were never interrupted by trade, science, technology, diplomacy, and tourism. However, translators seem to attach great importance to repeated discussions of artistic and literary texts. In discussing translation theories, Western scholars will choose, for example, ancient Greek and Roman classics, the Christian Bible, Shakespeare’s plays, romantic works, and ancient Indian Sanskrit books as case studies. On the other hand, Chinese scholars, when engaging in discussions on translation theory, will think of the Chinese translations of Buddhist scriptures, Western novels, dramas, poems, and academic classics, and the English translations of Chinese ancient classics and novels. “The documents that must be translated in daily life, such as letters, notes, notices, contracts, and product manuals, are rarely involved in the

28

2 Variational Translation Theory: An Emerging Translation Theory

western and Chinese translation circles, as if no one has ever done this kind of translation work” (see Zhou Zhaoxiang 1998:30). As time went on, the main channel of cultural communication between the East and the West shifted to the fields of science and technology in the second half of the twentieth century. The development of productive forces has brought about great changes in society, which unavoidably brings updates and progress to translation theory studies. (C) The impetus for the development of translation theory (1) Crisis impetus. The theory is objective if it can describe, explain, or predict the law or developmental direction of translation objectively. Nevertheless, any kind of translation theory will stem from specific historical conditions, and emerges from the translation scholar’s cognition of a certain level of translation activity in a specific time and place. Owing to the limitation of a translation scholar’s cognition, it is impossible to exhaust all aspects of a research object and achieve infinite cognition of the nature of a research object. Therefore, all translation theories leave room for modification and improvement. There has been a crisis in translation theory: there are some translation facts that cannot be explained from the perspective of complete translation theories in the history of translation activities. The translation facts and translation texts accumulated in practice, providing us with ever-changing research objects, are the direct source and basis of any translation theory and are also the direct driving force of theoretical development. New translation facts and materials obtained or excavated from translation practice can reflect the limitations of traditional translation theories and promote the development of new translation theories. (2) Paradox impetus. The contradiction between the existing translation theories and translation practice is another impetus. Because it exists outside of theory, translation practice does not seem to constitute internal contradictions in the development of theory. Theory comes from practice, but the validity of the theory still needs to be verified in practice. Theories not stemming from translation practice are empty dogma, and theories that cannot stand verification in practice are useless. As practice undergoes a continual process of development, any theory, no matter how successful and popular, is a system that is merely relatively complete, and must be supplemented, revised, and updated. Theory is formed and developed in practice. On the other hand, under the guidance of theory, practice can develop new fields of cognition, help people widen their horizons and broaden their thinking, and in turn promote the development of theory. The theory of complete translation and the facts of variational translation constitute a paradox that logically contradicts the complete translation theory. This is the seed of a new translation theory. To eliminate the paradox, it is not feasible to be confined to the original theory. We must put forward new ideas and thoughts, draw new reasonable conclusions, and

2.2 Context for Establishing Variational Translation Theory

29

create new methods and theories to promote the development of translation theory. (3) Academic debate impetus. The controversy between the different theories on translation activity is another important wellspring for pushing forward translation theory studies and promoting the improvement of existing relevant translation theories. There was once a minor controversy about the necessity of establishing variational translation. The small controversy about adapted translations emerged in July 1985 at the “Translation and Modernization” seminar in Hong Kong (see Xu Jun 1996). Dr. Zhou Zhaoxiang, on one side of the debate, held that there were many translation methods and techniques, and which one was best depended on the target readers and social context. Dr. Zhou also remarked that translation techniques like adding, editing, narrating, condensing, and altering were acceptable, and in most cases, these incomplete translation techniques were the most appropriate ones or even the only feasible ones. Translation scholar Liu Jingzhi, on the other side of the debate, held that the translator was not qualified to edit, abridge, or alter the original work, because the translator’s slight deviation from the original work might result in indiscreet translation, or even arbitrary translation, which was likely to cause great harm to the translation. In our opinion, Dr. Zhou has a far-sighted vision, but at the time his argument sounds somewhat sensational because he does not clearly expound the reasons for using various incomplete translation methods and techniques. As for Liu’s argument, it is right to stress retaining faithfulness to the original work, but maintaining the translation principle of “faithfulness” as the only translation principle is not suitable for current translation practices. There are many viewpoints and theories on the same object, which is an inevitable phenomenon in the process of cognition. As long as translators have the option to use both complete translation and incomplete translation methods to deal with source texts, complete translation theory and incomplete translation theory can coexist in translation practice. What we should note is that the arguments for and against complete translation and incomplete translation should be made on the basis of facts, and that the flaws exposed through these debates should be revised and improved over time. As mentioned earlier, Dr. Zhou Zhaoxiang carried out further incomplete translation activities, and also made comprehensive observations on the phenomenon of variational translation. In 1996, his book on incomplete translation titled Translation and Life was published by Commercial Press (Hong Kong) and republished by the China Translation and Publishing Company in 1998. (4) Technical impetus. Machine translation, which is one of the more difficult translation-related technological problems to tackle in the twenty-first century, presents a fatal challenge to complete translation. Complete translation may be gradually done through machine translation, and the

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2 Variational Translation Theory: An Emerging Translation Theory

machine may replace the human translator. At that point, complete translation (mainly non-literary translation) will become simple work for the translator because it will be carried out by machines; translators are thereby set free from simple translation work and have more time and energy to engage in creative activities in translation practice. In the meantime, machine translation technology will also pose a threat to and put pressure on mankind. The technical impetus drives us to conclude that the translator must seek new practice spaces in order to survive, and explore more translation methods and modes that machines are likely to continue finding difficult to deal with. (D) The developmental path of translation theory There should be two constituent elements of translation theory. One is the basic concepts and basic propositions, as well as the internal relationships between the concepts and propositions, which forms the core of theory. The other is the interpretation of the core ideas and the foresights made on this basis, which is the auxiliary part of the theory. In the development of translation theory, it is common to either keep the core of the theory unchanged and make modifications and supplements to the auxiliary part, or negate the core idea and replace it with new concepts and propositional relationships. In view of this, there are two kinds of developmental path for translation theory: (1) Conventional development path. This is a quantitative change and a gradual process. The core idea is unchanged while the auxiliary contents change. These are minor adjustments to the system of translation theory. In the system of translation theory, as the practice develops, contradictions gradually unfold. With the increasing observations of translation alongside the improvements in the means for practice, cognition is continually enhanced. This helps overcome the defects of translation theory and form further organic connections between translation theory and practice. Thus, some auxiliary contents of translation theory must be supplemented or modified. Two or more theoretical systems, as long as their basic viewpoints are compatible, can mutually support and complement each other to constitute a relatively stable theoretical system, even if their auxiliary contents are different. The result of the long-term controversy between literal translation and free translation is an example of this. (2) Innovation development path. This is a qualitative change in the development of translation theory. The innovation path of translation theory involves adopting a new set of methods to establish its framework, in which there is no common ground between the basic concepts and propositions and the previous theories. The innovated translation theory provides a brand-new description of translation and its law on a new basis. There is a gradual process of the new translation theory replacing the anachronistic one. If there are more and more anomalies in the system of translation theory, in the long run, the system is bound to come into trouble and be replaced by a new system of translation theory if the anomalies cannot be removed and expounded clearly. A new

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translation theory would not only be able to explain the anomalies encountered in the original theory and defend its core content, but also resist falsification repeatedly and successfully. A fundamental change of the core content is needed for the new theory to replace or be independent from the original theory, and it belongs to the re-construction of the theoretical system. This does not mean, however, that the original translation theory is totally negated or abandoned. To establish variational translation theory is to take this innovation path.

2.2.2.5

Requirements from the Separation of Disciplines

Adapting to the general trend of translation theory development, variational translation theory aims to solve the problems of adapted translations that cannot be explained with the theory of complete translation. Developing translation theory will lead to the separation of many interdependent disciplines because too general and abstract translation studies cannot solve specific translation problems in different fields. The establishment and development of variational translation theory opens a new translation field and fills the gap in translation theory research— incomplete translation studies. This will certainly facilitate the overall development of translation theory. Establishing variational translation will motivate translation scholars to carry out variational translation research. Its function is to transform the understanding of variational translation from fuzziness to clearness. Currently, the connotations, extensions, and functions of variational translation are only vaguely perceived. Neither have they been confirmed, nor are there accurate expressions about this theory. This means translators dare not face variational translations. Under such circumstances, the translators usually label their variational translations as “translated by so-and-so,” which confuses the difference between complete translation and variational translation, and actually lowers their labor value. It is through coming up with variational translation theory that we can make the idea of adapting original work gradually develop in a clear direction, thereby allowing the translation activities to be prosperous and the social function and effect of variational translation to be boosted. In translation practice, many translators do not blindly follow traditional translation techniques. Traditional translation techniques do not provide the methods and guidance of variational translation, and they rarely kindle the interest of the translator. The nature of variational translation has not yet been revealed, which means there is insufficient motivation for translators to adopt it. An experienced translator can carry out adapted translations adeptly while the young translator, who has no experience adapting original works, will have to spend much of their time in exploring the adaptation techniques by themselves. So, establishing variational translation theory based on translation practices is useful work for subsequent translation scholars and practitioners. By gradually perfecting variational translation

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theory, adapting original work will have a relatively technical theory to follow. And with a clear understanding of the phenomena and laws of variational translation, translators will find motivation to use every adaptation technique when working on an original piece of work.

2.2.2.6

The Result of the Market Economy

The key to the popularity of variational translation is that it is practical, especially under the context of a market economy. It is popular because it can achieve —and has achieved—the desired effects in many ways for many people worldwide, in both ancient and modern times. Translation is usually not for pleasure, nor is it for the mere practice of writing. Mostly, it is labor offered by a translator to achieve practical effects through the target readers’ reading. The research of translation theory should attach great importance to the market economy. It is an urgent and inevitable choice to speed up the development of translation theory by means of turning translation studies toward the market economy and serving market development. The use of value-oriented research and the specific function of translation on target readers in the twenty-first century should be highlighted. In the era of the knowledge economy, translation should serve national economic development and cross-cultural exchange. Traditional translation, characterized by heavy consumption of raw materials and energy, is losing the glory of its past eminence. By setting up the ideology of a translation market, emancipating their own minds, and accepting market guidance, translators should adjust the content and translation techniques utilized on original work to the target social context and the target readers’ specific needs. Within this context, it is advisable that we abandon the ideology of stressing academic level and the academic value of translation rather than its economic benefits and the cultural and social effects of the translation market. Variational translation theory is intended for adapting translation practice to the market economy. At the same time, the market calls for the marketization of translation studies and translation services. But complete translation and its research are not suitable for market needs for three reasons: (1) A considerable number of people have not taken market demand into account in their translating process, so many translations have not been published or read by end-users; (2) the obsolescence of the translation methods, the vagueness of serving target readers, and the blind use of complete translation methods (because many people do not know how to produce variational translations) lead to the rejection of the final product and complaints from the publishing department or users; and (3) translators lack the effective guidance of variational translation theory and their language proficiency needs to be further improved. Therefore, enhancing awareness of the context of translation and facing the problems can benefit variational translation studies. The marketization of translation includes the marketization of translation methods. This refers to choosing the corresponding adaptation methods according

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to the needs of different objects and market levels. Marketization can accelerate the popularization of translations.

2.2.2.7

The Demand of Translation Talent Training

On the talent needs for variational translation, Zhou Zhaoxiang (1998:39) pointed out that, “Translation studies and translation teaching still only focus on the complete translation method, thus students subconsciously accept the idea that the complete translation is the absolutely authentic and normal way of translating. So they have not got the training in variational translation. But most of the students will have to do the work of variational translation after their graduation.” Establishing variational translation theory therefore conforms to the needs of the translation teaching reform. To make translation more effective at serving society, there must be a team of translators with abundant knowledge, strong translation abilities, and practical translation experience. There are two points to which we should pay special attention when cultivating a translation team. One is to connect with market demand and strengthen the market consciousness of the translator in terms of their cultivation. In some universities with translation teachers qualified in variational translation, the teachers should provide the students with training in variational translation to cultivate versatile translation talents and to change and enrich their translation cognition. The other point is to adopt different forms of training translators like holding translation workshops, offering TV lectures, and establishing translation training centers. Most examined translation courses offered by universities in China and abroad do not include how to adapt the macro-form of the original work so as to effectively disseminate the contents of the original. On the contrary, the courses stress the translation standard of “equivalence” and the three-word translation principle of “faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance,” not allowing translators to do adaptation work on the original text. What is more, students are not taught how to effectively develop and ingest the contents of foreign information, which indicates that translation classrooms are totally occupied with teaching of complete translation. Translation courses are practice-oriented, so we must carry out the principle of practicality. The so-called practicality principle not only refers to providing more examples, more exercises, and more intensive instructions but also indicates how to face the social demands that students must meet after their graduation. At present, the translation courses in colleges and universities are taught based on the theoretical system that has existed for several decades, which inevitably leads to out-of-date teaching contents that are not closely connected with the times, science and technology, the current social context, or the developmental trends of the future. In other words, most translation courses are currently separated from the practicality principle and the potential of translation programs has not been fully tapped. Teaching variational translation breaks through the traditional translation

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teaching mode. It orients translation toward the demands of society and serving the different communities of society effectively. The most important role of variational translation teaching is to unify the cultivation of translation talent with the demands of society. The establishment of variational translation theory needs training translators. We urgently need talents who can not only speak foreign languages, master the methods of ingesting foreign information, and be good at complete translation but also quickly choose the information the target readers need, judge the value of the information, and convey the information that end-users need according to the requirements of different target readers.

2.2.2.8

The Demand of Target Readers

Variational translation can highlight the main points expounded in a book and let the target readers quickly find the content they need, thereby saving them the reading time. In order to meet the requirements of the rate of growth in knowledge, people have started to study and create fast reading methods, using visual aids to grasp key words, key concepts, numbers, charts, and other symbols. Learning from this, can we find a speedy translation method? This is also the inspiration behind the theory of variational translation. If the original author fails to write the symbols (not limited to words) that are suitable for fast reading, can the translator complete the work for the target readers in a way that lets them easily gain good command of the main points of the original in the shortest possible time? In a people-oriented society, people’s personalities are respected. The different needs of target readers have become the humanistic cornerstone of variational translation and its theory. People will have different value orientations regarding the same foreign information due to their different industries, jobs, priorities, and so on. If translators still translate in the mode of complete translation, they will inevitably disappoint a target reader’s expectations. People are the target that we must care about when translating. So, we must attach great importance to the demand of the target readers and eradicate the phenomenon of ignoring the overt or covert demands of target readers when translating. The focus of human cognition has passed through three stages: (1) ancient ontology—asking what the world is; (2) modern epistemology—asking what the relationship between cognition and the world is; and (3) contemporary subject theory—asking what the subject is and what the relationship between subject and object is. The relationships between the subject and object, and between an original text and its translation cannot fully reflect the reality of translating, which are worthy of being addressed by translation scholars.

2.2 Context for Establishing Variational Translation Theory

2.2.2.9

35

The Demand of the Information Era

The amount of information in the world is continuously growing alongside the articles or works based on outdated principles. At the same time, different publications are produced and cited for each other, which cause some of their contents to be repetitive and unproductive, so the qualities of some publications are relatively declining. Even if there are some valuable articles, because of the redundant information existing in them, the proportion of desired content is still small to target readers. Alternatively, over time, the information becomes out-of-date and the use value of many articles may be partially or completely lost. On the one hand, the world’s information is expanding at explosive rate. On the other hand, the desired information is too dispersed and disordered. In this context, there is no other choice but to take effective countermeasures to help readers out of the information maze. With an increase in knowledge come new requirements for quality, quantity, and speed in social development. So, improving the social and economic benefits of translation is a problem that every translator must face. This is an era of rapid change. China’s reform and opening-up is advancing with the rapid development of science and technology and the rapid increase in total knowledge, turning information into a new strategic resource. International competition, to some extent, is also a competition that involves translation—especially of science and technology texts. For example, the former Soviet Union set up a National Translation Center, and in Japan, translators’ ingestion of new information about international technologies is very fast and effective. These moves have been very helpful for the development of science and technology in the two countries.

2.2.2.10

The Pursuit of Translation Efficiency

In recent years, more attention has been paid to the efficiency of translation, both in China and abroad. A great defect in translation theory and practice is to neglect the rational and effective use of human, material, and temporal resources. If we can say that time is money and efficiency is life, we can also say that variational translation is both money and efficiency. Complete translation was once the mainstream course of translation studies and practice. Now, variational translation is occupying its share of space. If we were to form a global statistic, we would find that the translated texts throughout the world by no means wholly fall into the complete translation category. On the contrary, a considerable proportion of translated texts belong to variational translation. Many of the translated texts made in complete translation mode could be passed down from generation to generation. Meanwhile, a large number of variational translations (especially in interpretation) have not been printed or transcribed, and thus cannot be passed down. Increasingly more facts prove that for a foreign language text there is only one desirable section of the text worthy of being translated, and the rest are outdated or contain redundant information. It is time-consuming and not

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cost-effective if the whole text is translated with the complete translation method. Therefore, it is advisable to adopt the methods of variational translation, which can solve the problem easily.

2.2.2.11

The Demand of Publication

It is the translator’s instinct for survival and aggressiveness that pushes them to translate and publish and have the translated texts be read by target readers and have impact on them. Only after the translated texts have been published and read can they meet the translator’s physiological and psychological needs and be recognized by society. Currently, the oral form, written form, image form, audiovisual form, electronic transmission form, and so on coexist in translation and publication. The most important step for a translator to take first is to have the translated texts published and propel the effect of its publication as much as possible. To achieve the effect, the translator must first tailor their translation to the specific demands of society. Therefore, to maximize the impact of publication, it is necessary to adapt the translated texts to the needs of the target audience. To jump the hurdle of publishing, we should psychologically study not only the readers’ interests and demands but also the publisher’s, and the ways to attract target readers. This requires that new theories should be established from new perspectives to guide the practice.

2.2.2.12

The Demand of Intellectual Property Rights

The advantage of complete translation is that it is comprehensive and systemic. But due to China’s entry into the Berne Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention in 1992, no matter the methods of compromise and accommodation, complete translations can never shake the constraints of intellectual property rights. Therefore, it is necessary to seek a method that can not only ingest foreign information but also properly solve the problem of intellectual property rights, which is one of the motivations of variational translation research. For example, there are copyright constraints for selected translation and edited translation, but no such constraints for narrated translation, condensed translation, summarized transcomment, and cited translation. Many scientific and technological research papers can convey the latest foreign achievements through cited translation without copyright constraints. In other words, variational translation can not only communicate useful foreign information but also promote scientific and technological development. This is what we would call killing two birds with one stone.

2.2 Context for Establishing Variational Translation Theory

2.2.2.13

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The Exploration of the Local Resources of Translation Theory

From the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 to the 1990s, Chinese translation scholars basically adopted the overall stance to absorb the translation theories from the former Soviet Union, the European countries, and the United States. Around the 1990s, with the rapid development of scientific and technological translations, the personnel engaging in scientific and technological translations were far more numerous than those doing literary translations. Since then, scientific translatology has emerged in China (see Li Yashu 1992). This emergence tells us that translation practice and theory must be researched comprehensively and specifically under the social context of translation. Otherwise, the results of translation research may not be sound or scientific. Fortunately, in the 1990s and 2000s, Chinese translation scholars began to awaken when it came to translation research and no longer blindly followed foreign translation theories. Rather, they began to introduce these theories to China from a critical perspective and translate them selectively. There was, however, not enough attention paid to the phenomenon of variational translation, and practitioners thereof did not summarize their translation experience in a systematic way. Thus, those entering the realm of variational translation had no theoretical guidance when engaging in the practice. Chinese scholar Lin Bingyong (1992) called for research into effective translation methods, including several variations of translation, but little research at the level of the HOW and the WHY have been seen in China. Ignoring local thought on and practices of translation is a great loss, and reveals the presence of the mindset of worshipping foreign translation theories. It is a pity that we have the energy to probe foreign translation theory and thought, but no time to scrutinize the translation thought and practices of Chinese translators. Fortunately, Li Yashu (1993), Mu Lei (1997), Guo Zhuzhang (1999), and Xu Jun (2001) pioneered the study of Chinese translators’ thoughts and practices, setting good examples for translation research. As Chinese translation activities are carried out in China, we hope that more scholars will pay attention to the summary of Chinese translation thoughts and practices throughout history in order to develop Chinese translation theories that can be confirmed in translation practice both in China and abroad, and can create a dialogue with foreign translation theories.

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2.2.3

The Probability of Establishing Variational Translation Theory

2.2.3.1

Reflections on the Methodology of Translation Theories

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Chinese translation scholars began to summarize and reflect upon the translation theories of the twentieth century, inheriting the reasonable resources, drawing lessons from failures, and determining the direction of further efforts. The methodology of translation research should be highlighted in the process of reflection. For example, in the twentieth century, the research on the micro-translation skills of complete translation was relatively adequate in translation circles both in China and abroad, while the study of the macro-translation skills of complete translation was relatively general and rough. Compared with the research on complete translation, the research on adapting original work is negligible. If we establish translation theories only within the scope of micro-skill research, we cannot reach a comprehensive and systematic understanding of human translation activities. At the end of the twentieth century, some scholars began to consider and discuss the relations between translation and creation under the context of cultural exchange (see Wang Hongzhi 2000). These discussions present valuable ideas for building the theory of variational translation. Regardless of whether we agree or disagree with the relations made between translation and creation, they can offer different perspectives and driving forces for our thinking. Putting adapted works at the level of culture and even philosophy, we can promote the establishment of the variational translation theory.

2.2.3.2

The Colorful World of Translation and Its Multipolar Theories

With the linguistics school of translation having gradually replaced the literary school of translation across the world, the majority of translators like to adopt binary thinking to approach the theory and practice of translation. That is, complete translation is regarded as an absolute demand, and incomplete translation as an inferior version not worth discussing. It is difficult to examine all of translation’s nature and activities, as well as excavate new wisdom and thoughts from the traditional translation theories of China and the rest of the world. The standard of judging translation quality through binary thinking has retarded the development of new theories. In recent years, some people have begun to break through this rigid cognitive model, recognizing the multipolar and multicolored world of translation, which shows vibrant theoretical thinking in translation activities. In turn, the multicolored world of translation must match the multipolar theories of translation.

2.2 Context for Establishing Variational Translation Theory

2.2.3.3

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Abundant Historical Materials for Variational Translation

The practice of variational translation throughout history allows us to see the trajectory of its application and have access to abundant historical materials for its study. The increasingly vigorous development and the maturity of variational translation have served as stable research objects for variational translation studies. If variational translation practice were in its embryonic state, variational translation would not achieve the level of scientific abstraction, nor would it allow us to produce a mature and complete translation theory. Examining the translation histories of China and Western countries, we find that translations like those of Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel and Thomas Henry Huxley’s Evolution and Ethics and other Essays are variational translation. The flexible application of variational translation has played a very important role in translation practices from ancient Greek translation activities to high-speed information conveyance in contemporary Western countries; from the translations of the Buddhist scriptures in the Chinese Tang dynasty (618–907 AD) to the ingestion of the academic ideas of Western countries in China and Japan in the late nineteenth century; from the large-scale introduction and uptake of foreign sciences, technologies, and cultures to the output of Chinese culture in the twenty-first century. Therefore, the maturity of variational translation activities reveals the feasibility of variational translation studies. Any new theory comes into being in the process of scientific development. In the history of translation, some translation methods, such as selected translation, edited translation, and condensed translation, have rarely been addressed by translation scholars, and are generally treated as objects of criticism. The concept of “variational translation” put forth in this book can not only give birth to a series of relevant concepts of translation but also open a new field for translation studies. China has a long history of translation activities, with a wealth of thoughts on variational translation, which has helped form preliminary preparations for establishing variational translation theory. By summarizing the translation experiences spanning over a thousand years in China and examining Western translation history, we can find that translators or writers like Yan Fu (1854–1921), Goethe (1749–1832), and Pushkin (1799–1837) were involved in variational translation activities whose theoretical elements we are to explore.

2.2.3.4

The Enlightenment from Related Theories

Now we are in an era in which new theories constantly emerge and foreign thoughts flood in, such as pragmatics, reception theory, deconstructionism, and non-optimum theories. These constantly bring new perspectives to translation theory research. Let us take the non-optimum theory as an example. In people’s minds, the optimum is

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2 Variational Translation Theory: An Emerging Translation Theory

just an ideal. The non-optimum theory allows the existence of a multiple-measurement scale. This is an objective and reasonable scale that conforms to human cognition and practical activities, and is closer to reality. The “non-optimum” category is reasonable and feasible to some extent within a certain range. In translation activities, on many occasions, complete translation is not necessary. Let us take the reception theory as another example. In past translation theory studies, the original works are usually taken as the center and starting point of the research to determine the translation strategy and micro-processing techniques. In variational translation practice, the target reader is taken as the starting point to determine the strategies and translation techniques. This is an essential difference, and allows for the reception theory to be applied to translation. What is more, variational translation breaks through the limitations of reception aesthetics; that is to say, variational translation is suitable for both literary and non-literary translation. The first contribution made by reception theory was to open a new field of translation theory research. Prior translation research only involved translators, original works, and the translated pieces; it paid little attention to target readers’ reception and the function of the translations. In recent years, reception theory has made up for this defect. The second contribution of reception theory is that it has a strong sense of dynamics and history. From the target readers’ viewpoint, the original value is constantly explored and discovered so that the original work can regain life in the target context. In this way, the effect of the translation is not static but dynamic, constantly in accordance with different reading expectations of different target readerships, thus forming dynamic translation effects. In the past, translation scholars have emphasized the objective criteria of translation and the objective evaluation of original works while ignoring the fact that translators can bring their subjectivities and creativeness into play to some extent. Objectivity is only a good, subjective desire. According to the reception theory, because readers are subject to both subjective and objective factors, their understanding of the translated version will inevitably be dynamic and varied. The third contribution is that it has changed the evaluation of the significance, value, and status of the original work. The value of the original work is a constant, while the value explored by the readers of a target language is variable. The variability depends on the readers’ reception consciousness and expectations. Therefore, the value of the original work depends, to a large extent, on the reception consciousness of the target readers. If we neglect the readers’ aesthetic needs, and reading expectations, we cannot explain the complexities of subjectivity and objectivity in the reception of translated works and cannot expound why one complete translation is often not complete in some target readers’ minds. Therefore, translators must have potential target readers in mind while translating and predict the social effects of their translated works.

2.2 Context for Establishing Variational Translation Theory

2.2.3.5

41

Globalization of Variational Translation

The theory of variational translation is a summary of over 1000-year translation practice in China and abroad. According to our investigation of the history of cultural exchange between China and Britain, China and Russia, China and Japan, China and Germany, China and France, and China and Indonesia, the phenomena of variational translation activities can be seen everywhere. The activities are interwoven with complete translation activities throughout human translation history, or even appeared earlier. Examples and illustrations of these variational translations are embedded in this book. The rich practices of variational translation have laid good foundations for the development of theory. Like other translation theories, the theory of variational translation is also a priceless spiritual heritage. At present, this heritage has not been explored in detail. We can take the lead in exploring it and doing something practical for the development of translation theory.

2.2.3.6

Valuable Beginnings

According to the limited literature on variational translation, China once had a budding period of research into it during the Chinese Tang dynasty (618–907 AD). It then entered a period of further development (Zhang Zhongyue 1950; Xu Guozhen 1991; Wang Kefei 1996) and reached its peak in Yan Fu’s summary of his translation practice (around 1898) (Huang Zhonglian 1998a, b, c). Sporadic articles on variational translation research have been published in academic journals like the Chinese Translators Journal, Chinese Science & Technology Translators Journal, and Shanghai Journal of Translators, and other key journals for foreign language research. These studies, despite the lack of in-depth, systematic, and theoretical discussions, have provided us with a starting point for conceptualizing variational translation and have laid a solid foundation for our further exploration thereof. It is worth mentioning that from 1997 to 1998, we studied the case of Yan Fu’s thoughts on translation and studied his variational translations at the law level, deriving the basic principles and techniques of eleven variational translation methods. These basic principles and translation techniques have been discussed in the book titled Translation Variation Research, which shows that we have achieved further understanding of variational translation phenomena.

2.2.3.7

Free Academic Space

Because only in societies with multiple coexisting values can different schools of thought contend freely and develop quickly, we must create free academic spaces and let translation scholars express their different viewpoints freely to spur on the development of translation theory. Nowadays, we have a relatively amicable academic environment in China. This environment is therefore a hotbed for brewing

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thoughts on variational translation theory. What is more, translation scholars with different thoughts on translation should be open-minded and encourage each other to explore new fields and spaces of translation theory.

2.2.3.8

The Call for the Development of Translation Theory

Historical changes, life changes, and social progress have provided development opportunities and created the basis for the development of translation theories. We are now in an era in which different theories should spring up. As a discipline, translatology is no longer in the phase of discussing whether it exists or not, but in the phase of how to expand it. The book of variational translation theory is intended for propelling the development of translation theory. The blueprint for the development of translation theory provides a theoretical background and premise for variational translation theory. Research into translation theory constructs the edifice of translation. Standing on this edifice, we see another scene—that of variational translation theory. Ignoring this scene will fail to constitute the whole picture of translation theory. Most of the translation theories put forward and discussed worldwide, until now, can be labeled as “Complete Translation Theory” or “General Translation Theory.” From the discussion above, we can infer the following five points: (1) Human variational translation activities need to be justified, (2) the adaptation techniques need to be fully utilized and vigorously advocated, (3) variational translation practice requires theoretical explanation and guidance, (4) translation practice calls for variational translation theory research, and (5) variational translation practice requires operational norms.

2.3

The System of Variational Translation Theory

The theory of variational translation is a new theory being established. There is no ready-made theoretical system for reference. How to establish it remains to be further explored and studied. Whether the theory of variational translation can be established depends on whether a reasonable system of variational translation can be formed and whether a reasonable theoretical framework and conceptual system can take shape. The theory of variational translation demonstrates itself by means of a certain system that is the basis of its existence. A strict and reasonable system is an important symbol of the developmental stage and maturity of variational translation theory. Its essential components and nature are condensed into the system. The system of variational translation theory is a whole constituted by the mutual connections and restraints between the subject and object of the variational translation and the process of variational translation. The system is also the theoretical generalization and enhancement of the different components within it. According to

2.3 The System of Variational Translation Theory

43

the research object, the nature of the discipline, and its structural analysis, the system of variational translation theory should consist of an introduction, a basic theory, a subject, an object, and so on. There are two connotations in the system of variational translation theory: one is the inherent logical connections in different components of the theory, which are demonstrated as the unity, coherence, and restriction of thought; the other is the form through which the theory is demonstrated. This form is reproduced through the organic connections of the stable categories and principles. The former is fused into the ideas, called the “ideological system,” while the latter is demonstrated as an established thought expression, called the “theoretical system.” To display the inner logic of thought, we must use the corresponding conceptual system and establish its logical connections. This system is discussed as follows: First, the variational translation system is inseparable from the establishment and analysis of the basic categories. To establish a theory, we must first determine its core and basic concepts. First, we extract some important categories from the phenomena of variational translation to serve as the main research contents. Then we derive secondary categories from the main research contents. The primary and secondary categories together constitute the theoretical system of variational translation theory. We illustrate the operational mechanism and development through an analysis thereof. For example, if we start with the macro- and micro-characteristics of variational translation, we can reveal the nature—or soul—of variational translation, and can justify its necessity. If we begin with the methods of absorbing the original work, we can induce seven adaptation techniques, which are the essentials of variational translation. The seven adaptation techniques comprise eleven methods of variational translation, which are the basis of variational translation. The concept of “variational translation” is the cornerstone and “core” concept of variational translation theory, with the seven adaptation techniques and eleven methods of variational translation as the basic concepts. In sum, these concepts embody the main contents of the theory. They interact with one another and work together to unfold the picture of variational translation theory. Secondly, the logical relationship between the core category and the basic category constitutes the basic theory of variational translation. The theory does not need to be established by means of imitating the process of comprehension and expression of complete translation. Rather, it should properly arrange, in a certain logical order, the relationships between more than ten concepts, such as the law, methods, system, mechanisms, and processes of variational translation, to form the framework of the theory. Because the basic problem of variational translation theory is the contradiction between content and form and even the target readers, it is wise to start with the core and basic categories of the theory to unfold and expound its logical contents. Lastly, variational translation activities are a process of adaptation plus translation. The translator operates the adaptation plus translation of an original work. The motivation behind the adaptation of an original work is the target readers’ cultural context and reading demands, which results in variational translations.

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2 Variational Translation Theory: An Emerging Translation Theory

Therefore, the variational translation theory system includes two subjects (author and reader) and one object (source text). The above-mentioned components constitute the theoretical system. A detailed outline of the system in two parts is as follows: 1. The establishment of variational translation theory, including “the phenomenon of variational translation,” “complete translation,” “variational translation,” and “variational translation research.” 2. The basic theory of variational translation, including “the nature of variational translation,” “the system of variational translation,” “the techniques of adaptation,” “the methods of variational translation,” “the hierarchy of variational translation,” “the mechanism of variational translation,” “the special effect of variational translation,” “the law of variational translation,” “the criteria of variational translation,” “the scope of variational translation,” and “the value of variational translation.” In the first part, based on the facts of translation, we present the phenomena of diversified variational translation opposite complete translation to attract the attention of scholars of translation theory, and propose this new pair of translation categories. Then, from the new categories, we establish variational translation theory which is complementary to complete translation. After that, we discuss what variational translation theory is and expound the context in which the theory is to be established in order to construct its system and illustrate its special effects. Lastly, we insert the research of variational translation theory in the system of variational translation research to more clearly clarify the object, task, method, status, and role of variational translation theory research. We discuss the contents of the theory in the second part in three steps. The first step is to solve issues of variational translation theory by analyzing the characteristics and nature of variational translation to construct a variational translation system composed of three components of variational translation. The second step is to solve the internal problems involved in the process of variational translation operation, list the eleven variational translation methods stemming from the adaptation techniques, and analyze their interrelations from the structural figure of the variational translation method system. Then, we discuss variational translation methods. Moreover, the mechanism of variational translation is to be established in accordance with having explored the system and process of variational translation and the law of variational translation. The third step is to solve the external problems of variational translation, affirm its special effects, establish its criteria, delineate its application scope, and reveal its value.

References

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References Guo, Zhuzhang, et al. 1999. Research on Famous Translators [M]. Wuhan: Hubei Education Press. Huang, Zhonglian. 1998a. Recognizing Yan Fu’s Translation Thoughts [J]. Chinese Translators Journal, (2). Huang, Zhonglian. 1998b. A Review of Hundred-year Research on Yan Fu’s Translation Thoughts [J]. Fujian Foreign Languages, (3). Huang, Zhonglian. 1998c. Another Side of Yan Fu’s translation thought [J]. China Science & Technology Translator Journal, (4). Li, Yashu. 1992. The Scientific Connotation of Chinese Science & Technology Translatology [J]. Chinese Science & Technology Translator Journal, (3). Li, Yashu. 1993. Scientists Talk about Translation [M]. Tianjin: Tianjin Science & Technology Translation & Publishing Company. Lin, Bingyong. 1992. On the Translation Work for Thriving Cutting-edge Science & technology [J]. Chinese Science & Technology Translators Journal, (2). Mu, Lei. 1997. The Builders of Babel Tower [M]. Beijing: Kaiming Press. Wang, Kefei. 1996. Absorption of Western Political Philosophy in Modern China and Japan: Yan Fu and Japanese Enlightenment Scholars [M]. Beijing: China Social Sciences Press. Wang, Hongzhi. 2000. Translation and Creation: On Modern Chinese Translated Novels [M]. Beijing: Peking University Press. Xie, Tianzhen. 1999. Medio-Translatology [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. Xu, Guozhang. 1991. On Language by Xu Guozhang [M]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. Xu, Jun. 1996. Thirty Years of Practice and Thinking: Mr. Liu Jingzhi’s Studies on Translation [M]. Language and Translation Journal. Xu, Jun. 2001. Dialogues of Theory and Practice of Literary Translation [M]. Nanjing: Yilin Press. Zhang, Zhongyue. 1950. Adaptations can Be Used in Translating Natural Science Information. Translation Bulletin (Vol. 3), No. 2. Zhou, Zhaoxiang. 1998. Translation and Life [M]. Beijing: China Translation and Publishing Corporation.

Chapter 3

Variational Translation Research: A Scientific Research Approach

Abstract This chapter first presents that variational translation research is made on the basis of facts from the practice of translation and then analyzes the research objects of variational translation, including its phenomena, laws, and principles. Finally, the motivations of scientific research on variational translation are elaborated upon from four perspectives: (1) providing a theoretical basis for variational translation, (2) tapping the potential of translators, (3) developing the use value of original works, and (4) meeting the needs of target readers. Keywords Variational translation Research task


Fact-based research
Research object


Variational translation research is the study of all variational translation activities. This includes (1) studies on the variational translation phenomena, (2) studies on variational translation laws, and (3) studies on variational translation principles. These three fields of study conform to the scientific laws of human cognition, which is a process from the exterior to the interior and from phenomenon to essence.

3.1

Fact-Based Research Strategy

The so-called fact-based strategy is not to start with existing dogmas or principles outlined in books, but with variational translation practice seeking its own laws. The starting point of our studies is aimed at the facts of translation practice, taking a bottom-up, inductive approach.

3.1.1

From Practice to Cognition

The interpretation practice of the Sino-Russian border trade from 1992 to 1994 taught us that interpretation is not like complete translation, requiring every word or © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 Z. Huang and Y. Zhang, Variational Translation Theory, New Frontiers in Translation Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9271-3_3

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3 Variational Translation Research: A Scientific Research Approach

sentence to be translated. On the contrary, on many occasions, variational translation should be used in interpretation. From three years (1994–1997) of technological information translation work, we have audaciously picked up various effective methods of foreign information translation, including selected translation, edited translation, narrated translation, summarized translation, and transwriting. The translations made with such methods were popular with seven Chinese sci-tech information periodicals, with nearly 50 translation essays published within two and a half years. Consequently, we became the core translators for Petroleum News which is the only newspaper reporting on foreign oil technology developments and is under the administration of the Ministry of Petroleum. According to Wang Ping, the editor of Petroleum News, compared with other translations, the translations made using variational translation methods could be summarized in three words: quick, concise, and accurate. The gains we made with variational translation practice surprised and pleased us, so we began to rethink these methods that benefited us. We agreed that variational translation methods were powerful and needed to be employed frequently and widely in the future, which called for a theoretical summary. So, we turned this idea into an article titled The Chinese translation of science and technology outlook in the twenty-first century (Huang Zhonglian 1996).

3.1.2

From Re-Reading to Recognition

In 1997, before the one-hundredth anniversary of the publication of Yan Fu’s Chinese translation of Huxley’s Evolution and Ethics, we reflected on Yan Fu’s translation practices and his translation ideas. We tried our best to obtain the book Yan Fu: Translated Classics, Yan Fu’s translated works, and Huxley’s original works, and re-read them to seek the motivations behind his translation methods. Influenced by Chinese translation opinions and imbued with viewpoints from textbooks, we only learned of Yan Fu’s three-word translation criteria: “faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance.” Looking at the practice of translation and interpretation in cross-cultural communication, however, we found the true history in the book Yan Fu: Translated Classics: Yan Fu’s translation thoughts go far beyond his three-word translation criteria. Other connotations of his thoughts had not been explored or even discovered. From re-reading to re-recognizing Yan Fu, we examined his translation thoughts that were more valuable but less noticed by translation scholars. What is more, these discovered translation thoughts are quite different from the opinions held by today’s translation scholars. In the following section, we will go into more detail.

3.1 Fact-Based Research Strategy

3.1.3

49

From Language to Culture

The authors’ translation practices were assisted by the thoughts on translation in Yan Fu’s translations. This inspired us to seek more supporting materials, so we set foot in the history of cultural exchange between China and foreign countries. Here, a few valuable books and articles should be highlighted, because it was these books that added nutrients to our thinking. These include On Zheng Zhenduo by Chen Fukang (1991), Chinese Literature and the World in the 20th Century by Chen Yuankai (1987), Chinese and Western Comparative Literature Handbook by Liu Hongjun (1987), On Lin Shu’s Translations by Qian Zhongshu (1979), Concise Comparative Literature by Sun Jingyao (1988), Translation and Creation: A Theory of Modern Chinese Translation Novels by Wang Hongzhi (2000), Chinese and Japanese Modern Ingestion of Western Political Philosophy: Yan Fu and Japanese Enlightenment Scholars by Wang Kefei (1996), The Cultural History of Translation by Wang Kefei (1997), A History of China’s Influence on German Literature by Wei Maoping (1996), A History of Sino-Japanese Ancient Literary Relations by Yan Shaotang (1987), and Translation and Life by Zhou Zhaoxiang (1998). These research monographs and articles have provided us with many vivid examples of translation in the context of cultural exchange between China and foreign countries, and most of them are examples of incomplete translation. Numerous variational translation examples poured into our database, which promoted us to reflect on traditional translation theory and gauge translation theory and practices. Despite there being three value levels—culture, literature, and language —people often attach great importance to the use value of the culture or literature and ignore the language level in the process of cultural communication. This fact prompted us to choose variational translation as our research object.

3.2

Pyramid-Shaped Research Object

Variational translation theory is a theory that takes variational translation as its research object. Establishing the special objects of a theoretical study is the key to establishing the theory. The objects of research refer to which things are studied, and generally refer to specific things. To define the objects is to reveal their features.

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3 Variational Translation Research: A Scientific Research Approach

The research objects of variational translation theory are the variational translation activities and the variational translation facts. The specific research object is inherent in every theory, which is the essence differentiating the theory of variational translation from that of complete translation. Variational translation phenomena are made up of four components: the translator, the adaptation methods in translation, the target readers, and the original work. To be exact, the variational translation phenomena are the relationship between persons (translator and target reader) and variational translation. Variational translation theory addresses these questions: For whom are the variational translations made? Who dominates the adaptation of the original work? What should be adapted from the original work? How should the original work be adapted? What consequences do the variational translations have? The goal of researching these questions is to reveal the mechanism and law of variational translation. Variational translation theory must reveal the operation characteristics and laws of the whole variational translation system from the interrelations and interactions of each subsystem. The research of variational translation has gradually formed a relatively complete system that can be detailed in terms of variational translation phenomena, law, and theory. This system is structured like the earth. The outer crust is composed of variational translation facts, focusing on studying the WHAT: what adaptation methods have been employed? The mantle is made up of laws of variational translation, expounding the HOW: how can the adaptation techniques be employed? And the centrosphere consists of the variational translation principles, studying the WHY: why did the translator use these adaptation methods? Our understanding of the variational translation system follows the process from fact to law to principle. That is the process from the outer crust to the mantle to the centrosphere. For example, in the history of astronomy, Copernicus’s heliocentric theory initially solved the WHAT: all the planets revolve around the sun; Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion described the HOW: planets orbit the sun at a certain cycle, orbit, and speed; and Newton’s law of universal gravitation explored the WHY: the sun exerts a particular force on a planet to make it orbit in accordance with Kepler’s three laws. These studies on the phenomena, laws, and principles of variational translation together form a pyramid-shaped structure, with the phenomena at bottom, the laws in middle, and the principles at the top.

3.2.1

WHAT: A Study of the Variational Translation Phenomenon

As mentioned in the first section of this chapter, our research interest in variational translation originates from our translation practices, benefits from Yan Fu’s translation practices, and stems from the proof within the extensive facts about

3.2 Pyramid-Shaped Research Object

51

translation in China and abroad. In this section, we will take Yan Fu’s translated texts as examples to systematically explore adaptation facts and form an overview of variational translation through induction and summarization.

3:2:1:1 Recognition of Yan Fu’s Translation Thoughts Yan Fu never translated a work completely because, when translating foreign academic ideologies, he could expound his viewpoints at the same time. Over the past century, many people have studied Yan Fu’s translation thoughts, but they have done so from the unwavering perspective of traditional complete translation. Therefore, what they have obtained from their research cannot reflect Yan Fu’s true thoughts. After having read Yan Fu’s translations again, we hold the following position. Only by linking the translator’s translation practices can we get the translator’s true translation thoughts. We should study what the translator has done as well as what they have said. What we have secured most by re-reading Yan Fu’s translations are the adaptation techniques he used in his translation practice. His adaptation techniques, employed to have Chinese readers ingest foreign ideas and to improve society, were employed in accordance with the times in which he lived. Yan Fu’s adaptation techniques are quite different from the micro-techniques we often use in complete translation. Rather, they are characterized by macro-related means in translation. The adaptation techniques are effective means of conveying foreign information under specific conditions and need to be further studied. This is a practical theory which can guide a translator’s translation practice more effectively than the three-word translation principle of “faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance.” It is necessary to summarize Yan Fu’s adaptation techniques used in his variational translations and, more importantly, to study his motivations for using these adaptation techniques in his translation practice (see Huang Zhonglian 1998a).

3:2:1:2 Reviews of Hundred-Year Studies of Yan Fu’s Translation Thoughts Studying the reviews of the hundred-year studies of Yan Fu’s translation thoughts will help us fully understand the achievements of his translation thoughts and further explore his valuable thinking. Before 1996, the subject of the research was the connotations of “faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance.” After 1996, Chinese academic circle began to pay attention to Yan Fu’s “adaptation techniques.” In 100 years, the same ideas have been repeated, advocated, opposed, and improved, but no new ideas have been derived from Yan Fu’s translation thoughts and practice.

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The authors of this book hold that Yan’s translations and his propositions should be put in the cultural context of his times and that his methods of ingesting foreign information should be researched. Yan’s translations of Western classics are not totally faithful to the original works, but they had great influence on Chinese culture, politics, economy, and law. So, the causes of the popularity of his translations are worth probing, and the relationship between the three-word translation principle and the adaptation techniques is worth rethinking (see Huang Zhonglian 1998b).

3:2:1:3 The Other Side of Yan Fu’s Translation Thoughts Yan Fu’s translation thoughts have not been fully understood in the past 100 years. In studying them in China and abroad, people are keen to talking about “faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance” which are the translation principles proposed by Yan Fu. Over the past 100 years, the three-word translation principle has been studied and Yan’s practical translation practice ignored. Based on what he did in his translation practice, we can infer that “faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance” are the essence of Yan Fu’s translation thoughts, while adaptation techniques, which are just as important in Yan’s translation thoughts, are the practical methods for how to translate. The value of adaptation techniques in translation practice, however, has not been fully recognized. There are seven kinds of adaptation techniques: adding, deleting, editing, narrating, condensing, integrating, and altering, which are highly concentrated in Yan’s translations of classics. These adaptation techniques can produce eleven variational translation methods of effectively ingesting and developing foreign information. Their practical guiding function in translation cannot be substituted by the three-word translation principle (see Huang Zhonglian 1998c). 3:2:1:4 The Unity of “Faithfulness, Expressiveness, Elegance” and the Adaptation Techniques By summarizing the above studies, linking the practice of Yan’s translation, and pondering over the relationship between “faithfulness, expressiveness, elegance” and “adaptation techniques,” the following four points can be proved: (1) There is no contradiction between Yan’s three-word translation principle and Yan’s translation practice. The contradictions were established by subsequent scholars. (2) The three-word translation principle is actually the theoretical principle of incomplete translation (i.e., variational translation) and the adaptation techniques are the corresponding operation principles. So, the relationship between the two is intrinsically unified. (3) Yan’s “faithfulness” does not aim only at the original work; it aims mainly at target readers. “Faithfulness, expressiveness, elegance” are tactics to win over target readers. (4) The adaptation techniques are the specific means of

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53

winning over target readers. Studying the unity of “faithfulness, expressiveness, elegance” and Yan’s translation practices can be regarded as a watershed in translation studies. One side of this watershed is the study of complete translation, and the other is the study of variational translation. The above makes up the comprehensive understanding of Yan Fu’s variational translation. We can also continue to draw a detailed comparison between the Chinese version of Evolution and Ethics and the original text, and further conduct case studies to reveal the above-mentioned unity in Yan Fu’s translations.

3.2.2

HOW: A Study of the Law of Variational Translation

The value of translation studies lies in guiding the practice of translation and improving the quality of translation talent training. After studying the variational translation phenomenon, we must focus on the operational level of variational translation. This mainly focuses on the specific translation methods and principles commonly used in translation practice and in training translation talents. Its core contents are as follows:

3.2.2.1

Researching Variational Translation Operations

(A) Defining concepts First, it is necessary to clarify the connotations of the research object for each field of theory research. The regularity of the quantity and quality of each variable can be reflected through concepts, which can help us know the differences between various variational translations. Without this, the connotations of variational translation are not clear and its extension is uncertain, which will inevitably generate confusion in labeling translation products and in translation practice. Consequently, these will lead to confusion and imprecision in theoretical research. (B) Basic principle The principle of variational translation is the basis of its application, and is the guide for specific operation methods and practical application of theoretical rules. Adaptation in variational translation is not arbitrary. There are certain principles to follow for deciding which information in the original work should be kept and which should be deleted due to the reasons behind the original work and the target readers. Different variational translations lie at different levels of the system of variational translation, and the principles they follow are different. There is a continuous relationship between variational translation principles; that is to say, a relationship of step-by-step development.

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3 Variational Translation Research: A Scientific Research Approach

(C) Basic method Methodological knowledge is the most useful knowledge. With the translation principles of variational translation, the concrete adaptation techniques have a “law” to follow. How to operate each adaptation technique is the most important research object. It is the embodiment of practical value because it offers strong operability and guidance in translation practice. Whether the adaptation techniques are used correctly or not is the key to the success of a translation (see Huang Zhonglian 2000a, b:15–16).

3.2.2.2

Training Variational Translation Talents

We have also transferred the research achievements of adaptation techniques used in variational translation to talent cultivation. The textbook A Development Textbook of Russian and Chinese Translation was published in 2011. The training goals of the textbook are: cultivating students’ ability to ingest foreign information effectively and appropriately, enhancing translators’ qualification for offering different translations for different target readers, and training students to master eleven methods of variational translation, such as selected translation, edited translation, and narrated translation. The structure of the textbook follows the general principle of “practice ! theory ! practice.” It emphasizes practical training, followed by the dialectical cognition process from the cultivation methods to the operational principles, and then translation exercises. This is a scientific sequence for cultivating students’ translation ability. The analysis of variational translation methods and principles is closely integrated with the training materials. The specific principles are as follows: (A) Practicality principle Teaching the variational translation method is a practical course, so it is necessary to emphasize the practical training by making the contents of the textbook not only conform to the students’ interests, but also meet the demands of society. This kind of teaching should not merely teach empty theories; on the contrary, it should start from translation practice, and then draw out the discussion of students’ translations, which will show students that variational translation practice is interesting and practical. What is more, students can directly learn about the operability of each variational translation method, and then summarize the translation methods and principles based on the practice. (B) Systematization principle Various variational translation methods are hierarchical and systematic, following the principle from easiness to difficulty and from simplicity to complexity. Within the space between complete translation and incomplete translation, there is complete translation, selected translation, edited translation, narrated translation,

3.2 Pyramid-Shaped Research Object

55

condensed translation, summarized translation, summarized transcomment, altered translation, transcomment, annotated translation, transwriting, and cited translation. The amount of translated content gradually decreases from the complete translation to the cited translation, and the proportion of writing increases accordingly. There are hierarchical and inclusive relations between language units, specific operation methods, and basic ingestion principles among the eleven variational translation methods, and the variational translation method system spirals upwards which is to be explained in the next section “Consolidation principle.” (C) Consolidation principle Each chapter of the textbook A Development Textbook of Russian and Chinese Translation undergoes the same process: trial translation ! translation method ! translation principle ! summary ! exercises; that is, teaching each variational translation method starts from the translation material and moves to the students’ trial translation, to the translation methods summary based on the trial translation, to the principle of induction, and to the consolidation of the teaching process through translation exercises. Thus, the students’ knowledge of variational translation can be constantly strengthened through the process from practice to theory, and from theory to practice. In addition, students’ capacity to adapt original content is reinforced spirally from complete translation to cited translation. In such a process, every step of teaching and learning is to gain new knowledge by going over old knowledge. In this way, the students’ understanding of the variational translation method system becomes better and better. (D) Reality principle The demand of society determines how many translation methods are used and the practical problems in selecting material. According to China’s societal demands and the characteristics of students’ jobs after graduation, the selection process of materials, content, and genres for teaching translation should be extensive and diverse. The materials of social sciences, natural sciences and technologies, and art and literature should be included. (E) Creativity principle The creativity principle involves three points: (1) developing students’ abilities to independently ingest and creatively translate foreign information according to the special requests of target readers, (2) highlighting the cultivation of skills, and (3) encouraging students to bring their creativity into full play when translating. Students can presuppose the different needs of target readers in order to use different adaptation techniques to ingest the original information. As long as they can explain the reasons for using certain adaptation techniques, their variational translations should be acceptable. So, it is necessary to ensure that teaching variational translation is open to cultivating students’ innovative consciousness.

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3 Variational Translation Research: A Scientific Research Approach

WHY: A Study of the Theory of Variational Translation

Having moved from microscopic research to macroscopic research, and from phenomenon research to law research, our research finally enters theory research, aiming to explain the reasons behind variational translation. Variational translation is not necessarily accepted by some scholars, but it objectively exists and target readers have a need for it. At present, the basic theoretical problems of variational translation theory have been outlined (Huang Zhonglian 1998d). The research covers the following three points: (1) Justifying variational translation, including clarifying the understanding of variational translation, demarcating the watershed between variational translation and complete translation, exploring the background of variational translation theories, and discussing the research objects and methods of variational translation theory; (2) establishing a theoretical framework for variational translation studies, including the essence, methods, system, processes, units, mechanisms, rules, standards, and value of variational translation; and (3) seeking the motivations for variational translation because, as the target readers, translators, and variability of the original texts are three aspects of determining the existence of variational translation, it is reasonable to explore the target readers’ overt and covert demands for variational translations, study the subjective role of the translator, and analyze the variability, selectivity, and restructuring of the original texts. These three aspects can constitute the theoretical system of variational translation, which can be respectively carried out through discussions on establishing variational translation theory, the basic principles of the practice of variational translation, and the subject and object of variational translation. Over time, research on the WHAT, HOW, and WHY has deepened our understanding of variational translation (Huang Zhonglian 2001a, b, c), and fed our proposal for the research on variational translation theory (see Xiao Guozheng 2000). There is a maxim in Chinese academic circle that “research is rooted in field investigation, and theory is derived from facts.” This means that (1) the facts worth studying should come from translation practice, (2) the laws of translation should be induced from the facts worth studying, (3) the theory should be refined from the laws of translation, (4) the research ideas and methods should be extracted from the laws and their corresponding theories, and (5) the fruits of theoretical research should be used for translation practice and talent cultivation. These five points can be illustrated as follows:

3.3 Research Tasks for Effectively Developing Information

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variational translation phenomenon variational translation law variational translation theory variational translation practice

3.3

translation teaching

Research Tasks for Effectively Developing Information

Variational translation studies aim to develop foreign information efficiently. Variational translation is no longer a traditionally inefficient translation activity. The following research objectives should be met:

3.3.1

Providing Theoretical Basis for Variational Translation

The fundamental task of researching variational translation theory lies in providing an effective theoretical basis for variational translation activities, opening up a new thinking space, and providing a set of macroscopic translation methods. It is the theoretical research that provides operational motivation, guiding principles, and a scientific methodology for variational translation; regulates the behaviors of variational translation; and strengthens the self-cultivation of translators. These all mean that variational translation has principles and methods to follow. To summarize variational translation principles on the theoretical level is to guide translators’ practice thereof, improve their creative translation ability, and promote the development of translation. The main contents of our research into variational translation are seeking the laws behind it, explaining the reasons for and results behind it, and illustrating which adaptation techniques or variational translation methods should be used in different social settings.

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3.3.2

3 Variational Translation Research: A Scientific Research Approach

Tapping the Potential of Translators

Bringing translators’ creativity into full play is one of the key tasks of variational translation theory. The creativity proposed by variational translation theory is more innovative than that of traditional translation theories. Complete translation allows for the translator’s adaptation at the micro-level, while variational translation permits the translator to carry out more adaptations at the macro-level, which, to some extent, lets them bring their translation ability into full play in absorbing foreign information and culture. Variational translation can offer scientific motivations to explain how translators ingest foreign information. In cultural exchange, variational translation can help translators maximize economic and social benefits by letting them lower their labor of consumption and effectively use their limited time in translation practice. Variational translation is intended for specific target readers and can be justified by the motivation that the original work can have different use values for different target readers.

3.3.3

Developing the Use Value of the Original Work

Complete translation only transfers the contents of original work tied to its value and use value, which seems to completely convey the cultural information behind the original work. This requires that the target readers should have the same cultural background if they want to correctly understand its value and use value. However, the needs of foreign readers and domestic readers are different, not to mention their cultural differences. The different needs exist even among readers of the same country and culture. In cross-cultural communication, the target readers always face complete translations. They will spend much time and energy in pinning down where their specific needs are met in the content, which is time-consuming and non-economical. The clever way to avoid this situation is to let the translator work hard and make their version convenient for the target readers. First, the translator accurately pins down their target readers and precisely translates the contents needed by specific target readers by means of adaptation techniques, such as adding, deleting, and altering. Only through this process can the original work’s use value be highlighted. This process makes in-depth ingestion of the information in the original work achievable. Ingestion differs from input in translation practice. The former is finding the useful information of an original work and processing it for target readers. The words “find” and “process” both show the translator’s subjectivity and the use value that target readers need.

3.3 Research Tasks for Effectively Developing Information

3.3.4

59

Meeting the Needs of Target Readers

Summarizing the experience and lessons of variational translation practice and exploring its characteristics and laws can facilitate variational translation serving society and meeting the needs of target readers more actively and effectively, which is the essence of variational translation. For example, when China’s TV series Water Margin were exported to Western countries, ten episodes of this TV series were deleted because their contents are against the Western social and cultural context, and cannot meet audiences’ aesthetic tastes and appreciation requests in the context of fast-paced life. This shows that the needs of target audiences should be taken into consideration for better cross-cultural communication. To meet their needs is to respect them; it is to embody the value of variational translation. Thus, the result is a win–win for target readers and translators.

References Chen, Yuanzhang. 1987. Chinese Literature and the World in the 20th Century. Xi’an: Shaanxi People’s Publishing House. Chen, Fukang. 1991. On Zheng Zhenduo. Beijing: The Commercial Press. Huang, Zhonglian. et al. 1996. Prospects for Chinese Sci-tech Translation in the 21st Century. China Science and Technology Translators Journal (2). Huang, Zhonglian. 1998a. Recognizing Yan Fu's Translation Thoughts. Chinese Translators Journal (2). Huang, Zhonglian. 1998b. A Review of Hundred-year Research on Yan Fu’s Translation Thoughts. Fujian Foreign Languages (3). Huang, Zhonglian. 1998c. Another Side of Yan Fu’s translation thought. China Science and Technology Translator Journal (4). Huang, Zhonglian. 1998d. Variational Theory: 21st Century Translation Theory, included in the Proceedings of Beijing International Russian Academic Symposium. Huang, Zhonglian. 2000a. On the Essence of Translation. Wuhan: Huazhong Normal University Press. Huang, Zhonglian. 2000b. Research on Translation Variation. Beijing: China Translation and Publishing Corporation. Huang, Zhonglian. 2001a. On the System of Variational Translation, included in the Proceedings of Symposium on the Construction of Translation Studies in Qingdao. Huang, Zhonglian. 2001b. Research on Chinese-foreign Variational Translation, included in the Proceedings of 2001 National Symposium on Chinese and Foreign Translation in Xi’an. Huang, Zhonglian. 2001c. Brief Discussion on Variatonal Translation, included in Translation and Culture[C] by Hu Xiaoshen, Huazhong University of Science &Technology Press. Liao, Hongjun. 1987. Handbook of Chinese and Western Comparative Literature. Chengdu: Sichuan People’s Publishing House. Qian, Zhongshu. 1979. Lin Shu’s Translation [A], included in Four Old Articles. Shanghai: Shanghai Classical Books Publishing House. Sun, Jingyao. 1988. Concise Comparative Literature. Beijing: China Youth Press. Wang, Kefei. 1996. Absorption of Western Political Philosophy in Modern China and Japan: Yan Fu and Japanese Enlightenment Scholars. Beijing: China Social Sciences Press.

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Wang, Kefei. 1997. On Cultural History of Translation. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. Wang, Hongzhi. 2000. Translation and Creation: On Modern Chinese Translated Novels. Beijing: Peking University Press. Wei, Maoping. 1996. A History of China’s Influence on German Literature. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. Xiao, Guozheng. 2000. Mr. Xing Fuyi’s Biography. Chinese Linguistics Journal (2). Yan, Shaotang. 1987. The History of Sino-Japanese Classical Literature Relations. Changsha: Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House. Zhou, Zhaoxiang. 1998. Translation and Life. Beijing: China Translation and Publishing Corporation.

Chapter 4

The Essence of Variational Translation

Abstract Based on the nature of translation, this chapter first expounds the definitions of translation in a narrow sense and in a broad sense, the latter of which covers variational translation practice. Then, this chapter concludes that variational translation from a macro-perspective is characterized by focusing on the translator and target reader, adapting the original, partially negating the original’s content, and highlighting the original’s value. From a micro-perspective, variational translation is the adaptation of an original work by a translator for target readers. Finally, the definition of variational translation is determined. It refers to a translation activity in which the translator, based on the specific needs of target readers under specific conditions, uses adaptation techniques like adding, deleting, editing, narrating, condensing, integrating, and altering to ingest the original text’s content.







Keywords Nature of translation Adaptation of original Definition of variational translation

4.1

The Nature of Translation

Liao Hongjun once gave the following description of literary translation in A Handbook of Chinese-Western Comparative Literature (1987:103): “Literary translation is the process or activity of conveying the literary works of a language in another language.” Translation is a conveyance technique, which is a re-creative process through a translator’s comprehension of an original work. Although translation is generally considered to be faithful to the original, it cannot reproduce the original’s contents exactly. Due to factors such as time requirements, language structure differences, and cultural background differences, the translated work cannot be completely equal to the original in terms of cultural background and ideological content. Just as the saying goes: “translator is a traitor,” or translation is “creative treason.” These sayings are supported by translation techniques like deleting, adding, and altering. Although literal translation has the potential to achieve the effect of being the most faithful to the original, it is hard to maintain © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 Z. Huang and Y. Zhang, Variational Translation Theory, New Frontiers in Translation Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9271-3_4

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similarity in spirit, especially in the process of translating poetry, mainly because different languages have different structures and forms. Take translation of poetry from Chinese into English, for example. The clarity of the artistic conceptions and images in Chinese poems partly relies on the pictographic features in Chinese characters. Because Latin script is alphabetic and not logographic, it is difficult for translators to obtain the same artistic conceptions and images as the original when translating Chinese poems into English. Professor Irving of Harvard University, in the paper titled “Limitations in Translation,” argued that most European languages share the same origin and the translation between them does not expose all the problems of translation. With a great deal of words and conceptions in European languages being harmonic, translators can devote their attention to the precise conveyance of the original’s rhythm and style. Unlike translation between Chinese and any Western language, translation between many European languages, like the Latin languages or the Germanic languages, is like that between two dialects. As a result, the huge gap in language, culture, and different aesthetic outlooks between Chinese and English present more important issues (see Yao Sunjing 1988:248). In the research monograph titled On Translation Nature, we defined translation as follows: Translation is a thinking activity and a language activity of shifting the source cultural information into the target cultural information and seeking the similarity between them. The definition makes six points: (1) (2) (3) (4)

Translation is an activity involving a translator. Translation is an activity of cross-language shifting. The object of shifting in translation is cultural information. Translation is a process of seeking the similarity between a source text and a target text. (5) Translation is a thinking process. (6) Translation is a language activity. Point 1 highlights the subject of translation and reveals the subjective causes of some translation phenomena that cannot be explained at language shift level. This is because it is the translator subjectively intervening by deleting, expounding, or editing some content of the source text. This point indicates that the translation activity emphasizes translator, not machine. Thus, all adapted forms of translation can be easily understood due to the translator’s involvement in the translation. Point 2 avoids the tendency of some scholars both in China and abroad to arbitrarily generalize the concept of translation. They group the shift between digital codes, the shift between artificial languages, and the intra-lingual shift into the translation concept. We think these generalizations of translation concepts are not necessary or significant. Here, translation, in its narrow sense, just refers to the translation activity—an activity of cross-language shifting. Point 3 clarifies the object of translation. Translation is the bridge of cultural exchange, and its most fundamental value is cultural transmission, which is most

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significant purpose in the whole process. With this purpose, it is easy for us to deal with and understand various changes made to a text in translation, and to find out the motivation behind these changes, such as domestication and foreignization, and addition and deletion. Point 4 focuses on narrowing the gap between the target text and the source text, indicating that the inherent law of translation is not loyalty, faithfulness, or equivalence, but similarity between the target text and the source text. This reveals the objective law of translation. In addition, this law provides a theoretical explanation for variational translation to be discussed in this book. Point 5 is a powerful supplement to the translation theories of the school of linguistics. Many translation phenomena cannot be explained from the linguistic point of view, but from the viewpoint of thinking, and these phenomena can be convincingly expounded. Because translation is a human activity, it must involve human thinking, which is also a tentative revelation of the mystery of translation. It is especially powerful evidence of the repeatedly discussed viewpoint in translation circles that “translation is a creative activity.” Point 6 is the most distinctive exterior feature of translation. In addition, based on Point 4, we can further improve the definition of translation. Below are the two definitions in the narrow sense and the broad sense, respectively. In its narrow sense, translation is a thinking activity and language activity of shifting the source cultural information into the target cultural information and seeking the extreme similarity between them. In its broad sense, translation is a thinking activity and language activity of shifting the source cultural information into the target cultural information to meet the target readership’s specific requests. Generally speaking, the narrow definition is frequently discussed by scholars in contemporary translation studies and it only concerns the research of complete translation. The broad definition, on the other hand, focuses on what we will discuss in subsequent chapters and sections: variational translation.

4.2

The Features of Variational Translation

Based on the broad translation definition, we can define variational translation as follows: Variational translation is a thinking activity and language activity of shifting the source cultural information into the target cultural information to meet the target readership’s specific requests. Variational translation is a special art which requires more artistic elements than complete translation. It is currently welcomed by publishers, readers, and translators because it can save more translation energy for translators, narrow the layout space for the publisher, avoid disputes of intellectual property rights, and reduce the reading time for the readership. Therefore, variational translation is very popular in

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translation practice. But what is variational translation? To get a correct answer, we have to elaborate on the features of variational translation.

4.2.1

Bird’s-eye View of Variational Translation from a Macro-perspective

From a macro-perspective, variational translation has four features. First, it highlights the human element, namely the translator and the target readers; secondly, it “betrays” complete translation; thirdly, it has a clear attitude toward the source text, that is, a negative or affirmative attitude; and fourthly, it makes the value of source texts more distinct and exposed to the target readers. (1) Variational translation: Highlighting “human” From the perspective of variation translation practice, two humans are involved directly or indirectly. One is the translator, and another is the target reader. Variational translation works to prevent the translator from being constrained on language level, and to emancipate their productive forces to meet the target readers’ specific requests and improve the effective supply of a target text. In 1990, Luo Xinzhang, a very famous Chinese scholar in the field of translation studies, said that, “In the discussion of translation theory, the argument of denying the translator’s subjectivity should be less talked about. Rather, the topic on how to expand the translator’s creative space and how to bring translator’s creative ability into full play within the creative space should be highlighted” (Luo Xinzhang 1990: 12). Luo separated “translating” from “writing” and put forward two translation methods. One is productive translation, which mainly involves translation techniques, and the other is creative translation, a second act of creation that is different from that of the original text’s author. Creative translation does not mean that the translator strictly follows the source text without subjective intervention, nor does it mean that the translator ignores the source text and intervenes subjectively with no restrictions. The quantity of creative elements in creative translation varies in different genres. Luo argued that the difficulties in imbedding the creative elements gradually decrease in the following sequence: poetry, pose, drama, fiction, argumentative writing. No matter how Eugene A. Nida (1914–2011), an American translation theorist and practitioner, changed and improved his translation theory, he always framed his discussion of theory (e.g., of dynamic equivalence and reader’s reactions) in the category of complete translation. Beyond this category, his translation theory loses its theoretical norms. Variational translation, on the contrary, breaks the restraints of the source text and brings the translator’s subjectivity into play. For example, some translators have a very strong desire to create when translating. To supplement the target text for successful cultural communication, they will employ adaptation

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techniques. Sometimes, while translating newly published literary works, the translator will add their comments, writings, or annotations to the target text to meet the target readers’ specific requests if the complete translation fails to achieve the desired effect. It is variational translation that can bring a translator’s self-motivation, enthusiasm, and creativity into full play and emancipate their translating potential. Based on this discussion, we know that variational translation, which calls for more intellectual activity, is a productive mode of modern culture. Its nature is made up of foreign cultural transfer and the translator’s intellectual input. The stronger the fusion between this cultural transfer and the translator’s intellectual input, the more distinct the cultural effectiveness of variational translation. The translation practices of, for example, Yan Fu, Goethe, and Pushkin are cases in point. He who can take a critical thinking attitude toward accepted objects is rational. There are no perfect source texts that cannot be improved and adapted. Unfortunately, no due attention has been paid to the translator’s subjectivity. The following viewpoint is still popular: translation is just an activity of reproduction between two languages. Luo Feng, a Chinese scholar, asserted in 1995 that there was almost no creative activity in a translator’s work because the translator passively accepts information from the source text. From the viewpoints of modern linguistics and modern literary theories, Luo’s assertion is no longer considered true. Zhou Zhaoxiang (1998:36) predicted that complete translations will be done entirely by machine translation in the near future. Thus, the translator’s creativity can be emancipated and the translator can put their energy into more significant contributions. This is just one benefit of emancipating the subject. Another is catering to target readers’ requests. No matter how the translator translates, their principal goal should not amuse themselves but to entertain specific readerships. Different readerships have different value orientations, forming different translation requests. If the translator neglects the different readerships and ignores the different requests for target texts, they cannot properly utilize their subjectivity in the process of translating. To highlight the readership when translating is to emphasize their different needs. A translator should adopt the principle of producing a target text that corresponds to specific readership needs by means of variational translation.

(2) Variational translation: A dissimilation of complete translation Dissimilation refers to the result of similar or the same things becoming gradually dissimilar or different. Variational translation is the dissimilation of complete translation. That is to say, a translator produces a translated work that is dissimilar or different to the original work by adapting some content or form from the latter. Let us see the following example selected from New Scientist. How should one translate an article titled “Women and War” based on the following material?

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Example 4.1 Why women don’t start wars [1] Women do not avoid fighting because they are dainty or scared, but because they have a greater stake than men in staying alive to rear their offspring. Women compete with each other just as tenaciously as men, but with a stealth and subtlety that reduces their chances of being killed or injured, says Anne Campbell of the Department of Psychology at the University of Durham. [2] Across almost all cultures and nationalities, men have a much smaller role than women in rearing children. “Males go for quantity of children rather than quality of care for offspring, which means that the parental investment of women is much greater,” says Campbell. And unlike men, who can’t be sure that their children have not been fathered on the sly by other men, women can always be certain that half an offspring’s genes are theirs. [3] Women have therefore evolved a stronger impulse than men to see their children grow up into adults. Men’s psychological approach is geared to fathering as many children as possible. [4] To make this strategy work and to attract partners, men need to establish and advertise their dominance over rival males. Throughout evolution this has translated into displays of male aggression, ranging in scale from playground fights to world wars. [5] Men can afford to take more risks because as parents they are more expendable. Women, meanwhile, can only ensure reproductive success by overseeing the development of their children, which means avoiding death. [6] “The scale of parental investment drives everything,” says Campbell. “It’s not that women are too scared to fight,” she says, “It’s more to do with the positive value of staying alive, and women have an awfully big stake not just in offspring themselves but in offspring they might have in the future,” she says. [7] This means that if women do need to compete—perhaps for a partner—they choose low-risk rules of engagement. They use indirect tactics, such as discrediting rivals by spreading malicious rumors. And unlike men who glory in feats of dominance, women do better by concealing their actions and their “victories.” [8] But there is no doubt, says Campbell, that the universal domination of culture by males has exaggerated these differences in attitudes to physical aggression. “The story we’ve always been told is that females are not aggressive,” says Campbell. And when they are aggressive, women are told that their behavior is “odd or abnormal.” (New Scientist, 21 Sept. 1996)

4.2 The Features of Variational Translation

The Variational Translation (I) is as Follows:

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

The Variational Translation (II) is as Follows:

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Based on the analysis of the above example, the following three points impress us most: (1) compared with the complete translation, there is much less content in the variational translation; (2) the form of the original work is changed in the variational translation; and (3) the style of the original work is lost in the variational translation. These changes are easily perceptible. Through this phenomenon, we can understand the essence of variational translation. Serious readers will say that complete translation also changes the form and retains the content of an original work. So, can the change in the form of an original work be regarded as the exterior feature of variational translation? It is true that there is a change in the form of the original work in complete translation, but it is the change of symbols and the microscopic change of the internal structure of the discourse (such as the translation techniques of addition, deletion, and adjustment). Meanwhile, the form change in variational translation appears at the macro-structure level, such as changes to the genre, structure, and style of the original work. Change in form is only an exterior feature, but the most important point is the change in content. As far as the purpose of variational translation is concerned, it is by no means only for the purpose of form change. Rather, it is for the purpose of better conveying the contents desired by the target readers, for which the translator must break the constraints of the form of the original work. Having seen the sharp contrast and comparison between the source text and the target text in the Example 4.1, we can see that the style of the source text no longer exists in the target text. The style of the target text only reflects part of the style of the source text. The language of the source text is that of a newspaper or magazine, and is in vernacular English. The writing manner is intended for readers to understand the target text at a glance; it is without many obscure words and expressions. In Example 4.1, the words used in the variational translations are scholarly words that require concise contents, large amounts of information, and accurate expressions. If the entirety of the source text is directly incorporated into a piece of academic writing as relevant supporting material, the writing will inevitably appear verbose and cumbersome. The above analysis of the change in meaning, form, and style fully demonstrates the differences between variational translation and complete translation. Variational translation results in narrative expression, information concentration, clear logic relation, concise words, terse form, and well-retained basic content, which makes it more suitable for scientific and technological papers than complete translation. Variational translation is just the dissimilation or alienation of complete translation, not the opposite of complete translation. Recognizing variational translation’s function in promoting social development does not dismiss the positive function and role of complete translation. In other words, variational translation and complete translation constitute the whole picture of translation activities and translation studies. Ignoring either of them will result in an unscientific understanding and cognition of translation.

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(3) Variational translation: Partial negation to the original work In a sense, variational translation negates parts of the original work because of the target readers’ requests. Negated content cannot meet the target readers’ requests, while retained content in the target text complies with the target readers’ demands. If an original work has no value, it is not necessary to purchase its copyright to translate it. There must be some value in any imported book. The partial negation mentioned above refers to keeping the original’s core and essential contents and abandoning some defective or inappropriate contents for target readers during the translation process. Ji Junxiang’s play Orphan of Zhao was written in the Yuan dynasty (1271– 1368) and was translated into French in the 1730s in France. Soon, there were versions in English, German, Italian, and Russian. In 1741, William Hatchett, a British translator, adapted Orphan of Zhao and renamed it Chinese Orphan. In 1752, Pietro Metastasio, the court poet of Vienna and Italian dramatist, used some plot points of the play to write a drama titled Chinese Heroes. In 1755, the French writer Voltaire was inspired by it and wrote a five-act play called The Orphan of China, which was staged in Paris and caused a sensation. In 1859, based on Voltaire’s and Ji Junxiang’s play, a British poet and playwright wrote a drama by the same name. Later, the great German writer Goethe wrote the play titled Er Penno based on some contents in this British drama. During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in China (1937–1945), Zhang Yuanji compiled the book The Personality of the Chinese Nation. In the book, the first story was about Cheng Ying’s rescue of the orphan of Zhao, which inspired Zhang Guruo, a famous Chinese translator, to adapt Voltaire’s The Orphan of China into a Chinese prose version in order to stimulate Chinese national integrity during the period of the national disaster (see Fan Xiheng 1992). This is an example of typical multiple, multidirectional variational translations. The variational translations in British, French, Italian, and German are homologous and multidirectional, based on the same source language. The two French translations are two different variational translations, and the Chinese translator adapted the French translations to prose, which involves multiple partial negations of the original work. From the original work in Chinese to its different versions in European languages, then to the prose version in Chinese, the original work has been adapted several times. Therefore, we can say that the prose version of Orphan of Zhao in Chinese is not totally the same in content and form as the original work written by Ji Junxiang in the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). When it comes to the partial negation of original work, we are referring to partial contents of the original work being negated first. Whether the partial negation of form should be carried out or not depends on whether the partial negation to content is carried out or vice versa, such as changing a poem to prose when translating it. Generally, the negative view of variational translation is that the change in the

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content of an original work determines the change in the form of the target version. Therefore, in the process of adapting the original work, it is necessary for translators to quickly read the original work and grasp its content before adapting specific parts of its content for target readers and adopting a corresponding form to convey the adapted content. Negative means can better achieve affirmative goals. A complete translation includes all the content of the original work, but sometimes cannot tell the primary from the secondary, the good from the bad, and the supply from the demand. Although complete translation can preserve the valuable parts, it can also conceal key contents or hinder the absorption of the valuable parts because it also includes the superfluous parts. Therefore, getting rid of the superfluous parts of the original work is to highlight the valuable parts for the target readers. From this perspective, we can say that variational translation is partial negation of the original work.

(4) Variational Translation: Highlighting the value of original work As a commodity, the value of a piece of translated work is the labor that the author and the translator have condensed into the translated work. In complete translation, the translation only conveys the use value of the original work functioning in the source society for meeting the original readers’ demands for gaining information. This may be different from the target readers’ demands for obtaining information. Due to the cultural differences between two countries, attitudes toward the same thing are sometimes different. What is more, different readers have different preferences for accepting the same information. Hence, the original works also have different use values for the target readers and society. This is why the translator highlights the use value of the original work. They must change the value of the original work and highlight its use value. The translator shapes the use value of the original around the level of value in different contexts according to the market demands of the readers. It is true that one purpose of translation is to fully retain the original’s value, but it is not the sole purpose. What we should do most of the time while translating is to highlight the original’s use value. It can be asserted that a translator lacks purpose or motivation if they are not paying attention to the use value of the original work. Now let us look at the following example on how to highlight the use value of Chinese classical poems by means of variational translation. German sinologist Erwin Ritter von Zach (1872–1942), after having translated many Chinese classical poems, once said that his translations were intended for readers studying sociology, not for common German readers; that is, for academic purposes, not for popularity. As a result, in addition to translating Chinese classical poetry by means of complete translation, he wrote a great deal of remarks to explain the allusions in Chinese classical poetry and verify their origins for target readers. As a result, his German versions of Chinese classical poems are easily understood by target readers and the cultural value of his translated poems is highlighted for a specific readership, rather than simply being a translation of the original poems as

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usual. We could argue that von Zach’s translated texts are a combination of translation and writing. In sharp contrast to von Zach, another German translator, Richard Franz Kuhn (1873–1930), once translated some excerpts from Ancient and Modern Wonders, Haoqiu Biography, A Dream of Red Mansions, Water Margin, Every Shade Shadows, A Romance of Three Kingdoms, and several other ancient Chinese short story anthologies from Chinese into German. He also translated twentieth century Chinese writer Mao Dun’s long novel Midnight and other modern novels. He said his translations were not for sinologists to read, but for the overwhelming majority of readers; he focused on the vivid contents of the original work instead of rigidly following it word by word. He attached great importance to readability and popularization, deleted the content he thought that German readers would not like, and condensed the tedious forms and contents of the original works. His last translated novel, The Carnal Prayer Mat, originally written in the Chinese Ming dynasty (1368–1644 AD), was published in 1959 in Zurich, Switzerland. Because the deletion of the pornographic content was not sufficient, the translated work was banned, which made the translator and his version of The Carnal Prayer Mat well-known to the public. From then onward, the novel spread like wildfire in the West, and different versions were published in the United States, France, Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, and other countries, with hundreds of thousands of books printed. In summary, from the macroscopic point of view, the essence of translation is not to completely translate the original work. Its biggest feature is “adaptation,” which encompasses the adaptation of the content, the form, and even the style of the original work in order to highlight the value of source text and cater for target readers’ requests. No matter how the adaptation of the original work is made, variational translation must involve the action of translating.

4.2.2

An Analysis of Variational Translation from a Micro-perspective

Based on a comprehensive understanding of the source text, variational translation is to be implemented with consideration of every detail. Knowing that adaptation exists in variational translation is one thing, but knowing the reason for adapting, how to adapt, what to adapt, and the result of adapting is quite another thing. This description indicates that the most prominent external feature distinguishing variational translation from complete translation lies in the word “adaptation.” Based on the analysis of variational translation, the distinguishing feature or essential trait of variational translation is embodied in the following six aspects that are closely related to the word “adaptation”: (1) adaptation for the reader, (2) adaptation by the translator, (3) adaptation of the original work, (4) the strategy of ingestion, (5) the

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methods of adaptation, and (6) the intensification of information. The features of variational translation are elaborated from a micro-perspective as follows:

(1) Adaptation for the reader “Adaptation for the reader” suggests the motivation and goal of variational translation. Variational translation should focus on issues and topics that appeal to target readers. Otherwise, in an increasingly secular society, pursuing any form of literal translation without taking the reader into account will lead nowhere. Catering to target readers’ tastes does not necessarily mean resorting to vulgarity or pursuing vulgar tastes. They are essentially different, because catering to target readers’ tastes suggests a deeper and bolder involvement in economic and social development and a method to provide targeted services for target readers, which calls for the adaptation of the original work. The theory of complete translation derived from literary translation is only applicable to its field. However, the theory of variational translation derived from practical translation activities applies not only to literary translation but also to non-literary translation activities that prioritize the delivery of information. As stated earlier, variational translation prioritizes the reader’s needs throughout the translation process. Adaptation is intentionally unfaithful to the source text, which is usually implemented with a strong intention. Pierre Brunel, a French comparative literature expert once wrote, “A translation is rarely born for the sake of comparison with the original work” (1989:219). Therefore, the translator is hardly concerned about providing the source texts for their translations unless they need to defend themselves. Similarly, a musician reads the sheet music in a concert not for checking it, but for performing better, as long as they can enjoy themselves. Variational translation aims to ensure that target readers can gain something from translations and experience joy while reading. (2) Adaptation by the translator It is common for translator to apply adaptation techniques to the original work in translation practice. What needs to be emphasized is that the demands of target readers may vary, which would call for different adaptation techniques. For example, the ways that Huxley’s evolution theory was introduced by Chinese translator Yan Fu and Japanese enlightenment scholar Kato Hiroyuki are quite different. Yan Fu introduced the thoughts of the theory through his variational translation work Evolution and Ethics while Kato Hiroyuki wrote a new book, New Insights into Human Rights, in light of Evolution and Ethics by Huxley. Therefore, their introductions of the same theory vary greatly in the purpose and result of their selective input. The decisions they made for adapting the original work are closely related to the times and society in which they lived. Japan opened to the outside world in the mid-nineteenth century and was not invaded by other countries. During

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Japan’s Meiji Restoration (1860s–1890s), many people went overseas and were the first to come into contact with liberty, democracy, and equality, which later became mainstream ideologies. However, China was in national peril at that time because of foreign invasions. As a result, saving the country from deep misery became a major concern of progressives. Kato Hiroyuki’s academic activities took place after the Meiji Restoration. He focused on the political system of the state. He introduced the theory of evolution with the aim of overthrowing the theory of natural rights to provide a basis for his theory of nationalism. In contrast, Yan Fu ingested the evolutionary thought of “the survival of the fittest” with the focus on saving and strengthening the country (Wang Kefei 1996:71–74). In fact, the contents of Yan’s translation, which come directly from the thoughts of Huxley’s Ethics and Evolution, account for less than one-third of the whole book. Therefore, according to present copyright law, the Chinese version of Huxley’s Evolution and Ethics can be regarded an independent piece of work, or at least a work produced using summarized translation. Considering the needs and the methods of thinking of domestic readers, Chinese translator Zhu Guangqian (1897–1986), when translating Dialogues by Goethe, did not translate trivial household section like personal romances and business trips. He also deleted contents concerning changes in plants, descriptions of geological and meteorological conditions, and works and relevant comments that most people would hardly ever read. As a result, compared with the original work of approximately 400,000 words, the Chinese version has approximately 200,000. The translation, “on the one hand, unveils the true face of those great poets and the vulgar German citizens. On the other hand, as was said by Zhu, the knowledge and views of the translator also make a difference in the selection” (Sun Jingyao 1988:255). The basic form of the original work can still be identified even after the condensing, deleting, or altering technique has been applied in the translation process. However, sometimes the translator may take the initiative and change the original work into quite another story, such as the novels translated by Chinese translator Lin Shu (1852–1924). The adaptation techniques adopted by the translator are subject to the underlying demands of the reader as well as several other factors. Thus, the adaptation techniques are never adopted entirely at will.

(3) Adaptation of the original work The nature of variational translation shows that the target of variational translation is the original work, unlike complete translation, which prioritizes translating the work with complete translation techniques over adapting. “Adaptation of the original work” refers to the translation activity that is carried out after or while

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adapting the original work. Let us take literary translation for example, which is considered unsuitable for variational translation. When a literary work of one country is introduced to another country, translation activities will always bring about alterations to the work. In addition to the conversion of language and words, a poem may be translated into an essay and a lyric poem may be translated into an epic. Moreover, an opera may lose its librettos with the dialogues left after translation, and a novel may be converted into a synopsis or simplified with several chapters left out. Such examples are too numerous to provide, not to mention examples of inconsistency between the implications conveyed by an original work and those conveyed by its translated version. The macro-structure or the exterior structure of literary works includes writing forms, themes, genres, and so on. The micro-structure or the interior structure refers to the internal organization. Chinese scholar Zhang Hong (1992:368) concluded that, when a literature of one country is introduced into another, the way of writing is certainly changed but the length of the translated work usually remains largely the same. However, if selected translation or altered translation is employed in the translation process, this may not be the case. Although two literary works created in different cultural contexts may be in the same genre, differences between them can be detected after comparison. The Chinese perception of tragedies is completely different from the Western perception. Unlike Chinese novels, European novels are rarely categorized in terms of length. Narrative patterns are generally maintained, but there are exceptions. For example, Lin Shu replaced the first-person narration with third-person narration in the translation of H. Rider Haggard’s work Joan Haste. Surely, the rhythm cannot be exactly the same. However, all these differences are easy to identify and compare with each other. On the contrary, the internal structure of a text is often neglected. For example, in Herbert Allen Giles’s translation of The Songs of Chu (楚辞 in Chinese), 骐骥 (meaning a strong and swift horse) and 驽马 (meaning an exhausted and inferior horse), which appear in the chapter Divination, were replaced by the horse of Alexander the Great, which is in fact a kind of variation of the internal structure of the text. Textual variation can occur in both the internal and external structure of a text. In cultural exchanges, similar variations can be more noticeable due to differences in cultural background, literary tradition, and ways of thinking.

(4) The strategy of ingestion The strategy of variational translation is conducted as a kind of ingestion strategy based on cultural transmission instead of a strategy that inputs all the information for target readers. The difference between the ingestion of foreign thought and the input of foreign thought, according to Wang Kefei (1996:20), is that input means

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conveying all the information needed while ingestion means absorbing and even altering the original work. Although input is sometimes selective, ingestion features more subjective factors. The strategy of ingestion involves a high level of integration of adaptation and translation. Translations of the Chinese classic Journey to the West are a typical example of the ingestion strategy adopted by foreign translators. Of all the translations of the classic across Britain, the version called Monkey King, translated by British sinologist Arthur Waley (1888–1966), boasted the most profound influence. The first publication emerged in 1942 and it was published many times afterwards. Three other versions by Arthur Waley appeared in the United States in 1943, 1944, and 1958, one of which was dedicated to children. Many European countries later followed the practice and created many translated versions. Arthur Waley did not employ the strategy of complete translation but rather the strategy of selected translation. All the previous selected translations preserved the original plots and episodes, but many dialogues were deleted. However, Waley just did the opposite: he deleted many plot lines and episodes and tried his best to completely translate what appeared in the original text during his translation process. Of course, he also omitted many poetic lines of the original work because he believed that those impromptu verses were hard to translate into English and that the artistic effect would not be satisfying (Zhang Hong 1992:245–249). Waley therefore adopted a way of ingestion totally different from others. Other translators used the method of condensed translation after deleting to keep the whole plot of the original work, whereas Waley tried to preserve the integrity of the contents in the original work. Waley deleted the poetic lines of the original work because he took into consideration the reading ways and tastes of the readers of his country and the artistic effect. Therefore, we can say his English version of Journey to the West belongs to authentic selected translation, a strategy that is adopted after reading the original work and comparing it with the culture of the target language. Waley’s adaptation of Journey to the West for children is a great path for promoting work. It shows that the translation tries to get closer to young readers and that the translation process is child-oriented. However, the translation of Monkey King only has 30 chapters, which roughly amount to 30 episodes, or one-third, of Journey to the West. Selected translation, adopted by Waley, may have left much to regret. Famous Chinese critic and philosopher Hu Shi (1891–1962), who wrote the preface for the U.S. version of Monkey King (Grove Press 1942) said that exciting and interesting episodes of the original work such as Battling the Red Boy, Three Monsters of Shituo Ridge, and Stealing Ginseng Fruit—his childhood favorites—were not included in the translation by Waley. Other episodes such as Subduing White-Bone Demon, The Flaming Mountains, Borrowing the Plantain Fan, and True and False Monkey were also not translated, which greatly diluted the charm and glamour of the

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original work. This demonstrates the difficulties brought on by the ingestion strategy and the differences in the principles of conducting the ingestion strategy between China and the West. What one considers interesting may be boring for others and what one finds ordinary may be intriguing for others. In addition, based on the book title, we can posit that Waley intentionally selected the content with a main focus on the Monkey King. Therefore, content mainly about other characters such as Pigsy and Monk Sha could be deleted. First, from a macro-perspective, he avoided creating a textual equivalent in the translation process. He achieved his goal by selecting and using the most favorable strategy based on the reading interests of British readers. Even for a first-class work, at least one-third of it may be redundant or unfitting for another society (Zhou Zhaoxiang 1998:34–35). Therefore, before translation, research and assessment work must be carried out to decide when and where the following translation strategies should be used: complete translation, abridged translation, addition of extra information, replacement of original examples, and change in tone. Sometimes, several foreign works can be summarized in one new book, or a new book can be created with materials obtained from home and abroad. Variational translation does not solely deal with texts or books anymore. Through research, it delves into the acceptability of target language cultures and analyzes the timing of variational translation to figure out whether the target language cultures have developed in a way that would accept the information of the original work. As a result, the ingestion strategy should be adopted in light of cultural backgrounds, timing, and the ingesting target.

(5) The methods of adaptation Once the strategy is determined, adaptation must be achieved using concrete techniques. Those techniques are basic ways to adapt. The techniques of adaptation are just like battlefield tactics. If frontal attacks do not work and cannot help achieve the strategic goal, outflanking tactics can be adopted so as to build up a siege of soldiers. The same is true of variational translation. Because complete translation cannot fully meet the needs of the reader, adaptation should be adopted. Adaptation is the essence of variational translation, and the adaptation techniques include adding, deleting, editing, narrating, condensing, integrating, and altering. Chapter 6 will be dedicated to further discussion of this.

(6) The intensification of information Intensification is originally used as a term in agriculture, where it refers to devoting much labor force and physical and financial resources to per-unit areas to increase the total food production. The term “intensification” is borrowed in the theory of

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variational translation, where it means increasing the use value of the information of the original work with the techniques of adaptation. It requires highly efficient development instead of an extensive translation pattern featuring huge input for low output. Intensification of information aims to avoid obtaining the latest and most important information by means of increasing the translation intensity and translation input. Intensification of information is eventually reflected in the translation work when it is more intensive (such as selected translation), broader (such as transwriting and annotated translation), richer (such as summarized translation and summarized transcomment), more organized (such as edited translation), and more adaptable (such as altered translation) than the original work or the complete translation in terms of the amount of information. Extensive translation relies mainly on increasing input of labor forces and physical and financial resources to increase the translation output. It aims to pursue efficiency in translation and emphasizes the increase in input because of the belief that more input will result in more output. In focusing on the increase in input, it neglects the use efficiency of input. It pursues the increase in output regardless of the costs. Extensive translation cannot meet the requirements of human development. The tradition to promote the application of complete translation to all literatures will lead to the following possible hazards: (1) huge input for little output and low efficiency, (2) texts that are not targeted enough, and (3) many repeated translations and a blind pursuit of completeness leading to a translation often of poor quality. Future competition in translation not only lies in quantity but also on quality. As the imbalance between production and limited resources grows, intensive translation emphasizes enhancing the use efficiency of translation and pursues the full use of various elements of translation activities to achieve the goal of less input for more output. If Example 4.1 is translated word-for-word, there would be many redundant expressions. Therefore, adaptation techniques are used to produce two types of text of variational translation. Variational translation I is relatively brief. If original information is used in our own essays, we can also adopt variational translation II, which is even more condensed and brief. It can not only increase the amount of information contained in a certain number of words, but also decrease the length of an essay and save much time for the target readers.

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4.3

The Essence of Variational Translation

The history of science development shows that defining a new concept often has revolutionary significance for the development of its discipline. To learn and research a new theory and method, the first step is to update some concepts and break through old frames, especially some preconceived prejudices. As for how to deal with the new terminology, Chinese scholar Chan Guanlian (1997:32) held that, “It is necessary to create new terminologies, because terminologies are the crystallization of academic thoughts, and are the deposition and materialization of thoughts. The exclusion of the necessary terminology creation is not conceivable. But it is an unhealthy academic mindset to create terminologies arbitrarily.” So, this book focuses on the core concept of variational translation and then derives eleven subordinate concepts (see Chap. 7). The book aims to unfold the discussion and analysis of these concepts. Colloquially speaking, variational translation is “adapting original work before translating,” or “adapting after translating original work,” or a blend of adaptation and translation. No matter whether it is at macroscopic or microscopic level, variational translation highlights and revolves around the word “adaptation.” At the macroscopic level, “adaptation” is reflected in the following three points: (1) Alienating the concept of complete translation, (2) Denying some of the original information, and (3) Highlighting the value of contents. At the microscopic level, “adaptation” is manifested in the following six points: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)

Special needs of target readers, Translator’s intervention, Adapting original for target readers, Ingesting original’s information, Using adaptation techniques, and Information-intensive translation.

In sum, the definition of variational translation is a translation activity in which the translator, based on the specific needs of target readers under specific conditions, uses adaptation techniques like adding, deleting, editing, narrating, condensing, integrating, and altering to ingest the original’s contents. In this book, variational translation, just like the concept of translation, can function as verb or noun, so it can refer to both the action of translating and the text rendered using adaptation techniques.

References

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References Luo, Xinzhang. 1990. Similarity and equivalence of Chinese and Foreign translation scholars. World Literature (2). Sun, Jingyao. 1988. Concise Comparative Literature. Beijing: China Youth Press. Wang, Kefei. 1996. Absorption of Western Political Philosophy in Modern China and Japan: Yan Fu and Japanese Enlightenment Scholars. Beijing: China Social Sciences Press. Zhang, Hong. 1992. Chinese Literature in Britain. Guangzhou: Huacheng Publishing House. Zhou, Zhaoxiang. 1998. Translation and Life. Beijing: China Translation and Publishing Corporation.

Chapter 5

Variational Translation System

Abstract Based on the essence of variational translation, this chapter holds that the variational translation system consists of three subsystems in terms of subject, medium, and object. It discusses the interrelations between the variational translation subject (translator and target reader), variational translation medium (adaptation and translation), and variational translation object (original work and variational translation work) in accordance with the variational translation system. It concludes that variational translation is made through the interactions among the subject, medium, and object of the variational translation system.




Keywords Variational translation system Subject of variational translation Medium of variational translation Object of variational translation




5.1




The Figure of the Variational Translation System

A system is a whole composed of the same kind of things, according to certain relations. The variational translation system is the system of variational translation activities. It focuses on the relational system of variational translation actions. According to the essence of variational translation, readers’ specific demands are the starting point and determine the variational translation strategy of a translator. Then, this strategy is refined into a variational translation tactic to adapt the original work for target readers, who also become the end point of variational translation. From start to finish, the variational translation system is circulatory. Based on the essence of variational translation, its system has three subsystems: the variational translation subject (translator and reader), the variational translation object (original work and variational translation work), and the variational translation medium (adaptation and translation) (see Fig. 5.1). According to Fig. 5.1, we can see that the subsystems of the variational translation system mutually display a circulatory system, and their relations include:

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 Z. Huang and Y. Zhang, Variational Translation Theory, New Frontiers in Translation Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9271-3_5

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E. variational translation work

D. original work

Eleven types of variational methods translation

C. adaptation + translation

B. translator

A. target reader

Fig. 5.1 Variational Translation System Note: The solid lines stand for direct relationships, the dotted lines for indirect relationships, the solid dot for the starting point, and arrows to indicate direction

5.1.1

Relations of Solid Lines

Ray AB: Readers’ demands determine the translators’ choices of variational translation strategies for translating original works. Two-way ray BD: Translators read original works and acquire the content, then evaluate the original works from the perspective of the readers’ demands and affirm or negate the content. Ray BC: Translators determine the original’s use value for readers, adopt the adaptation techniques for translation—adding, deleting, editing, narrating, condensing, integrating, or altering—and choose the variational translation methods accordingly, such as selected translation or altered translation.

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Ray CD: Translators adapt the original works after determining the adaptation techniques and the variational translation methods. Ray DE: Translators turn the original works into variational translation works using variational translation methods. Ray EA: Translators offer the adapted works to target readers for inspection and see whether they meet their special demands.

5.1.2

Relations of Dotted Lines

Ray AC: Target readers only have indirect control over the adaptation techniques; it functions only through the translators. Ray CB: When choosing the adaptation techniques and variational translation methods from B to C so as to present the translation works to target readers, one-way implementation of a single translation method does not necessarily guarantee success. Sometimes translators must adjust the adaptation techniques and variational translation methods several times. Ray DC: If it is necessary to adjust the adaptation techniques, translators ought to read the original work again, regrasp its structure, and consider target readers’ demands to determine the final adaptation techniques. Ray CE: There is a relation between the variational translation methods and their results. The relation only appears after the work has been adapted. Ray AE: Target language readers have no direct influence on or relations with the adapted works. If they feel dissatisfaction with the adapted works, they will give feedback to the translators. In this way, a new cycle of the adaptation of the original work begins. If the adaptation process is omitted, only the action of translating remains in variational translation. Triangle BCD becomes line segment BD and variational translation turns into complete translation. Line segments BC and CD embody the definition of adaptation well, which is a circuitous strategy or an outflanking tactic.

5.2

Three Components of the Variational Translation System

The figure of the variational translation system can be divided into three levels: upper, middle, and lower; and three components: variational translation subject, variational translation medium, and variational translation object.

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5.2.1

5 Variational Translation System

Variational Translation Subject

As previously mentioned, the subject of variational translation is human. Here it consists of “two humans”: the target reader (the covert subject) and the translator (the overt subject), which is shown in Fig. 5.1 as A and B at the lower level and forms ray AB. The target readers decide the translator’s behavioral guidelines. In principle, translators translate what target readers need, steering away from past practices that involve translators translating what writers say. In other words, target readers now have the final say. However, translators still have a broad scope of discussion with specific readers in an effort to better meet their needs. The translator(s) can be an individual or a small group. Similarly, the reader(s) can be an individual, group, society, or even humanity as a whole. Humans, as the subjects of variational translation, are also the subjects for promoting and implementing variational translation. The two sides—translators and readers—cannot be separated. In fact, translators sometimes hold two positions. One is carrying out variational translations for their own use, and the other is serving as representatives for target readers. Among all the components of the variational translation system that restrain translators’ activities, target readers play a decisive role. However, at the same time, they develop the potential of translators. The process of potential to reality exists in the development of translators’ abilities. But how much potential does one person have? Translators, as variational translation subjects, have a huge reserve of potential that is only released a little. Only by bringing some of that potential into play can translators largely enhance their real variational translation abilities, which can increase the efficiency of their variational translation activities.

5.2.2

Variational Translation Medium

Between the bottom and the top of the variational translation system is the second level—the variational translation medium, C (amplified to plane in Fig. 5.1): the point of intersection of line AD and line BE. It shows that adaptation and translation are central in the variational translation system. The medium has a dual nature. On the one hand, the variational translation medium, which sits between the variational translation subject and object, is an interactive and inter-convertible link between them. On the other hand, from the perspective of practice, the variational translation medium, comprising adaptation and translation, has two forms of relation. (1) Adaptation \ Translation “Adaptation \ Translation” means that adaptation and translation are interwoven. For example, in narrated translation, after reading the whole original work or the necessary parts of the original work, translators no longer focus on translating sentence by sentence or the whole work, but rather on narrating them in their own

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words. Adaptation and translation are inseparable, with no particular order or distinction. See the following example: Example 5.1 [1] 四合院——中国传统的院落式住宅之一。[2]其布局特点是围绕院子,四边布 置堂屋、住房和厨房等。[3]一般门窗开向院子,对外不开窗。[4]以北京四合 院为典型,通常分前内两院,两段之间设 “垂花门”。[5]内院是住宅的中心。在 中轴线上南向为正房,北向为倒座,两侧为厢房。[6]大型住房可以由多个院子 组成。 齐家大院——山西祁县,始建于清乾隆年间,占地面积八千七百二十四点八 平方米,共有六个大院,内含二十四个小院,中百十三间房屋。四周为全封闭式 砖墙,高三丈有余。从院的形式看:有四合院、穿心院、偏正套院……从屋顶 造型看:有悬山顶、硬山顶、歇山顶……从门的结构看:有一斗三升十一踩双 翘仪门、芫廊半出檐门、石雕跨门……从窗口格式看:有仿明酸枝棂州窗、 通天隔扇菱花窗、雕花窗……可以说,整个大院以其恢宏气势,巨大的规模、 匠心独运的结构和精美细腻的砖雕木刻艺术而成为中国清代北方民居建筑的 瑰宝。 [A] Quadrangle, one type of Chinese traditional residential housing, has been common: mostly in northern China. [B] A typical quadrangle features a divided compound with square yards surrounded by halls. [C] The main hall sits in the north and faces south and the least important house the opposite. [D] The wings on both sides connect the north and the south to make a complete enclosure in which all windows are open inward rather than outward. [E] Some larger quadrangle can be a complex of courtyards one after another. (from Architecture Section of Chinese Culture) The example is selected from the Architecture Section of Chinese Culture, and the notebook is sent to foreign friends by the Ministry of Culture of People’s Republic of China, and Chinese embassies and consulates. The serial numbers in the example were added by the authors of this book. The column layout of the notebook has the introduction to Chinese culture at the top, with the Chinese version on the left and the English version on the right. Before translating into English, the translator deleted the second paragraph for two reasons. One is space limitations, for English versions are always longer than Chinese versions. The other is that quadrangles (also called Beijing courtyard houses) can better represent the features of Chinese residential houses, especially those in the north. As for the translation of quadrangle, looking at the serial numbers of the sentences after having deleted the second paragraph, we can see that there are six Chinese and five English sentences, which is not a big difference. By careful contrast, it is clear that Sentence 1 corresponds to Sentence A, but that Sentence 4 has been inserted into Sentence A as “common: mostly in northern China,” after “通常分前内两院,两段之间设 ‘垂花门’” was deleted. Sentence 2 corresponds to Sentence B, but “堂屋、住房和厨房等” is generalized as “halls”. Sentence 3 is put into Sentence D, and Sentence 5 is translated into Sentence C with the deletion of “内院是住宅的中心。在中轴线上”. However, “The wings on both sides connect the north and the south to make a complete enclosure” is an addition in

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Sentence D. Sentence 6 corresponds to Sentence E. Below is the comparison of the structure of the variational translation with that of the original work: Variational translation work: first paragraph [sentence A ! sentence B ! sentence C ! sentence D ! sentence E] + second paragraph Original work: one paragraph [(parts 1 + 4) ! basic content of sentence 2 ! part of sentence 5 ! addition + sentence 3 ! sentence 6] + vacancy (2) Adaptation [ Translation “Adaptation [ Translation” refers to the discrete combination of the two. They come in order: adaption first followed by translation, or vice versa. The former includes selected translation, edited translation, and so on, which expose traces of variational translation, but not obvious ones. The latter includes transwriting and transcomment (comment after translation). Adaptation and translation, when composing variational translation works, are independent and correlative. The following example is extracted from Volume 4 of English, written by the famous Chinese educator of English, Mr. Xu Guozhang (1915–1994). Example 5.2 正文部分 (106页) : I love all that thou lovest, 我爱你所爱的一切, Spirit of Delight! 欢乐的精灵哟! The fresh Earth in new leaves dressed, 我爱绿荫葱茏的春郊, And the starry night 我爱群星灿烂的苍昊; Autumn evening, and the morn 我爱金雾诞生时的 When the golden mists are born. 清秋的夕暮与晴朝。 I love snow, and all the forms 我爱璀璨的白雪 Of the radiant frost; 我爱凝霜的光晶; I love waves, and winds, and storms, 我爱波,爱风,爱暴雨, Everything almost 爱那一切的自然之形, Which is Nature’s, and may be 爱那一切的自然之形 Untainted by man’s misery. 不曾为人之灾痛污损。 Percy Bysshe Shelley(1792—1822) (郭沫若 译) 此诗原名Song,并无副题,共八节,这是第五、六节。译诗选自《沫若译诗 集》。(人民文学出版社,1956年) “自学辅导”部分(330-331页) : 本诗作者是英国十九世纪浪漫(romantic)诗人雪莱,译者是中国五四时期的 浪 漫诗人郭沫若,两者在诗格上是一致的。原诗两节,各六句,中译也是一节六 句,两 节。原诗用ababcc韵,译诗韵脚有些变化,但都富于音乐美;原诗明亮淡雅,郭 译明 达,但稍嫌华丽。原诗: (I love) Autumn evening, and the morn When the golden mists are born. 郭译:

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我爱金雾诞生时的 清秋的夕暮与晴朝。” 是极好的译文,也是极好的诗。又: 我爱璀璨的白雪, 我爱凝霜的光晶; 把radiant frost用“璀璨 “、 “凝霜”、 “光晶”三个词组译出,是诗人译诗的创 造。 又用 “我爱波,爱风,爱暴雨” 译 I love waves, and winds, and storms,在节奏上 完全一致,是传出原作神韵的一句诗。 First, Mr. Xu selected someone else’s translation and then wrote twice in different parts of the source text. He showed the original name of the poem for the first time to illustrate that it is the selected translation, and he commented the second time, aiming to help the learners better understand and enhance their English ability. There is a clear demarcation between translation and writing in the completed translated work. The variational translation medium, playing a significant role in variational translation activities, is the key factor in determining the success or failure of translators. It is the transitional link between subject and object, and the central link in variational translation.

5.2.3

Variational Translation Object

The variational translation object lies at the upper level of the variational translation system, represented by Ray DE, formed by D and E, which are the targets of translators and readers, namely original works and variational translation works. Original works, when influenced by adaptation and translation, differ from complete translations. The results of variational translation are variational translation works, which are handed to target readers for their review and evaluation. Noticeably, not only variational translation subjects but also original works have great potential to develop. Therefore, original works are restrictions for translators’ variational translation activities, but such restrictions are not fixed. They are a variable between translators and readers, who are interactive elements. The reason for bringing variational translation works into the variational translation system is that once the variational translation works no longer meet the needs of readers, they will ask the translators to translate the works again by using variational translation or modifying the translation. For example, some clients may require translators to do a variational translation several times until the translation meets their needs. Variational translation works are not the main research subject of variational translation theory, but the subject of comparative literature or comparative cultural studies, which will not be discussed in this book. The problem of the variational translation system can only be solved by employing a systematic method: when a variational translation target is put forward,

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in order to select the appropriate adaption techniques and variational translation methods, translators are required to develop several solutions and select the optimal solution according to the standard—the one with the maximum benefit and minimum investment. The optimal solution is probably a variational translation method formed through an adaptation technique or various variational translation methods formed through various adaptation techniques. Subject, medium, and object can adapt to one another and be interactive so as to lessen the friction among the three and produce a satisfying effect.

Chapter 6

Adaptation Techniques

Abstract This chapter first analyzes the connotation of the term “adaptation” and its classification. It concludes that adaptation can be classified into seven adaptation techniques. Then it expounds the seven techniques of adapting original work— adding, deleting, editing, narrating, condensing, integrating, and altering—one by one with case studies. Keywords Adaptation technique

6.1 6.1.1


Ingestion
Adaptation classification
Adaptation

Adaptation and Its Classification What is Adaptation?

The most obvious difference between variational translation and complete translation lies in adaptation. According to the Modern Chinese Dictionary (Revised Edition, Commercial Press, 1996), it refers to catering to the trends of the times. “Cater” is normally not a commendatory term. In broad sense, translation is meant to cater to readers’ expectations to attract target readers—unless you are translating original works for self-entertainment. Accordingly, adaptation is synonymous with “cater” and “accommodation.” “Accommodation” is used in reference to the adaptation of variational translation. Translators break complete translation norms and generate mutually beneficial cooperation between original works and translators. Under this circumstance, translators should not only take readers’ benefits and interests into consideration, but also emancipate themselves to decrease the labor put into complete translation and increase their knowledge and wisdom about translation. This brings convenience to the translators, readers, and the original works and their authors. Therefore, adaptation is a method of compromise that enables two or many parties to accept the translated content.

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 Z. Huang and Y. Zhang, Variational Translation Theory, New Frontiers in Translation Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9271-3_6

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As a skill and an art, adaptation means sizing up the situation and dealing with it flexibly. First, it is necessary to summarize all the information and then judge whether adaptation techniques can be adopted or not. Secondly, the content and method of adaptation should be decided, and what to change and how to do it must be addressed. Moreover, seizing the opportunity and operation of adaptation is crucial because adaptation is not discretionary, but an outstanding art (Zhang 1997). Therefore, adaptation in variational translation is a flexible solution to meet the special demands of specific readers under special conditions. The primary reason for variational translation was illustrated in Chap. 2. But what is the motivation for adapting original works? The fundamental problem is the contradiction between original works (together with complete translation) and various target readers’ demands. Complete translation, theoretically, can be read and employed by everyone, is universally applicable, and does not bring about undesirable consequences. If it were used in ancient times when there were few things to read, watch, and listen to, it may not have generated disputes. But since the second half of the twentieth century, information can spread very quickly, and readers’ reading time for relaxing or ingesting knowledge is shortened because there are many other sources of entertainment and job pressures diverting their attention and preventing them from reading lengthy complete translations. In addition, readers nowadays have different demands, which are the decisive factors in the translation market that call for translators to seek or adopt new translation techniques or methods. These cause translators to bring their subjectivities into full play to adopt different adaptation techniques to eliminate above issues. The translated work can thereby be popular with the target readers and match their specific reading context. In order to understand adaptation, it is important to know that adaptation violates the rules of complete translation. Adaptation may be, at first, carried out on some parts of an original work, using methods such as selected translation, edited translation, and so on. With increasing changes made to the original works, a widening gap emerges between the original work and the translated work in terms of content and form. This gap indicates that more adaptations have been made to deal with the original work, which shows the greatest violation of the completeness of the original works. As the adaptation of an original work can eliminate the obstacles of cross-cultural communication, benefit the target readers, and spread the translated work, the employment of adaptation in translation practice has become more popular with translation practitioners in the current information age.

6.1 Adaptation and Its Classification

6.1.2

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Classification of Adaptation

Because adaptation violates the rules of complete translation and changes original works, the classification of adaption can be made by comparing the amount of information in a variational translation with the amount in the original work and its complete translation. If a is the amount of information in the variational translation and b is the amount in the original work and its complete translation, then: (1) a ˃ b. The amount of information in the variational translation is greater than the amount in the original work and its complete translation, showing that variational translation leads to some additions to the amount of information. The adaptation technique used here is called “adding.” (2) a ˂ b. The amount of information in the variational translation is less than the amount in the original work and its complete translation, showing that variational translation leads to some deletions in the amount of information. The adaptation technique used here is called “deleting.” (3) a  b. The amount of information in the variational translation is equal to or less than the amount in the original work and its complete translation, showing that, after the original work is edited, the amount of information decreases or remains unchanged. The adaptation technique used here is called “editing.” (4) a  b. The amount of information in the variational translation is approximately equal to the amount in the original work and its complete translation, showing that, after the original work is narrated, the amount of information is basically the same. The adaptation technique used here is called “narrating.” (5) a《 b. The amount of information in the variational translation is far less than the amount in the original work and its complete translation, showing that amount of information in the original work is greatly condensed. The adaptation technique used here is called “condensing.” (6) a 2 b. The amount of information in the variational translation includes the amount in the original work and its complete translation, showing that the amount in the original work is integrated. The adaptation technique used here is called “integrating.” (7) a ∽ b. The amount of information in the variational translation is similar to the amount in the original work and its complete translation, showing that, after the alteration of the original work, the amount of information in the variational translation is more or less the same as in the original work. The adaptation technique used here is called “altering” (see Huang 2002, for details).

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6.2 6.2.1

6 Adaptation Techniques

Seven Adaptation Techniques Adding (a ˃ b)

Adding refers to adding information to original works. There are three ways of adding: explanation, commentary, and writing. (1) Explanation Explanation refers to illustrating some parts of the original works, including providing explanations for allusions, ancient meanings (in modern ways), words and content, difficult points, and so on. The main reason for explanation is that target language readers will otherwise not understand some of the information. Without explanation, it would be impossible for target readers to comprehend the information easily and correctly. Explanation is not simply found the footnotes and endnotes; it is put into the translation itself. Thus, the amount of information and the length of the translated work are greater than those of original work. Let us have a look at the following example: Example 6.1

This is part of a complete translation of Moscow Diary by Roman Rolland. The whole book has 196 pages, of which 87 are explanations and writings by the translator, showing that the main body of the original work does not account for a major part. There are more than 260 explanations for content in the main body. After reading the complete translation, the authors of this book are exhausted. Besides some familiar names and places, we must read abundant explanations. From this example, it can be concluded that explanation can also be applied in complete translation, not exclusive or limited to variational translation.

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(2) Commentary Commentary refers to criticizing or discussing the content of a translation. This includes: commenting plus an estimation of the content, an evaluation of the value of the original, an introduction to the relevant background, judgment between right and wrong or superior and inferior, an analysis of the content, and so on. The purpose of commentary is to help readers better understand translated work and know its value. Example 6.2 Joan Reid felt self-conscious and awkward waiting on the dusty pavement outside the house whose two top rooms were her home.

With the addition of the translator’s commentary, the original sentence, which reflects the family status and mental state of the heroine, becomes easily understood by target readers. (3) Writing Writing refers to adding relevant content to the translated work. According to its positioning, it can be divided into: (1) writing before translating, (2) writing after translating, and (3) writing while translating. The first aims to give background information and prepare for the later translation; the second always supplements the earlier translation; and the third forms a perfect link between the preceding and the following translation to increase the amount of information in the translated work. The following is an example of Yan Fu’s translated work. Example 6.3 All plants and animals exhibit the tendency to vary, the causes of which have yet to be ascertained; it is the tendency of the conditions of life, at any given time, while favoring the existence of the variations best adapted to them, to oppose that of the rest and thus to exercise selection.

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The original work can be translated into contemporary Mandarin as follows:

The underlined part of Yan Fu’s translation is totally different from the version in contemporary Mandarin. In fact, it is more an exposition and explanation than a translation. The so-called “translation” is not a direct translation of the original work, but a variational translation, perhaps belonging to narrated translation.

6.2.2

Deleting (a ˂ b)

Deleting refers to deleting information that target readers do not want, including dross or redundancies. In other words, it means that translators can accept or reject parts of the original work in the process of variational translation and should attempt to balance the supply and demand between the original work and the target readers. From the perspective of translation practice, the information that tallies highly with readers’ demands should be retained. The materials originally intended for Chinese readers should be adapted if they are translated for foreign readers. That is to say, some information should be deleted for better communication. Example 6.4

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Located in Datong, Shanxi Province, the Yungang Grottos are a complex of over 50 Buddhist grottos enshrining over 51,000 Buddhist statues as large as 17 m tall or as short as a few inches. Built for over a hundred years, they are of great historic and artistic value. (from Sculpture Section of Chinese Culture) The location, builders, and artistic features are deleted while the retained information is facts and data, which meets the requirement of communicating with facts and matching the reading habits of foreign readers. It also takes the layout requirements into consideration. The goal of deletion is to give full play to the value of useful information. For instance, Mr. Tang Xiansheng, a playwriter of the Chongqin branch of the China Writers Association, adapted The Plum in the Golden Vase into a play and considered adapting it for the screen. Facing such a sensitive and controversial novel, Mr. Tang proposed filming it as a healthy film worth seeing. To highlight the themes that the author of the novel wanted to reveal, Mr. Tang Xiangsheng, based on the general principle of being faithful to original work, deleted all the pornographic and otherwise unhealthy depictions not suitable for the target cultural context. He also reasonably added some relevant information to keep the adapted novel cohesive and coherent in plot.

6.2.3

Editing (a  b)

Editing enables the content of an original work to be systematic and perfect. It consists of selection (from part of the original work), arrangement (of the content of original work according to a certain sequence), and translation (of the original work into the target language). The original text can be a sentence group, a paragraph, a passage, or a book. The translator edits the text to make its gist more obvious, its content clearer, and its impression deeper. In this way, it is necessary to organize the original work by relying on the requirement of a gist and by simplifying the content to serve the main idea. For example, some Western writers prefer to write whole passages without paragraph breaks, or even if they use numbers (1, 2, 3), the main ideas of each part are still unclear because of the lack of hierarchical titles. The process of variational translation is an effective time to insert subtitles, which have a great impact on listeners or readers. Subtitles, adding luster to the work, not only clearly segment translations, but can also be thought-provoking. A typical example of edited translation is Chinese translator Yan Fu’s translation of Evolution & Ethics and Other Essays. Yan Fu put the translation of the introduction to Evolution & Ethics and Other Essays in Volume 1, which is divided into 15 chapters with their own titles. Also, he made some adjustments among these chapters:

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Example 6.5

Yan Fu predominantly followed the sequence of the original work in naming the subtitles, but there are still some chapters split into different parts, such as Chap. 10 into two parts and Chap. 1 into three parts. Meanwhile, there are other segments, such as the majority of the tenth paragraph and the whole of the eleventh paragraph of Chap. 1, having merged into one. Editing is an important adaptation technique, because after adding, deleting, and translating, the work must be edited in a logical way. The following subsections on narrating and condensing are connected to editing.

6.2 Seven Adaptation Techniques

6.2.4

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Narrating (a  b)

The definition of narrating is paraphrasing or retelling the content of an original work using the target language, not concentrating on words, but rather trying to convey the main ideas while ignoring the form of the original work. It includes editing and deleting. Example 6.6

There are numerous styles or schools of Chinese calligraphy but basically, there are 5: Zhuan style, square and magnificent in shape, often used for seal engraving; Li style, somewhat flat and lively, popular among common folks; Kai style, nicely stroked and proportioned to become the formal style since the Jin Dynasty; Cao style, loosely organized and very free in writing, popular among calligraphers; Xing style, somewhat between the Cao and the Kai styles, easier to recognize and faster to write, good both for practical and artistic purposes, thus most popular among all the people for handwriting. (from Calligraphy Section of Chinese Culture) The original text introduces Chinese calligraphy, including a general introduction and supporting sections, while its English version has only one paragraph. The logical relations within the paragraph are totally different from those of the original text, which shows that it has been edited by the translator. The original text

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mentions six forms of writing style: Song style, Li style, Wei style, Kai style, Cao style, and Zhuan style. But the translator only translates five—Zhuan style, Li style, Kai style, Cao style, and Xing style—according to the development of calligraphy. Of course, Xing style was added by the translator, who deleted the paragraph about Song style and gave brief descriptions of each writing style. In the above example, narrating is based on an original text and changes its form. It focuses on narrating the content, so there is selecting, editing, and even generalizing. The main feature of narrating is to change the form, delete the details, and keep the main ideas.

6.2.5

Condensing (a《 b)

From the discussion of the narrating technique, we know that narrating includes the deletion of parts of original text, and uses a simplified version to describe the complex text. However, condensing focuses on using the most concise language to condense the original work in the target language, which enables the amount of information and the length of the text to be far less and smaller than those of the original work. Under very special conditions, can the translator, by means of a new form, turn the original work into a simplified but precise, high-quality text, not only letting the target readers easily find the desired information, but also saving their reading time? And can the translator introduce the main ideas of the original work in a short translation? Example 6.7

This is an abstract that, at the beginning, tells of the heroine’s living conditions and yearning for a well-off life, and then of her performance in the dance party without too many details, which shows her satisfaction. Finally comes a sharp turn in the plot. The translator condensed the final episode into one sentence “但付出了 昂贵的代价” (but she paid a high price for her vanity). Here is another example:

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Example 6.8

There are 56 ethnic groups in China and each boasts its own community costume with unique characteristics. (from Clothes Section of Chinese Culture) This is a typical example of condensation. There are 56 ethnic groups in China and each boasts its own community costume with unique characteristics. The original work only mentions several ethnic groups, such as the Tong, Miao, Yi, Meng, and Zang ethnicities. Due to the limited space on the page, it is impossible for translator to translate the characteristics of the community costumes of each mentioned Chinese ethnic group. Hence, the translator condensed the information of the whole paragraph into a sentence to fit into the remaining space on the page. However, such condensation is too simple and over-condensed, and may not be understood thoroughly by foreign readers. It is necessary to carry out moderate condensation, which enables the amount of core information to be fully conveyed. For example, in this paragraph, at least the general characteristics—robes in the North and dresses in the South—should be translated with the condensing technique.

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6.2.6

6 Adaptation Techniques

Integrating (a 2 b)

Integrating is an adaptation technique that combines two or more similar or logical parts of the original work. The relevant parts may be a sentence, sentence group, paragraph, section, chapter, or even a book. There are two reasons for integration. One is if the structure of the original work is not appropriate or concise or if it lacks logic. Some parts should be integrated but are split, which is shown at the level of the sentence, sentence group, and paragraph. For instance, in Example 4.1, the first paragraph of the original work already stated the two reasons not to wage war: rearing the children and having the right outlook on life. Then we might like to divide the remaining seven paragraphs into two parts: one is paragraphs 2–5, which talks about the first reason, and the other is paragraphs 6–8, which illustrates the second reason. In this way, it avoids cutting the original work into random sections without coherent meanings. Deciding whether to divide or integrate the works depends on where the translated works are to be published. There are eight paragraphs in this example text. If it is to be published in a newspaper or popular science magazine, it is necessary to divide the passage into several paragraphs and to employ direct speech to increase the vitality of the translated work. The purpose of integration is to better convey the information. The key difference between the two relies on the background information. The other reason for integration is the demands of target readers. Relevant parts or several sections of original works are integrated into one. This is done at the level of the section, chapter, and whole book. Before integrating, the translator should determine whether complete translation or variational translation is better for tackling the original work. The prerequisite for complete translation is that the information of the original work is significant and short, and vice versa for variational translation. For example, Zhou (1998: 40–41) once gave an example of international news report: “Within two days, newspaper correspondents in different countries sent relevant reports about the same important international issue. Next day, the reports and pictures of the issue were translated and published in different pages of this Hongkong newspaper. If the foreign reports about the international issue were integrated according to its development and importance by the translator, it would have been more concise and of higher quality.”

6.2.7

Altering (a ∽ b)

Generally, the above-mentioned adaptation techniques all belong to the category of altering. Putting altering into a single category aims to emphasize its features. Altering means change. The original work undergoes obvious changes in content and form after being translated, including alteration (altering the content or form of an original work into ones appropriate for target language readers), re-composition

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(re-composing the content of an original work into a new type), and transformation (transforming the whole original work into one that meets the new requirements). Altering changes the original work, such as changing poetry into prose, tragedy into comedy, explanation into discussion, or vice versa. Qu Qiubai’s early translation of Пecня o Бypeвecтникe (The Song of the Stormy Petrel) written by Gorky is an apt example of translating the original work from the style of poetry into the style of prose. Let us see the following example: Example 6.9 Гpoм гpoxoчeт. B пeнe гнeвa cтoнyт вoлны, c вeтpoм cпopя. Boт oxвaтывaeт вeтep cтaи вoлн oбъятьeм кpeпким и бpocaeт иx c paзмaxy в дикoй злoбe нa yтёcы, paзбивaя в пыль и бpызги изyмpyдныe гpoмaды.

After the founding of People’s Republic of China, Chinese translator Ge Baoquan translated the original work, using the style of prose: Example 6.10

The objective of altering is to adapt to the culture of the target language, avoid misunderstanding and non-acclimatization in the world of the target language, better meet the demands of target readers, and overcome the shortcomings of original works. Just like a senior United States translator once said, “Translation is a job suitable for middle-aged people, because young people do not have much experience and proficiency in language usage, while elder people do not pay much attention to original works and even think that they are incoherent and ungrammatical. I can writer better than this rubbish work” (Dong 1997: 164). Translators with such attitudes are inclined to modify the original works when doing complete translation and they may have sufficient reasons to make even more alterations when doing variational translation. If a book does not contain essence everywhere and only has two to three chapters or several parts that are useful, should complete translation still be the priority? If some examples cannot be accepted in the target

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Table 6.1 Relations between adaptation techniques and the number of discourse units of the original works Adaptation technique

Adding

Deleting

Editing

Narrating

Condensing

Integrating

Altering

Number of 1 1 >1 1 1 >1 1 discourse units Note: (1) “1” represents one discourse unit, which may be a sentence, sentence group, paragraph, section, chapter, or whole book. (2) “>1” represents more than one discourse unit, and “  1” indicates one or more discourse units.

language culture, altering is a must. Altering can involve changing contents, illustrations, and forms. The object of the adaptation technique is the original work. To be specific, it refers to the discourse unit, namely sentences, sentence groups, paragraphs, sections, chapters, and whole books. The number of adaptation techniques employed when translating the original work is totally different in variational translation practice. Please refer to Table 6.1.

References Dong, Leshan. 1997. Cultural misunderstanding. Beijing: China Social Science Press. Huang, Zhonglian. 2002. Seven adaptation techniques of variational translation. Foreign Language Research Journal (1). Zhang, Shuguang. 1997. Compromise and adaptation. Reading (8). Zhou, Zhaoxiang. 1998. Translation and life. Beijing: China Translation and Publishing Corporation.

Chapter 7

Methods of Variational Translation

Abstract Eleven variational translation methods, based on seven adaptation techniques and translation practices in China and abroad, are derived and discussed theoretically in this chapter. These methods are selected translation, edited translation, narrated translation, condensed translation, summarized translation, summarized transcomment, transcomment, altered translation, annotated translation, transwriting, and cited translation. Keywords Adaptation technique method

7.1


Translation practice
Variational translation

Classification of Variational Translation Methods

Because the most distinct feature of variational translation is adaptation, we will classify the variational translation methods based on seven adaptation techniques. This chapter will outline the seven adaptation techniques in the following order: adding, deleting, editing, narrating, condensing, integrating, and altering. If we wish to maintain the whole range of the original text, the logic order moves from a deletion-oriented model to an addition-oriented model: deleting ! editing ! narrating ! condensing ! integrating ! altering ! adding. The first five are techniques for removing undesired information or highlighting the important information of the original text. The sixth technique is a way of adjustment or modification that may involve both deleting and adding. The last one aims to enrich the information of the original text. Based on the above adaptation techniques and the references in human translation history and current translation practice, we can derive eleven variational translation methods: selected translation, edited translation, narrated translation, condensed translation, summarized translation, summarized transcomment, transcomment, altered translation, annotated translation, transwriting, and cited translation. The variational translation methods, classified according to adaptation techniques, are provided in Table 7.1. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 Z. Huang and Y. Zhang, Variational Translation Theory, New Frontiers in Translation Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9271-3_7

103

+

+

+

+

−

−

−

−

−

−

−

−

narrating

condensing

integrating

altering

adding

−

−

+

+

+

+

+

Narrated translation

−

−

+

+

+

+

+

Condensed translation

−

−

+

+

+

+

+

Summarized translation

+

−

+

+

+

+

+

Summarized transcomment

+

±

±

±

±

±

±

Transcomment

+

−

±

±

±

±

±

Altered translation

±

±

±

±

±

±

±

Annotated translation

+

±

±

±

±

±

±

Transwriting

−

−

±

±

±

±

+

Cited translation

Note “+” means the variational translation method includes the adaptation technique; “−” means the variational translation method does not have the adaptation technique; “±” means either of the above situations may exist

+

+

Edited translation

editing

Selected translation

deleting

Adaptation technique

Variational translation method

Table 7.1 Classification of variational translation methods

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7.2 Eleven Variational Translation Methods

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Eleven Variational Translation Methods

The variational translation methods are the application of variational translation theories. Here we provide only a brief introduction, with some helpful examples.

7.2.1

Selected Translation

Nowadays, books and articles are springing up every second, like countless dazzling colors. You may find it impossible to exhaust even the foreign and domestic literature that appeals to you. If you are a professional translator, you might as well pick the texts of high quality from the boundless array and choose those that best suit your needs as if you were searching for what you need in a grocery store. All of these choices may call for wisdom. That wisdom can be vividly clarified in the way that a person at a shooting range will close one eye so that the other eye can see the target more clearly and precisely. The selected translation has precisely this function. It is to be regarded as a variational translation method that selects main content from the original text or part of the original text which will interest target-language readers. The selected translation is used most widely. To be more specific, the selected translation method mainly includes the following actions.

7.2.1.1

Deleting Words or Phrases in Sentences

Deleting words or phrases is centered on the meaning of a sentence. In a sentence, there are always elements that are less important or unnecessary for the translator or the reader. These may be some words or phrases in a sentence. In the process of translation, deletion can only be applied to repeated, redundant, or irrelevant information, or information that is not important for certain readers.

7.2.1.2

Deleting Sentences in Sentence Groups

A sentence group is a complete semantic unit. It consists of two or more sentences with a shared core meaning. Any sentence that is inconsistent with or not closely related to the central meaning can be deleted.

7.2.1.3

Deleting Sentences or Sentence Groups in Paragraphs

The translation of sentences (sentence groups) in paragraphs is subject to the main idea of the paragraph. Just like translating with the first action (Sect. 7.2.1.1), one

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can delete the sentences (sentence groups) that make up the paragraph if necessary. Some sentences (sentence groups) in a paragraph are auxiliary or clauses. Selected translation in a paragraph generally pays attention to the facts, conclusions, and so on. Sentences involving the processes of discussion and explanation can be deleted. In general, sentences (sentence groups) that are irrelevant to the main idea of the paragraph can be deleted.

7.2.1.4

Deleting Paragraphs in Articles

Choosing to translate the paragraphs in an article is subject to the theme of the article, and the theme dominates the whole text. Selected translation of an article sometimes involves deleting entire paragraphs to maintain only those that are closely related to the central idea of the passage. Sometimes only one paragraph is deleted and sometimes a few paragraphs or even dozens of paragraphs are deleted, when the paragraphs are relatively short.

7.2.1.5

Deleting Sections in Chapters

A chapter refers to part of a book. Sections are usually a level below a chapter, serving as separate articles. Sections are extracted for selected translation according to their functions and status within a book or one of its chapters, or according to the concrete needs of the target readers. As a managing editor, Chinese translator Zheng Zhenduo once adopted variational translation to deal with Indian fables in the weekly Children’s World in 1922. It is worth noting that, in addition to the fables, the original work also provided the morals of the fables or life advice, which were deleted by Zheng Zhenduo. He believed that readers will be more interested without being annoyed by the tedious information. Chen Fukang (1991: 389) affirmed the significance of Zheng Zhenduo’s translation, stating that it emphasizes the value of the fables. Instructive content does no good for comprehension and may even hinder the reading process.

7.2.1.6

Deleting Chapters in Books

The translation of chapters in books mainly applies to the translation of books, which is a more macroscopic type of selected translation. The translation of a whole book is increasingly restricted by factors including copyright, publishing costs, and the target readers. Generally speaking, a bestseller’s popularity will not last a long time. Most of the copies would have been made into pulp by the time a translator finishes translating the bestseller. As translators, we must extract the essence of the book so that the target readers can get the chance to read it as soon as possible if we are to take initiative in the information era and avoid being left behind in the flow of the latest information. The essence of a book and its valuable chapters are the

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content worth translating. Detailed translations of the background material may not cater to the target readers. It is advisable for translators to avoid doing this thankless work. Translating selected chapters involves selecting the chapters intended for target readers. If necessary, sections, paragraphs, and sentences should be extracted, and deletion should be applied in those chapters. Concrete methods have been provided above. Generally speaking, the dialogues of some famous foreign films are quite inviting while those of other films seem rather plain and ordinary. Xu Lijuan and Huang Qunfei (1997) used a variety of ways to choose dialogues for the films in the edited translation of the book Appreciation of Dialogues of Classic Films. Some dialogues are lengthy while others are relatively concise and terse. Films with elaborate dialogues, particularly brilliant dialogues, or ones which can reflect the distinctive personalities of the leading characters or the plots were chosen. The chosen dialogues were arranged in sequence so that target readers who had never seen the films could have basic snapshots of them. Dialogues that are inserted within sections usually play a finishing touch in the whole film, which makes them impressive and unforgettable.

7.2.2

Edited Translation

Edited translation includes micro- and macro-methods. Micro-methods refer to concrete operation methods, and macro-methods refer to methods that are used in semantic units larger than paragraphs.

7.2.2.1

Micro-Edited Translation Methods

Edited translation in paragraphs is a micro-edited translation method. Edited translation in paragraphs refers to translation between sentences and sentence groups. There may be much redundant information in paragraphs. Edited translation in sentences aims to squeeze out the redundancies and maintain the main content. The commonly used concrete editing methods include processing, selecting, integrating, summarizing, adjusting, narrating, and so on.

Processing Processing makes the original work more orderly, hierarchical, logical, and readable. For example, many Western articles are rather lengthy and lack subheadings, making readers feel exhausted. Lengthy articles are usually not well-structured and are confusing. It is advisable to add some subheadings to make them logically fluent and well-structured.

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Selecting Processing may not involve the content of the text; it only changes the structure. However, edited translation generally involves the content. Selecting is the first step of edited translation. In edited translation, the smallest discourse unit is the paragraph. In the process of edited translation, the translator should briefly scan the original work to pick out the sentences relevant to the main idea and those of great importance.

Integrating Integrating refers to the combination of no less than two related sentences. Its advantage is that it is a very accurate, concise, and compact form of expression.

Summarizing Summarization pursues delivering the largest possible amount of information with as few linguistic symbols as possible for the best results. In other words, it reflects conciseness and explicitness, and emphasizes the effect of summarization. Conciseness reflects the requirements of length, rejecting redundant words. Explicitness reflects the requirements of effect, pursuing clear expressions that can be easily understood. The simplest summarizing approach is to look for the central sentence. If there is no clear central sentence, translator should make the summarization based on the concrete content. The process normally includes four steps: (1) determining the semantic unit; (2) selecting the content of each unit; (3) making the logic of the content of each unit clear; and (4) summarizing the content base on its logic.

Adjusting Logical Sequence Reorganizing in variational translation refers to conformity to the development of things, the close relations among chapters, and consistency in meaning. Interpreting and translating both put an emphasis on logical sequence. Logical sequence is the top priority in all languages, including the Chinese language, which attaches great importance to it. In variational translation, first, logical sequence should be pursued wherever there is disorderliness; secondly, the order favored by the target-language reader should be constructed based on the logical sequence of the original work. The former practice reflects the internal sequence, while the latter embodies the orderliness generated by external factors, which indicates the obvious difference between variational translation and complete translation. The disorderliness of the original work may include temporal disorderliness, spatial disorderliness, disorderliness in the internal relations between things, and

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disorderliness in argumentation and reasoning. In addition, sometimes the rest of the sentences or paragraphs must be integrated and unified, which is called infusion, after part of the original is deleted. Sometimes adjustment is carried out, which is called the pursuit of logic sequence. Based on the needs of translation, the translator often adjusts the logical sequence of the original work. For example, Lu Xun (1982), a Chinese writer and essayist, quoted the last four pages of Shelley in the book On the Power of the Satanical School of Poetry, but the logical sequence of the content is different. The latter rearranges and summarizes the relevant materials of the former. There are some adjustments, but the content is almost the same. Moreover, he adopted a combination of the poet’s feeling of sensing nature and of meeting life challenges, which differs from the former, as the creation of Lu Xun.

Narrating After processing, selecting, integrating, summarizing, and adjusting, the content needs to be translated and narrated in the translator’s own words. Although edited translation is mainly composed of direct translation, sometimes specific content needs to be expressed in our own words after summarization and integration. This process is called narrating. Examples of this are direct speech being converted into indirect speech or a text being converted into a chart or vice versa. Let us take the latter for example. Language is the carrier of information, but it is not the only carrier. Various non-verbal symbols like images and sound are also means of delivering information. The written language has a common aid, which is the chart. Charts can clearly present the complex connections between specific content to the target reader through their vision. Charts are also intuitive, easy for the reader to understand, and can greatly simplify language. Content presented in a chart, if expressed in words, often takes up a lot of space and is not easy to understand.

7.2.2.2

Macro-Edited Translation Methods

Variational translation units that go beyond paragraphs include sections, chapters, and books. They may be divided into the following macro-edited translation methods.

Edited Translation Between Paragraphs There is no fixed standard for the number and length of paragraphs involved in edited translation between paragraphs. The number and length are determined by the content. The content of paragraphs may include the main ideas and the materials that develop the main ideas. The length of paragraphs should be moderate. If they

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are too long, they should be divided into several paragraphs. If they are too short, they should be combined into one.

Edited Translation in Chapters Edited translation in chapters covers editing all possible paragraphs within a chapter. (1) Rearrangement of the chapter structure The rearrangement of the chapter structure is mainly developed between the beginning, the middle, and the closing paragraphs. The paragraphs at the beginning should be clear, concise, and novel. The main body of the middle paragraphs should be detailed or concise, based on concrete conditions, and their main and subordinate contents should be distinct. The emphasis should be put on the key points. The closing paragraphs should be powerful, concise, and complete. If there is any inconsistency within the three levels, edited translation should be carried out again and adjustment should be adopted to optimize the structure. (2) Specific methods of translation in chapters The principal methods for translation in chapters include: (1) the method of introduction extension, which aims to conduct edited translation by finding related content based on the central content or arguments proposed in the introduction or preface; (2) the method of abstract extension, which aims to expand the key points of the abstract according to the information provided therein; (3) the method of summarization of the three parts, which means summarizing the opening, middle, and closing parts if the article has no abstract and the major content is not concentrated in the introduction; (4) the content-oriented method, which conducts edited translation in articles that develop their central arguments or plots through the process of narration and whose major content is within the main body; (5) the method of restructuring, which involves the amplification of headings at different levels and the disruption of the original order so that the content of different parts can be classified and combined after edited translation; and (6) the method of extending closing parts, which may be applied to articles that reveal their main ideas at the end. Edited translation can be adopted to extend the closing parts so that a new translation work can be created.

Edited Translation of Different Articles Edited translation can be applied to one article, but it can also be adopted in several articles. Currently, edited translation normally covers two or three original articles.

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The number of articles usually does not exceed five. There are similarities and differences between edited translation of different articles and edited translation between paragraphs. In China, the Peking University Press has published a set of “Peking University Academic Lecture Series,” one of which is the lecture called Study on Differences by Wolfgang Kubin from Germany, which was later translated by Cao Weidong (1997). The first eight lectures of Kubin’s were translated by Cao Weidong using the edited translation method, based on the professor’s lecture recordings and relevant materials provided by him. There are bound to be redundancies in all speeches unless the speaker delivers the speech with reference to his or her draft, because there may be many colloquial expressions. These redundancies, however, can hardly be found in the translation, from which we can see that the translator must have invested significant efforts. If it had been translated using complete translation, the book would not have attracted so many readers. The translator also made use of the additional materials offered by the speech-giver, which contributed to a few detailed illustrations and in-depth discussions. The edited translation demands efforts and skills that the complete translation cannot match.

7.2.3

Narrated Translation

Narrated translation refers to the variational translation method in which the translator narrates the main content or part of the content of the original work in their own words. Narrated translation involves no subjective emotions or personal preferences. It reflects the content of the original work in an objective manner without being confined by the form and content of the original work, demonstrating a state of naturalness. Based on the reader’s needs and larger discourse units, narrated translation features dominate the whole work. The translator jumps out of the form of the original work. Without the shackles of the original form, translations can be shaped into any form that suits the target readers. Narrated translation is still related to selected translation and edited translation, but it has the additional element of free narration. In the process of narrated translation, translation and narration should be combined to complement each other.

7.2.3.1

Selecting and Editing the Essential Content

Like selected translation and edited translation, narrated translation puts more emphasis on removing redundancies to deliver the essential content. Selecting and partial editing in narrated translation are as described above.

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7.2.3.2

Reorganizing the Original Structure

Narrated translation pursues freedom in certain order. It emphasizes understanding the original work from a certain perspective and reorganizing the original work after deconstruction. Narrated translation involves greater restructuring than edited translation. Edited translation mostly adjusts part of the original structure, leaving the overall structure unchanged. In narrated translation, apart from adjustments to part of the original structure, sometimes it is necessary to reorganize the whole original structure, which means deconstruction before reconstruction.

7.2.3.3

Rewriting the Needed Content

After re-editing the original structure, the content of the original work should be rewritten. Rewriting includes two methods: one is directional retelling and the other is narrating, which makes good use of summarization in edited translation. Although the majority or part of the original content is maintained, the form of the retained content enjoys greater flexibility and freedom. (1) Directional retelling Retelling does not necessarily mean copying the original content completely. It is a form of creation. Directional retelling requires a clear direction in retelling the content of the original work, so superfluous information needs to be deleted to maintain the content to be retold by the translator and then expressed in their own words. Directional narration generally follows this thinking model: (1) clarifying the focus and direction of retelling by determining the thinking trend from the ideas; (2) understanding the content thoroughly, grasping the key information, and removing redundancies to display the beauty of conciseness. (2) Narrating Narrating refers to the re-expression of the main content or part of the content of the original work in the translator’s own words. The process of narration roughly includes: (1) finding the content that deserves attention, (2) summarizing in the translator’s own words, and (3) arranging the key points from a macro perspective. Directional retelling and narrating are usually integrated into different narrated translation units and have their own features, constituting narrated translation at the intra- and inter-paragraph, intra- and inter-chapter, and intra- and inter-book levels.

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Example. 7.1 Dear Dr. Harmon, From today’s paper I have learned with much delight that you were recently appointed editor-in-chief of The Morning Post. I would like to add my congratulation to the many you must be receiving on your promotions.

Your speedy advancement at such a young age is quite rare. This is surely owing to your untiring industry, coupled with your extraordinary ability.

With your qualifications and unyielding will, the position will surely prove to be a pleasant one. The Morning Post at last has an editor-in-chief who can make it the dominant, outstanding daily of the country.

With my best wishes for your further success.

Cordially yours, Bert Fellows.

(The underlining in the English text was added by the authors of the book).

Following is the complete translation of the original:

According to the methods above, the narrated translation process for the example is as follows: 1. Grasping key information: Crucial words and sentences have been underlined in the text.

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2. Restructuring the translation: The structure has been adjusted based on the translator’s opinions, which means the first level is about learning the good news and expressing compliments (paragraphs 1 and 2) and the second level is about extending congratulations and future development (paragraphs 3 and 4). 3. Rewriting: Directional narration is adopted based on the model of reorganization:

Narrated translation can be used flexibly. It applies not only to information-dominated translation but also to literary translation. According to Chen Fukang (1991), in March of 1924, Zheng Zhenduo, a Chinese translator and writer, translated Apollo and Daphne—published in Literature Weekly—using narrated translation. In the fourth chapter titled Greek Mythology and the ninth chapter titled Greece and Rome of his book Literature Outline, he translated Greek and Roman mythologies using detailed narrated translation, reaching a total of approximately 50,000 translated words. There were many literary youths at that time who began to learn of Western literature through narrated translations like that in Literature Outline. Zheng believed that when translating foreign fairy tales, two methods should be used according to different conditions: First, to promote convenience in reading, we can introduce important works to China by retelling them. For example, Zheng adopted the method of retelling in his translation of legends, mythologies, and fables from Japan, Northern Europe, the UK, and other countries and regions. The second method is direct translation or complete translation, which should be applied to works with undying literary attraction and value, like Andersen’s works (Chen 1991: 62; 389).

7.2.4

Condensed Translation

Condensed translation is variational translation that conveys the important content of an original work in condensed language. In terms of the content and structure, condensed translation strives to retain the logic of the original work and narrows down the content to one-thousandth of the original or less. That is to say, a text of 10,000 words would usually be reduced to ten or fewer. The difference between condensed translation, narrated translation, and edited translation is that condensed translation involves the greatest summarization efforts while narrated translation requires less and edited translation requires the least. Narrated translation can be a combination of translation and narration, but condensed translation can only be a shrinking of all content and form. In terms of space, the target of edited translation might be maintaining the original text’s words after editing and screening it.

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Condensed translation, however, may involve drastic reduction of the text and hardly directly quote the sentences or paragraphs from the original. Instead, it is the condensed narration of the original work.

7.2.4.1

The Method of Grasping Key Words and Sentences

This method aims to grasp key points and remove any possible redundancies. It picks out the most significant and crucial words and sentences as the foundation of condensed translation, selecting and summarizing the key points of the original work. The basic unit of condensed translation is the paragraph. Above that is the chapter and the book. Condensed translation can be further divided into intra-paragraph and inter-paragraph condensed translation and into intra-book and inter-book condensed translation.

7.2.4.2

The Method of Summarizing Specific Content

Information on summarizing specific content can be seen in the Sects. 7.2, 7.1, 7.4 of edited translation in this chapter.

7.2.4.3

The Method of Outlining

This method aims to conduct condensed translation based on the beginning of the original text (preface), the headings for different levels of its main body, and its conclusion. These three items are the skeleton of the original work, or the outline. Headings of different levels are analyzed with reference to the preface and conclusion before the translation is conducted. This method eliminates the need to perform an in-depth and detailed semantic analysis of the original work.

7.2.4.4

The Method of Abstracting

This method refers to writing a brief description of the original work, which is usually called abstracting. Its aim is to write an abstract based on the general idea of the original text, give supplementary illustrations to the original title, and provide a brief introduction of the purpose and basic content of the original work without involving detailed or specific content. It features a high degree of summarization and usually covers a total length of approximately 20 to 200 words. The target readers will use this abstract to decide whether it is necessary to read the original work or its complete translation. Generally, the method of abstracting is straightforward initially. It either raises questions, states opinions, or goes directly to the subject and substantial issues. The

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article Viewing the Korean War from Another Perspective, published in Chinese Guangming Daily on October 27, 2000, is a brief introduction to the book American Military History since World War II, published in English by American Atlas Publishing Inc. in 1992. At the beginning of the article, the translation introduces Keith Anderson, the author of the book, and at the end, the translator points out that the five photos in the article were selected from the book to present the Korean War from another perspective. The introduction to the original work appears in the middle of the article, presented as follows: Example. 7.2

It is obvious that this is an example of condensed translation. The content of the original work is highly abstracted, so target readers can grasp the main content very quickly. Taking Example 7.1 again, for instance, we see that narrated translation can basically convey the meaning of congratulations. If the congratulations are to be expressed in just a few words, condensed translation can be adopted. The condensed translation can be as follows:

7.2.5

Summarized Translation

Summarized translation generates a comprehensive statement that summarizes, analyzes, and explains the study progress of many foreign documents within a certain period. It focuses on the organization of data, compares the facts, and analyzes them to give people a comprehensive and systematic understanding of the objects. It also focuses on dynamics and aims to illustrate the development of the objects. It thereby helps people learn more about the past and the present, and look forward to the future. The process of summarized translation is as follows:

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7.2.5.1

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Deciding on the Title

The title of a summarized translation is far from arbitrary. The title is decided upon according to three elements: (1) the objective needs, (2) the realistic possibility, and (3) translator’s subjective selection.

7.2.5.2

The Method of Selecting Materials

Collecting Foreign Literature The focus and path should be decided upon before collecting foreign literature. There are two ways of doing this: the direct method and the indirect method. The direct method involves acquiring information by directly reading the original texts. The indirect method, however, is more frequently used. It can be further divided into the chronological method, reverse-chronological method, sampling method, tracing method, and comprehensive method. (1) The chronological method involves searching for literature from the old to the new. (2) The reverse-chronological method is the opposite of the chronological method, and involves searching for literature from the new to the old. Once the desired literature is found, the search process can stop. (3) The sampling method chooses the period when the discipline was prosperous and the literature on the topic was abundant. Its searching scope is the Internet or libraries. (4) The tracing method searches for literature in other literature, which means it searches for relevant literature by means of the references provided in other literature. (5) The comprehensive method is a combination of the methods above. It uses the search tools to find the desired literature and then uses the references attached to the literature to trace other relevant literature. It uses these techniques alternately to enlarge the scope of targeted literature.

The Standards for Selecting Materials In the face of an ocean of information, selecting the required literature should follow certain criteria. The selection criteria for summarized translation should focus mainly on the texts’ theoretical and practical values. The theoretical value depends on whether the original work has explored new fields in the theoretical study of a certain discipline, and whether it offers breakthroughs in terms of original ideas, content, and methods compared with previous studies. The practical value depends on whether the original work has major economic, technical, or social benefits.

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Reading Literature Reading is the prelude to summarized translation. The screening, classification, and induction of the literature can be realized through reading. Reading order is very important. The general order is: (1) reading the literature reviews first and then reading the subject-specific literature, (2) reading the new literature before the old, (3) reading the abstract first followed by the full text, and (4) extensive reading before intensive reading. Intensive reading of important chapters and sections should be carried out after skimming all the literature. Important parts of the required literature should be picked out for extensive reading after a preliminary screening of related literature. Intensive reading aims to analyze, study, integrate, and rank the materials picked out through extensive reading to form our own judgments and insights and to apply selecting, editing, narrating, and condensing techniques to the original work.

7.2.5.3

How to Approach Editing

Format (1) Introduction The introduction should briefly explain the reason, purpose, significance, editing principles, developmental situation of the field, and so on, and concisely point out the basic content and focus of the body of text. (2) Body of text (a) Past status: from a temporal perspective, a review of the history, developmental status, and characteristics of each historical stage; the original basis and condition of the subject; relevant theories and concepts. (b) Current situation: from a spatial perspective, a generalization and summarization of the vested results in all aspects; an objective presentation of outstanding issues and reflection on different opinions and views. (c) Developmental trend: an introduction of the work currently underway; preliminary conclusions or new situations related to this subject; other information that can reveal the developmental trends instead of the editor’s assumptions and inferences about future development. (d) Conclusion: a brief summary of the conclusions obtained in the study; a presentation of the significance, disagreements, and problems of the study. (e) Appendix: an attachment of important references to the end of the text (with the number of references dedicated to the summarized translation generally reaching more than ten or even a few dozen).

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The Point-To-Plane Way of Processing the Original Work In face of dozens of selected pieces of literature, it is necessary to determine the core literature that will serve as the key content of the summarized translation and can best reflect the intended theme. Other pieces of literature can be supplements to the core literature. This is a point-to-plane method of processing the literature of the original text from a macro-perspective. In the variational translation, there are only four possible options when choosing content from one piece of literature: first, choosing one or several points; secondly, using part of the literature; thirdly, using the core content; and fourthly, using the whole literature. There are also four corresponding methods: selected translation, edited translation, narrated/condensed translation, and complete translation. The sequence of these four translation processing methods in order of frequency is: condensed/narrated translation!selected translation!edited translation!complete translation. Condensed translation is most frequently used. Narrated translation is sometimes similar to condensed translation, and edited translation can be integrated into condensed translation. Selected translation is easy to notice, while complete translation is the least frequently used method or not used at all. Among them, selected translation can be regarded as the “point” of the original work. Edited, narrated, and condensed translations jointly constitute the “plane” of the original work.

7.2.5.4

The Unit of Summarized Translation

There are only two types of original unit used in summarization: the article and the book. The summarization materials based on the article unit are all selected from short articles in foreign newspapers and periodicals. It is rare to use books as the object of summarized translation. The materials are usually a combination of articles and monographs, with articles being dominant, because the publishing cycle of books is longer than that of articles, and the opinions in books generally lag behind the original ideas in articles. The finished product of summarized translation can be an article or a book. Some monographs on the studies of a subject abroad are created through summarized translation so that they can be released as the translators’ original content.

7.2.5.5

Material Arrangement Methods

Listing Method This involves listing materials created through variational translation in a certain order. This method is suitable for translators to make summarized translations at their initial stages of engaging in variational translation practice.

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Phase Method This involves carrying out analyses and studies according to different historical periods to find out the internal laws of the development of things. Summarized translation is conducted after various phases are classified based on the characteristics of different periods.

Hierarchical Method This involves drawing up several subheadings to organize the articles according to the levels of problems as the subject is elaborated upon more deeply.

Comprehensive Method This integrates the above three methods, employs headings at multiple levels and, at the same time, lists some motivations and facts according to certain hierarchies. Summarized translation has no historical roots, and it probably emerged in an era when information exchanges became more frequent. For example, the Chinese translation of The Encyclopedia of World Geography published in London in 1836 came out during the period of the opium ban. Afterwards, Lin Zexu (1785–1850), a high-ranking Chinese official of the Qing Dynasty, compiled it into a book titled Si Zhou Zhi. The title of the book literally summarizes the content of the book. In 1841, Wei Yuan (1794–1857), a Chinese enlightenment thinker and statesman, who was then in Zhenjiang province, compiled Si Zhou Zhi with other related materials collected by himself into the book Records and Maps of the World, which was published in 1842 (Wu 1991: 337) and can be called a summarized translation. On February 10, 1999, China’s Xinhua News Agency broadcasted an article that had been translated by its reporters Tong Bingqiang and Feng Junyang using summarized translation method. The article is titled Adjustments of Economic Indicators Are Stabilizing Brazil’s Financial Situation, which is as follows:

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Example. 7.3

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Relevant references for news reports are usually not provided if news reports are published in newspapers. The example above is exactly the case. The first three paragraphs of the summarized translation are obviously a description of the fluctuations in Brazil’s exchange rate over the January of 1999. The information may come from various newspapers, periodicals, and TV and radio programs. However, the Brazilian government had revised the agreement with the IMF only a few days ago, which belonged to current information and served as a measure to address inflation. It can be inferred that the reporter must have written the fifth, sixth, and seventh paragraphs based on reliable materials. The translation of the three paragraphs may have involved adopting selected or narrated translation methods. The last paragraph, which comes from a newspaper, contains the different views of the government and business sectors on the economic recovery. It can be regarded as a product of condensed translation. The whole text is arranged in chronological order, extending from the past to the future. Various materials are written by means of narrated translation or selected and condensed translation. In this way, the report is well organized, dynamic, and authentic, leaving the reader a more complete impression of the situation.

7.2.6

Summarized Transcomment

Summarized transcomment is a variational translation method that involves summarization of and comments on the original work. It is the variational translation method that comprehensively and systematically summarizes the progress of some topics, offers relevant comments and analyses, and proposes clear suggestions.

7.2.6.1

The Format of Summarized Transcomment

Introduction The introduction serves to raise questions, clarify the object of the summarized transcomment, and explain the purpose and significance of the topic. It also describes the basis of writing and its importance, as well as the content, nature, and application scope of the article.

Historical Analysis As the key outline, the historical analysis takes time to describe the situation at each developmental stage of the topic. In particular, it aims to point out the conditions under which the major stage of progress occurs, as well as its characteristics and significance. The unresolved issues concerning this topic should also be noted, and a comparative analysis should be conducted from a vertical perspective.

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Situation Analysis Introductions should be presented addressing different aspects. Attention should be paid to making clear the achievements, current levels, and developmental characteristics in various fields by carrying out comparative analysis from a horizontal perspective. This is transitional part of summarized transcomment that shifts the vertical contrast into the horizontal contrast and provides basis for the following suggestions. All the above belong to the “summarized” element of summarized translation. Below is a discussion of the “comment” element contained in summarized transcomment.

Comment The comment can be made to summarize the tasks of text, the working methods, and the significance and functions of the conclusions, as well as the prospects for the future development of the text. Suggestions should be provided based on the current domestic situation, and several issues which are worth paying attention to should be put forward.

Appendix The appendix includes references that can provide clues for the target readers to investigate or conduct further studies.

7.2.6.2

The Method of Summarized Translation in Summarized Transcomment

The method of summarized translation mentioned here, though similar in essence to the summarized translation mentioned above, pays more attention to horizontal summarization.

7.2.6.3

The Commenting Method

Comment The commenting method refers to the fact that comments will be made first on the summarized content to be translated. To be more specific, comments evaluate the value and quality of the summarized content, show approval of or opposition to the content, reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the content, and so on.

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Suggestions Suggestions are the essence of the summarized transcomment. They are the inevitable results and inductions of the current situation analysis. The suggestions can be categorized as follows: (1) Theoretical suggestions. In response to the developmental trend of the research and current situation, suggestions should be put forward for directions, plans, measures, rules, countermeasures, and so on, to facilitate decision-making. (2) Practical suggestions. For the introduction of technologies, methods, design plans, promotion, application of new products, and so on, specific implementation measures, methods, steps, and technical guidance, and so on, should be put forward to aid the practical work. (3) Recommendatory suggestions. Recommendations can be scientific research results, new products, advanced technologies, technical schemes, and so on. (4) Improvement suggestions. Based on comparative analysis, problems in theory and practice should be detected to put forward suggestions for promoting innovation. To highlight the importance of suggestions, subheadings including words like “suggestions,” “opinions,” or “assumptions” are often used. After proposing suggestions, discussions of them are often required. The method of discussion may include putting forward the strengths to discuss the importance of the proposals, and uncovering the shortcomings to discuss the necessity of the proposals.

Prediction and Prospect This part is based on facts, using reasoning to give forward-looking judgments, make predictions about the future, present several possible outcomes, and point out possible specific problems. There are three types of prediction: (1) Prediction of the developmental trend. Based on the known laws and dynamics presented in the summarized translation section, we can forecast the new directions which the topic may take or the new subjects that the topic may explore in the future. (2) Impact and benefit prediction. The impact and benefits that the achievements of the research into the subject will bring to this subject field, other professions, other industries, and the national economy will be forecast. (3) Forecast of new problems. According to the internal laws of the development of the discipline, the current level of research, the existing conditions, and the specific analysis of various aspects, we can reveal the new situations and new problems that may arise, and the difficulties and setbacks that may be encountered, so that the reader can understand them clearly and take countermeasures.

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7.2.6.4

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Integration of Summarized Translation and Comment

The process of summarized transcomment involves clarifying facts, presenting opinions, making arguments, offering suggestions, and making predictions. There are two ways to integrate summarized translation and comment.

Summarized Translation Before Comment This order can be easily understood due to its concentrated opinions, well-organized structure, and high degree of summarization.

Summarized Translation While Making Comment This method involves conducting summarized translation while providing comments and views. Comments are given shortly after summarized translation is applied to certain issues. The advantage of this is that the materials are closely related to the opinions so that they can be easily unified and a deep analysis of the problems can be carried out. The focus of summarized transcomment can be either summarized translation or commenting. In the 1980s, when the introduction of foreign academic thought experienced a huge boom, complete translation was the norm. By the 1990s, a small number of people had begun to ruminate—instead of simply copying what came from abroad—after profound studies or having obtained a deep understanding of the foreign thoughts when they studied abroad. They started to systematically translate foreign academic thoughts at a higher level. The usual practice was to possess many foreign language materials and abstracting, narrating, and summarizing them, and then to work out a theoretical system according to the academic logic. Moreover, the translators’ comments were added based on summarizing a lot of content from different original works. Consequently, a new book could be created. Examples of such works are some research monographs and textbooks on linguistics published by the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, and Hunan Education Press in China. Let us look at an example dominated by translator’s comment.

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Example. 7.4

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This is an analysis of the news that was announced in Rio de Janeiro on January 1, 1999. However, the Central Bank of Brazil announced the adoption of free exchange rate policies that morning. The reporter responded quickly to the news and analyzed it. Before that, the reporter had paid close attention to the changes in Brazil’s exchange rate. The announcement was an important move that was captured by the reporter, who made a condensed report of the new policy, analyzed the reason behind it, and expressed his own opinions. Examples were cited to prove his claims in his analytical comments. For example, the data from the fifth, sixth, and seventh paragraphs are sound facts. The last paragraph serves as a general comment on the move to adopt free exchange rate policies. The method of summarized transcomment can make international news reports deeper and more extensive, which can contribute to the target reader’s understating of the whole event and grasp of the developmental direction of the situation.

7.2.7

Transcomment

Transcomment refers to the variational translation method in which a translator provides comments based on the content of the translation after finishing the translation of the original work. Transcomment can help enhance the understanding and appreciation of an original work, and promote cultural exchange. It includes translation and comment or an integration of both.

7.2.7.1

The Method of Translation

Translation here includes both complete translation and variational translation. The latter is found more frequently in the transcomment method, in the form of, for example, selected, edited, narrated, condensed, and summarized translation. Summarized translation combined with comment is summarized transcomment.

7.2.7.2

The Method of Comment

Transcomment can be applied to all genres. “Comment” includes both the appreciation and criticism of the translation.

Appreciation of Translations This refers to the appreciation of literary translations, which may contain certain comments, but they are not the focus. Appreciation allows personal preferences and judgments.

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Criticism of Translations This puts the appreciation of translations first and clarifies the internal motivation behind the appreciation. Based on the appreciation, it involves analyzing, studying, and criticizing the content of the translation. Criticism should not only make judgments about the quality of the translation, but also provide reasons for the judgments.

7.2.7.3

The Integration of Translation and Comment

There are four ways to promote the integration of translation and comment. Depending on their spatial distribution, the integration can be “translating before comments” or “translating while making comments.” Based on the sources of the translations, the comments can be comments on cited translations and comments on self-conducted translations. Both translating before comments and translating while making comments are applicable to comments on cited translations and comments on self-conducted translations. “Translating while making comments” features a very detailed and targeted analysis while “translating before comments” gives people a sense of integrity of the translation.

7.2.8

Altered Translation

Altered translation refers to the variational translation method that changes the form, part of the content, or even the style of the original work. It aims to meet the needs of specific target readers.

7.2.8.1

The Alteration of the Content

The most fundamental and common alteration in altered translation lies in the content. This alteration is the main characteristic of altered translation. However, the alteration of the content is not just a matter of addition or deletion. It is also a matter of making replacements and changing parts of the content. For example, this might include localizing foreign names of people and places and foreign stories, and replacing foreign examples with ones of target language to help the target readers better understand the content of the original work.

7.2.8.2

The Alteration of the Form

Processing the original work may lead to the alteration of the form. The addition, deletion, and replacement of the content may result in the dilation, shrinkage, or

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deformation of the form. And the alteration of form usually leads to the change of the content. For example, when poem is changed into prose, it is generally understood that the content of the poem will usually be somewhat changed because the poem’s form is an organic composition of its content.

7.2.8.3

The Alteration of the Style

Style is an organism featuring a high degree of unity of the content and form, and any change on either side can lead to change in style. In the history of translation of various countries, early translations were often produced with the narrated or altered translation method to make foreign facts as close as possible to “domestic goods” so that it would be easier for domestic readers to understand and accept them (Liao 1987: 108–109). There are many examples of altered translation from sixteenth and seventeenth century Britain. In addition, altered translation also refers to creation in which names of characters and places are domesticated into Chinese versions, and domestic customs infiltrate the translation while the original plot is maintained. This is also called a replica. In Japan, this kind of replica literature once gained a dominant position. For example, the tales featured in Ueda Akinari’s Tales of a Pale and Mysterious Moon after the Rain of the Edo period (1603–1867) are mostly replicas based on Chinese classical novels. In modern times, there are still many writers who write such works. The difference is that they have shifted their attention to the West for blueprints.

7.2.9

Annotated Translation

This refers to the variational translation method in which the content of the original work is interpreted and annotated, and the interpretations and annotations are integrated into the translation. It provides annotations for words, sentences, or even passages of the original work based on the translation to help the readers better understand it. Therefore, annotated translation, which is based on translation, can be part of complete translation and variational translation. There is no need to elaborate in complete translation. A detail of note is that selected translation and edited translation are frequently used in annotated translation.

7.2.9.1

The Methods of Annotated Translation

The content of annotated translations is not about the translator’s views and opinions but the underlying meaning hidden in the original work. They serve to reproduce the cultural value of the original work and release the cultural information compressed in the original work. Annotated translation incorporates not only the annotations of the original work but also the translator’s own annotations.

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Annotated translation involves multiple variational translation units: words, sentences, sentence groups, paragraphs, chapters, and books. It is most frequently applied to words, followed by sentences, sentence groups, paragraphs, chapters, and then books.

The Annotation of Words This includes the annotation of nouns that the target reader might be unfamiliar with, of the semantic connotations of supplement words, and of the allusions involved.

The Annotation of Sentences If a sentence is translated literally, what is conveyed may just be the surface meaning. The underlying meaning of the sentence may puzzle the target reader, so it calls for annotations. The annotation methods for sentences are as follows: (1) (2) (3) (4)

Explaining the result by offering reasons or making the reasons clearer. Using simple and plain sentences to explain complex ones. Using modern terms to replace their classical or archaic counterparts. Unveiling or explaining the nature of a phenomenon.

The Annotation of Paragraphs or Sentence Groups The annotation of paragraphs means interpreting their meaning. The main reason for annotation is that the author has deleted the relevant background or the process of reasoning and inducing in the paragraphs. Too many deletions may make the translator feel that it is necessary to fill in the gaps to make the text coherent and cohesive for the target readers.

The Annotation of Chapters or Books Besides the annotation of words, sentences, and paragraphs, the translator may add extra annotations at the end of a chapter or book after finishing the translation to help target readers gain a better understanding of it. Incorporating too many annotations into the text may not be suitable for literary translation. For example, there are 74 annotations in the Chinese version of Ulysses translated by Chinese translator Jin Di. Furthermore, the number of annotations in the Chinese version translated by Xiao Qian and Wen Jieruo reaches more than 133 (Huang 1995). In many cases, annotations can deepen the understanding and improve the quality of a translation, and can sometimes greatly enhance the reader’s

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understanding of a novel. If these annotations are all incorporated into the text of the novel, the charm of the novel will be diluted. It is not the case in works of social sciences. According to the introduction by Wei Zhengtong (1995), Chen Rongjie studied Chinese philosophy during his stay in the United States and wrote the Chinese Philosophy Information Book, which the author called a work of edited translation. Chen set six principles for his edited translation: (1) all Chinese philosophical words must be annotated, (2) all proper nouns like “Five Elements” must be exemplified in detail, (3) all quoted books or papers must be translated into English, (4) all the names of people or places must be confirmed or explained, (5) the significance of all the important chapters or sentences of classics on the history of Chinese philosophy must be pointed out, and (6) all the sources of the citations of the original works must be traced back to make the reader realize the continuity of the development of Chinese thought. More than 900 citations were traced. Interestingly, in Taiwan, the Chinese version of the book, published in 1993 and presided by Professor Huang Junjie, had its title changed into A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy. In addition to translating the original literature, more than 3,000 annotations were translated. Moreover, “annotations of translation” and “explanations or remarks by the translator” were added to the ancient philosophy, taking into consideration the target readers who have difficulty reading classics. Explanations by the translator are mostly from Chen’s other works. Both the English version with annotations and the Chinese version with extra annotations and explanations facilitate the target readers’ understanding of the work. If one was to write a book titled A Popular Book on Chinese Philosophy, it would be advisable to integrate the annotations into the content.

7.2.10 Transwriting Transwriting is a variational translation method that aims to translate the entirety or a part of the original work and provide comments, interpretations, and extensions. It covers the transcomment, summarized transcomment, and annotated translation methods discussed above. Transwriting, which is based on the requests of specific readers, increases the content relevant to the original work and involves addition, supplementation, and extended creation. The writing enriches both the amount of information and the creative process of the translation.

7.2.10.1

The Methods of Translation

This includes variational translation methods such as selected translation, edited translation, narrated translation, condensed translation, summarized translation, and even complete translation.

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7 Methods of Variational Translation

The Methods of Writing

Writing is based on the translation instead of personal creation. There are three methods of writing: first, mere addition; secondly, giving views on the content to be translated; and thirdly, providing interpretations of the text to be translated. Five possible situations are produced by integrating translation and writing: (1) Writing is more frequently used than translation. Translation is mostly concerned with the complete translation of short poems or the selected, narrated, and condensed translation of works, while writing is mostly related to appreciation and criticism. (2) Writing is less frequently used than translation. Translation is usually thickened by making comments on and interpretations of the translation. (3) Writing is conducted before translation. Writing lays the groundwork for translation and offers guidance and an introduction to it. (4) Writing is conducted after translation. Writing aims to supplement, illustrate, explain, and extend the translation previously conducted. (5) Translation or writing is conducted whenever necessary. This is an organic and flexible integration of both methods and a mixture of the four methods above. Transwriting is an approach to creating works. According to Chinese translation scholar Chen Fukang (1991), Zheng Zhenduo (1898–1958), a Chinese translator and writer, often made deletions or added personal descriptions when translating Greek mythologies instead of just translating literally. Zheng, who read widely and was erudite, selected and organized materials on the original work from an academic perspective. He attached “Basis and References” as an appendix to the two books he translated, using the method of narrated translation to indicate the sources of the narrated translation. This shows that he was not only a translator, but also a researcher. Some scholars, however, believed that Zheng’s translation of Greek mythologies was unfaithful to the original works. In 1923, The Outline of Literature by Colin Watt came out in London, which Zheng, Shen Yanbing, and other translators were planning to translate. However, after ten volumes of the series had been published, they found that the series were dedicated to readers from Britain and the United States. Focusing on Britain and the United States, the series only briefly mentioned other countries, so they could not be designated as books on the history of world literature. The translators thus gave up their translations and decided to alter them with reference to the original works. They stated in two prefaces of the series that the translation of the first volume was mainly based on the original text and that the translation of the following three volumes was hardly based on the original content. Marcy’s The History of World Literature is an important reference book. There was a translation of The History of World Literature in Chinese. Chinese scholar Chen Fukang (1991: 625), who had compared the translation with the original book written by Marcy, found that the first volume had also not been translated word-for-word. Instead, there were additions, deletions, and alterations. For example, in the first volume, the first chapter of “The Ancient Books of the

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World” has had a lot of new content added. It is not a mere description of Western literature, but an introduction with comments and unique viewpoints. Therefore, it is not accurate to simply classify this book as a mere translation or edited translation. Our translation monograph Research on Translation Variation introduces the transwriting of Wisdom: Stratagems for Usual and Unusual Moments (the first volume of Thirty-Six Stratagems) by Professor Sheng Yalv at the Institute of Comparative Law in Lausanne, Switzerland. Two years later, the second volume of the book, which totaled more than 800 pages, was published in Switzerland and Germany. Stratagems 19 to 36 were translated and the rest of the content is concerned with examples about the stratagems from different cultures and languages around the world (Huang, 2000: 317–318). The book has gained remarkable reputation as “the crystallization of human wisdom.” The first volume has been translated into more than ten languages including Chinese, English, French, Spanish, and Italian, whose circulation has reached hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. The impact is so huge that even Sun Tzu’s Art of War, which was translated completely, cannot match it. The translation of the second volume is under publication. All these data reflect a lack of market awareness of research and publicity in China.

7.2.11 Cited Translation Cited translation is a variational translation method in which methods of complete and variational translation (such as selected, edited, narrated, and condensed translation) are adopted in translation to directly take the main content or part of the content of the original work for reference. It is the application of complete translation and various methods of variational translation. Complete translation is used for reference and usually involves selecting short works. If an original work is too long, selected, edited, narrated, and condensed translation will be adopted.

7.2.11.1

Cited Translation Based on Complete Translation

Cited translation poses no limit to the number of words or pages. In principle, it is limited to part of an original work. Complete translation can be conducted if the work is short and concise. For example, it is logical to carry out complete translation for comments on short poems.

7.2.11.2

Cited Translation Based on Variational Translation

When based on variational translation, selected translation and condensed translation are most frequently used in cited translation, followed by edited translation and narrated translation. Cited translation includes both direct and indirect cited translation.

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(1) Direct cited translation directly cites the content of the original work and its variational translation form is selected translation. Selected translation may be the most convenient method for cited translation because only certain sentences or paragraphs of the original work need to be translated. (2) Indirect cited translation, which includes edited, narrated, and condensed translation, is more flexible than selected translation. The translator can boldly use the adaptation techniques of editing, narrating, and condensing to convey the essence of the original work. Separate paragraphs can be developed in the translation process. Of course, they can also be incorporated into the paragraphs that have already been developed.

References Chen, Fukang. 1991. On Zheng Zhenduo [M]. Beijing: The Commercial Press. Huang, Mei. 1995. Ulysses Came from Afar [J]. Reading Journal (4). Huang, Zhonglian. 2000. Research on Translation Variation. Beijing: China Translation and Publishing Corporation. Kubin, Wolfgang. 1997. Study on Differences (translated by Cao Weidong). Beijing: Peking University Press. Liao, Hongjun. 1987. Handbook of Chinese and Western Comparative Literature [M]. Chengdu: Sichuan People’s Publishing House. Lu, Xun. 1982. On Foreign Literature by Lu Xun. Beijing: Foreign Literature Publishing House. Wu, Deduo. 1991. Selected Literary Essays on Comparative Literature [M]. Shanghai: Academia Press. Wei, Zhengtong. 1995. On Mr Chen Rongjie’s Achievements in Popularizing Chinese Philosophy [J]. Reading journal (3). Xu, Lijuan and Huang, Qunfei. 1997. Appreciation of Diagloues of Classic Films. Wuhan: Wuhan University of Surveying and Mapping Publishing House.

Chapter 8

Hierarchy of Variational Translation

Abstract This chapter first divides the eleven methods of variational translation into two types: In one type, all the information rendered is taken from the original work, while the information is taken from within and outside of the original work in the other. The former includes selected translations, edited translations, narrated translations, condensed translations, and summarized translations, while the latter covers summarized transcomments, transcomments, altered translations, annotated translations, transwriting, and cited translations. The relationships among the eleven variational translation methods are then discussed based on the hierarchical structure of the variational translation method. Keywords Variational translation hierarchy

8.1


Variational translation method

Structure of the Variational Translation Hierarchy

The variational translation hierarchy refers to a whole that is composed of related variational translation methods that follow certain laws. Variational translation methods connecting a complete translation to a creation include selected translation, edited translation, narrated translation, condensed translation, summarized translation, summarized transcomments, transcomments, annotated translation, altered translation, transwriting, and cited translation. According to the amount of content retained in the translation, and the ways of adding new content to translations, these methods of variational translation can be grouped into two types. Type A (all information is taken from the original) includes selected translation, edited translation, narrated translation, condensed translation, and summarized translation. Type B (all information is taken from within and outside of the original) includes summarized transcomments, transcomments, altered translation, annotated translation, transwriting, and cited translation. It should be noted that Type A allows the translator to take subjective initiative within the scope of the original, and that the amount of information translated should not exceed the scope of the original, and that Type B, based on the original, © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 Z. Huang and Y. Zhang, Variational Translation Theory, New Frontiers in Translation Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9271-3_8

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allows the translator to add his or her own ideas and content until his or her own content dominates the translation, while the translated content occupies minor part of the whole translation (as in cited translation). The intersection of the two types, or the transitional zone, is located between the summarized translation and the summarized transcomment. The former method is used most frequently due to it having the greatest capacity and making full use of foreign information, while the latter is a starting point for the translator to provide some insightful comments on the basis of the summarized translation. The process from complete translation to the translator’s creation can be seen in Fig. 8.1.

8.2 8.2.1

The Relationships Among Variational Translation Methods in the Hierarchy General Relationships

In Fig. 8.1, we can see that Line AB refers to complete translation and, in the process of moving up to the creation Line CD, Line AB gradually shrinks to Line A1B1 and Line AnBn, until it reaches Point O. That is to say, from selected translation ! edited translation ! narrated translation ! condensed translation ! summarized translation, the translated part is contracted to Point O, constituting a world of variational translation within △OAB, in which the original information is the main source of the target text. From Point O to Line CD, the content of creation gradually increases through the techniques of commenting ! annotating ! altering ! writing ! citing; the creation part reaches its maximum at Line CD, and eventually becomes the translator’s creation, thus forming a world of variational translation within △OCD, in which the source information is taken from within and outside of the original. In this process, “summarizing” becomes the transit hub between translating and creating by acting as a bridge; thus, the overall relationships in the variational translation system are: Complete translation ! translating without the translators’ own creation ! summarizing without the translator’s own creation ! summarizing with the translator’s own creation ! translating with the translator’s own creation ! translator’s creation. The process from Line AB to Line CD complies with the general idea of completely absorbing ! localizing ! transcending ! developing. The history of human cultural exchange is roughly the same as this process. When first introducing foreign cultures, translators may lack an understanding of, or are concerned that they may fail to convey some information about the foreign culture, and fall back on the word-for-word translation technique. However, as translators have increasingly come to understand foreign cultures, they have developed the ability to choose to adapt the foreign culture. Therefore, translators have free rein to bring

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Fig. 8.1 The hierarchy of variational translation. In the figure, △OAB refers to Type A of variational translation, and △OCD refers to Type B of variational translation

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their subjectivity into full play to absorb and adapt the foreign culture in order to make the foreign culture more localized. Eventually, the translator’s local consciousness and subjective consciousness become more evident, which inevitably enables him or her to use different translation techniques to accomplish the translation in such a way as to make the foreign culture serve the target culture. According to Chinese and Japanese cultural researchers (see Yan 1987), there is a close relationship between Japanese waka and Bai Juyi’s poems, which were absorbed, blended, and localized by Japanese waka in Japan in three stages: Example 8.1 First stage: Bai Juyi’s poems were turned directly into Japanese waka, such as Bai’s poem Willow Twig Words: 依依袅袅复青青, 勾引春风无限情, 白雪花繁空扑地, 绿丝条下不胜莺。 A Japanese waka poet took the last line of Bai’s poem Willow Twig words in Japanese to make a waka (The following is its Chinese version). 树梢添新枝兮 吐出绿丝 莺飞来此歇兮 弱嫩不胜力 Here, the emotion and artistic conception expressed in the Japanese waka is only the image taken from one line of Bai’s poem, without any new ideas being added. When completely absorbing the image depicted in two lines of Bai’s poem Spring River, a Japanese waka reads as follows: 莺啼声声响兮 诱我花下驻 Is this an altered translation, or a new method of variational translation? This question requires further investigation. Nonetheless, the Japanese waka poet changed the form of Bai’s poems, and used Japanese rhythm and rhyme to convey the artistic conception expressed in Bai’s work, which enriched the creative experience of Japanese waka, and expanded its artistic horizons. This was the first stage of absorbing and localizing Bai’s poems via Japanese waka. In the second stage, Bai Juyi’s poems were blended with Japanese wakas. The Japanese waka poets embraced the aesthetic conceptions in Bai’s poems, and added new meanings and forms to express their subjective feelings in wakas, thus fusing the images in Japanese wakas with the original images in Bai’s poems. Bai’s poem Ode to Night in Jialing is an example. (一)露湿墙花春意深, 西廊月上半床阴。 怜君独卧无言语, 唯我知君此夜心。

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(二)不明不暗朦胧月, 不暖不寒慢慢风。 独卧空床好天气, 平明闲事到心中。 The Japanese waka poet translated Bai’s line “不明不暗朦胧月” as 明月掩其光兮 朔云驻步 春日夜来临兮 共赏朦胧 The translator took the original poetic image, and then derived another image from it and added a subjective feeling by inviting people to appreciate the moon. The original line “不明不暗朦胧月” refers to the natural state of a hazy moon in Bai’s poem but, in the Japanese waka, the poet demonstrated his/her aesthetic conception, that is, the implied meaning of the original line. This fusion approach enriched the waka poet’s creation, and enabled Bai’s poems to be localized further in Japan. In the third stage, Bai’s poems were completely localized in Japan. In this stage, the waka poets absorbed the beauty of Bai’s poems and were not limited to the artistic conception of the original poem; thus, the true feelings of the waka poets were expressed completely in the waka form, which indicates that Bai’s poems had been completely localized. The example below is a case in point: 草湿衫襟重, 沙乾屐齿轻, 仰头听鸟立, 信脚望花行。 暇日无公事, 衰年有道情, 浮生短于梦, 梦里莫营营。 A Japanese waka poet produced a waka titled “浮生短于梦”: 吾心无所倚兮, 浮悬苍穹。 梦中暂依依兮, 觉醒梦更远。 The original poem laments that youth is gone, and that life is like a dream. Although the Japanese waka poet adopted the basic tone of the original poem, he wrote of the emptiness of the mind. This reflects the essential characteristics of the Japanese psyche. The “translated poem” is not a translation of the original poem, but is more like a work created based on inspiration derived from the original, which shows that the Japanese waka poet had embarked on the literary road of Japanese national innovation or creation. The long history of Chinese and foreign cultural exchange shows that it is inevitable that the foreign culture will be copied completely at first in China, but it is unlikely that this will have lasting success. This is because a nation with a strong

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sense of cultural pride will never be overwhelmed by foreign cultural achievements. This is how France engages with foreign cultures, and the same is true of China. China’s capacity for accommodating, incorporating, and absorbing foreign cultures, and eliminating their dross can be demonstrated in the translation and absorption of Buddhist scriptures, in Yan Fu’s translation of Western classics, and in translations of Western social sciences and literary and art works before and after 1919.

8.2.2

Specific Relationships

(1) Hierarchy and Inclusion As can be seen in Fig. 8.1, the types of variational translation are self-contained; as the hierarchical level increases in each step, variational translation becomes progressively more difficult. The entire process of variational translation can be divided into several sections, which are related but qualitatively different, with certain logical relationships that are characterized by the orderliness and directionality of sequential development, which indicates that the general trend in development is from simplicity to complexity, from a low level to a high level, and from the superficial to greater depth. The △OAB refers to the variational translation methods restricted by the original, while the △OCD indicates the variational translation methods covering creation and variational translation. In general, the structural relationship among all the variational translation methods listed in Fig. 8.1 is hierarchical and inclusive, with the lower level being the foundation for the upper level. In the △OAB, the original content gradually decreases or shrinks from the bottom to the top, and the original form gradually weakens or disappears, with the translated content decreasing and summarized content increasing. For example, a summarized translation needs to adopt the methods of selected translation, edited translation, narrated translation, and condensed translation in order to summarize all the information in the original. Let us consider condensed translation as another example. In a condensed translation, the translator must first identify the core information in the original and delete redundant information that is useless to the target readers; it is sometimes necessary for the translator to narrate and condense the original information in his or her own words. Condensed translation covers narrated translation, edited translation, and selected translation. Similarly, narrated translation and edited translation cover selected translation. Positioning yourself at the bottom Line AB of △OAB, or at the top Point O, and looking at the hierarchical levels of variational translation, you will naturally obtain a clear understanding of the hierarchical and inclusive relationships among the variational translation methods within △OAB. △OCD is different from △OAB. Through the entry Point O, the translated or summarized content gradually decreases from the entry Point O to Line CD,

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and the independent writing and creation of content gradually increases, ultimately resulting in a completely new creation. In the △OCD, translation or summarization can employ any method or several of the methods included in △OAB. For example, the method of summarized transcomment must first be based on the method of summarized translation listed in △OAB, and then be followed by comments. An annotated translation can be produced not only on the basis of a complete translation plus annotation, but also via other variational translation methods listed in △OAB. A transcomment can be a comment on the complete translation, a selected translation, or a condensed translation of the original. Similarly, within △OCD, transwriting indicates that translators can include some new content in a translation via altered translation, and a cited translation can be any variational translation method listed in △OAB plus cited information taken from outside of the original. From Line AB to Line CD, the inclusive relationship is common, but not absolute, among the variational translation methods. The process from a complete translation to a translator’s independent creation is similar to overall absorption of the original to organic absorption, and then to self-innovation of the original. Creative labor is the only way for translators to develop and survive. The development of computer technology will decrease the translator’s repetitive mental workload, and his or her role in producing simple, verbatim translations will gradually disappear. Moreover, as many machines will operate automatically, translators will be set free to engage in more creative labor. If translators fail to engage in more creative productions, they will be unable to find employment. In future, less creativity will result in less value being recognized by society. The corresponding remuneration will decrease, and the social benefits will become insignificant. Therefore, the translator’s creative burden in translation tasks is becoming increasingly heavier, and each translator is bound to embark on the road from selected translation to cited translation. Below is a short example that was produced by adopting several variational translation methods. Example 8.2 [1] 网师园──位于江苏苏州市。[2] 原为南宋史正志万卷 堂故址, 号称渔隐。[3] 此园住宅以花园结合贯穿紧密, 建筑的木结构与门 窗隔扇都有精细的雕刻。[4] 园中有小山、池水、石桥、长廊等。[5] 此 园虽占地面积不大, 但亭台轩榭与池水相互衬托, 路径处处贯通, 曲折自 然, 精巧幽深。 拙政园──位于江苏苏州市。初为唐代诗人陆龟蒙的住宅。明正德年 间御史王献臣辞职回乡, 买下寺产, 改建成宅园, 后又经多次整修。除正宅 外, 园内有三十一景, 面积60亩, 水面约占五分之三, 建筑群多临水。此园 设计、布局别致而清秀, 远看重廊复阁, 山径起伏, 近看雕梁画栋, 七彩辉 映, 真乃江南特色的典型园林。 [A] Wangshi Garden, in Wuzhou, was a private residence of a Southern Song dynasty official. [B] Not large in size, it was designed to provide a feeling of serenity and seclusion with changing scenes every few steps. [C] It was typical southern style gardening exerting far-reaching influence for the

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following centuries. [D] Zouzheng Garden, like Wangshi Garden, was built even earlier in the Tang dynasty. (from Architecture Section of Chinese Culture)) The variational translation processes for the two Chinese paragraphs can be roughly described as follows: 1. After reading the two Chinese paragraphs, the translator determined the trade-off. See the underlined part in the original paragraphs (selected translation has been used here). 2. The two original paragraphs describe the southern style of gardening architecture; thus, in the English version, the second paragraph does not need to repeat that which has been described in the first paragraph. The last sentence “真乃江南特色的典型园林” (It was typical southern style gardening) is situated in the preceding paragraph, as can be seen in sentence C in the English version. Sentence 1 had been deleted before it was integrated into sentence 2 in the original. Please see the corresponding English version A. Sentence 5 in the original was also deleted, and its English version is sentence B in the English version (edited translation was used here). 3. Sentence 5, after having been selected and edited, was difficult to translate literally; thus, it was preferable to narrate it in English. Sentence B is the English version. The expression “like Wanhshi Garden” in sentence D is analogical, not specific. The word “earlier” is derived from “唐代” (the Tang Dynasty), and was compared to “南宋” (Southern Song Dynasty). The result of the comparison is narrated, which helps to delete some cumbersome descriptions (narrated translation was used here). 4. The English sentence C is the translator’s comment, except for the expression “typical southern style gardening” that was translated from the original Chinese in paragraph 2 (transcomment was used here). (2) Continuity and elasticity The continuity of variational translation can be derived via the hierarchy and inclusiveness. Continuity refers to the continual process in the various variational translation methods, including the continuity and transformation applied within them. This indicates that the major aspects of the variational translation methods are distinct from each other, which allows the translator to easily operate in translation practice. However, some variational translation methods are very difficult to distinguish. For example, the middle zone between narrated translation and condensed translation can only be judged based on the translator’s insight and translation experience. Let us take the condensed translation method as another example. In general, the target version should not exceed 1000 words in the condensed translation, but the target version may have far more words if the original is a world-renowned work, such as Tolstoy’s War

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and Peace or Joseph Needham’s Chinese Science and Technology History. What is needed here is elasticity. Elasticity varies, and can be long or short under different conditions of variational translation practice. Edited translations and summarized translations are cases in point. The former normally includes no more than five originals, while the latter usually contains no less than eight originals, and may even include up to 100 originals. Thus, the range of elasticity can be set to within six to eight originals. The other side of elasticity is manifested in the gradual process of variational translation practice; however, in variational translation practice, the sequence of variational translation methods can be adjusted. For example, in “cross-book editing” in the edited translation method, the translator incorporates the important information not only via selected translation, but also via the upper-level methods of narrated translation and condensed translation. (3) Consistency and diversity Variational translation processes exist and develop through the transformation of the process. Under the same conditions, the process and transformation of variational translations of the same kinds of originals are the same. In Fig. 8.1, we can see that the space between the complete translation (Line AB) and the creation (Line CD) is the field of variational translation practice. Line AB to Line CD is the evolutionary process from a complete inclusion of the information in the original to a completely new creation by the translator. All the functions of variational translation methods can be brought into full play within this space. Human knowledge is enriched by the exchange of different national languages, and today’s translation can become humankind’s shared wealth of tomorrow. People will no longer be aware of the existence of foreign knowledge in the practice of creation. A translator is often engaged in complete translation practice or information research at first, and gradually masters information research and development skills. After mastering these skills completely and dexterously, the translator can easily transform the skills into an art in the translation practice from selected translation to summarized translation, to transwriting and, finally, to creation. The consistency of the variational translation hierarchy is a general principle, and it is macroscopic. However, from the microscopic point of view, the specific processes in variational translation are diverse. The diversity of variational translation is complicated in terms of transformation and process, which means that the transformation and process of different original works are diversified. For example, Tolstoy’s Resurrection can be rendered in the forms of a complete translation and variational translations that adapt Resurrection as a stage play, or condense it into a short story. Furthermore, literary critics can cite some information taken from Resurrection in their writings by means of various variational translation methods. This diversity of variational translation is akin to how milk can be made into different dairy products. Fresh milk is always unhygienic if it is drunk shortly after milking; it must be processed by

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being boiled or refined, and can be made into milk powder, cheese, cream, ice cream, and so on. Based on our research, the proportion of complete translation as a traditional translation method is on the decline. In the 1990s and 2000s, complete translations, selected translations, and edited translations dominated translation practice. In the twenty-first century, the proportion of variational translation methods (including narrated translation, annotated translation, summarized translation, altered translation, annotated translation, and so on) has gradually increased. The aim is to transmit the richest information in the smallest amount of text, and to use foreign information skillfully in order to better reach the target audience. The structure of the variational translation hierarchy also reveals the direction of future developments and the developmental laws of variational translation. AnBn and CnDn represent the emergence of new variational translation method (s), and we believe that new variational translation methods will continue to emerge because vigorous variational translation practices are occurring in all walks of life across the world at present.

Reference Yan, Shaotang. 1987. The history of Sino-Japanese classical literature relations. Changsha: Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House.

Chapter 9

The Process of Variational Translation

Abstract As the system of variational translation involves the macroscopic process of variational translation, this chapter first describes and explains the macroscopic process through examples. The three types of variational translation in the microscopic process, which are translating after adapting, adapting after translating, and the integration of adapting and translating, are then exemplified and elaborated on in detail. Keywords Macroscopic process

9.1


Microscopic process
Variational translation

The Macroscopic Process of Variational Translation

In general, the macroscopic process of variational translation is a dialectical unity of the evolution of all parts in time, space, and condition. It is the overall process, including specific process or subprocess (see Fig. 9.1). As can be seen in Fig. 9.1, the macroscopic process of variational translation consists of the subprocesses extending from the target-language readers to the translator, the translator to the original, variational translation to the original, variational translation to the finished work, and the original to the finished work. The variational translation and the original are interconnected; each has its own system, with the former containing the subsystem of adaptation and translation, and the latter containing the subsystem of content and form. The macroscopic process of variational translation is a series of consistent processes transitioning from a completed process to the next process. The following example shows the English and Chinese versions of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Match-Seller. Example 9.1 The Little Match-Seller [1] It was terribly cold (1) and nearly dark on the last evening of the old year, and the snow was falling fast. (2) In the cold and the darkness, A poor little girl, © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 Z. Huang and Y. Zhang, Variational Translation Theory, New Frontiers in Translation Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9271-3_9

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9 The Process of Variational Translation AdaptaƟon (adapƟng + translaƟng) Target readers

translator Original work (content and form)

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translaƟon

Fig. 9.1 The macroscopic process of variational translation modified in accordance with Fig. 5.1

with bare head and naked feet, roamed through the streets. (3) It is true she had on a pair of slippers when she left home, but they were not of much use. They were very large, so large, indeed, that they had belonged to her mother, and the poor little creature, had lost them in running across the street to avoid two carriages that were rolling along at a terrible rate. One of the slippers she could not find, and a boy seized upon the other and ran away with it, saying that he could use it as a cradle, when he had children of his own. So the little girl went on with her little naked feet, which were quite red and blue with the cold. In an old apron she carried (4) A number of matches, and had a bundle of them in her hands. No one had bought anything of her the whole day, nor had any one given her even a penny. Shivering with cold and hunger, she. (5) crept along; poor little child, she looked the picture of misery. The snowflakes fell on her long, fair hair, which hung in curls on her shoulders, but she regarded them not. [2] Lights were shining from every window, and there was a (6) savory smell of roast goose, (7) for it was New-year’s Eve—yes, she remembered that. (8) In a corner, between two houses, one of which projected beyond the other, she sank down and (9) huddled herself together. She had drawn her little feet under her, but she could not keep off the cold; and she dared not go home, for she had sold no matches, and could not take home even a penny (10) of money. (11) Her father would certainly beat her; besides, it was almost as cold at home as here, for they had only the roof to cover them, (12) through which the wind howled, (13) although the largest holes had been stopped up with straw and rags. ‖Her little hands were almost frozen with the cold. Ah! perhaps a burning match might be some good, (14) if she could draw it from the bundle and strike it against the wall, just to warm her fingers. She drew one out“Scratch!” how (15) it sputtered as it burnt! It gave a warm, bright light, like a little candle, as she held her hand over it. ‖It was really a wonderful light. It seemed to the little girl that she was sitting by a large iron stove, (16) with polished brass feet and a brass ornament. (17) How the fire burned! And seemed so beautifully warm that the child stretched out her feet as if to warm them, when, lo! (18) The flame of the match went out, (19) the stove vanished, and she had only the (20) remains of the half- burnt match in her hand. [3] She rubbed another match on the wall. It burst into a flame, and where its light fell upon the wall it became as transparent as a veil, and she could see into the room. The table was covered with a snowy white table-cloth, on which stood a splendid dinner service, and a steaming roast goose, stuffed with apples and dried plums. And what was still more wonderful, the goose jumped down from the dish and waddled across the floor, with a knife and fork in its breast, to the

9.1 The Macroscopic Process of Variational Translation

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

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little girl. Then the match went out, and there remained nothing but the thick, damp, cold wall before her. She lighted another match, and then she found herself sitting under a beautiful Christmas-tree. It was larger and more beautifully decorated than the one which she had seen through the glass door at the rich merchant’s. Thousands of tapers were burning upon the green branches, and colored pictures, like those she had seen in the show-windows, looked down upon it all. The little one stretched out her hand towards them, and the match went out. The Christmas lights rose higher and higher, till they looked to her like the stars in the sky. Then she saw a star fall, leaving behind it a bright streak of fire. “Some one is dying,” thought the little girl, for her old grandmother, the only one who had ever loved her, and who aws now dead, had told her that when a star falls, a soul was going up to God. She again rubbed a match on the wall, and the light shone round her; in the brightness stood her old grandmother, clear and shining, yet mild and loving in her appearance. “Grandmother,” cried the little one, “O take me with you; I know you will go away when the match burns out; you will vanish like the warm stove, the roast goose, and the large, glorious Christmas-tree.” And she made haste to light the whole bundle of matches, for she wished to keep her grandmother there. And the matches glowed with a light that was brighter than the noon-day, and her grandmother had never appeared so large or so beautiful. She took the little girl in her arms, and they both flew upwards in brightness and joy far above the earth, where there was neither cold nor hunger nor pain, for they were with God. In the dawn of morning there lay the poor little one, with pale cheeks and smiling mouth, leaning against the wall; she had been frozen to death on the last evening of the year; and the New-year’s sun rose and shone upon a little corpse! The child still sat, in the stiffness of death, holding the matches in her hand, one bundle of which was burnt. “She tried to warm herself,” said some. No one imagined what beautiful things she had seen, nor into what glory she had entered with her grandmother, on New-year’s day. (Markers added by the authors of the book)

However, there is also an adapted version of The Little Matcher-Seller in the second volume of the textbook English compiled by the linguist Xu Guozhang, which is as follows: The Little Match-Seller [1] It was terribly cold on the last evening of the old year. Snow was falling fast. A poor little girl, with bare head and naked feet, was walking in the street. In an old apron she carried a bundle of matches. No one had bought anything of her the whole day, and no one had given her even a penny. She was shivering with cold and hunger。 [2] Lights were shining through every window, and there was a fine smell of roast goose in the air, and she remembered that it was New Year’s Eve. She sank

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[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

9 The Process of Variational Translation

down in a corner between two houses, tired and cold. She dared not go home, for she had sold no matches, and hadn’t even a penny to take home. Besides, it was just as cold at home, for the poor girl’s family had only the roof to cover them, and the wind howled through it. Her little hands were almost frozen. Ah, perhaps a burning match might do some good. She drew one out — “Scratch!” How it burnt! It gave a warm bright light, like a little candle, and she held her hand over it. It was really a wonderful light. It seemed to the little girl that she was sitting by a large iron stove, stretched out her feet as if to warm them, But then the match went out, and she had only the burnt match in her hands. She rubbed another match on the wall, and where the light fell, the wall became as thin as a veil, and she could see into the room of the house. There was a table covered with a snowy-white-cloth, on it were splendid dishes and a steaming roast goose. And what was still more wonderful, the goose jumped down from the table and walked across the floor, with a knife and fork in its breast, to the little girl! Then the match went out, and there remained nothing but the thick, cold wall before her. She lighted another match, and then she found herself sitting under a beautiful Christmas tree. Thousands of lights were burning upon the green branches. The girl stretched her hand towards them, and the match went out. She again rubbed a match on the wall, and the light shone round her. In the brightness stood her old grandmother, “Grandmother,” cried the little one, “take me with you. Don’t go away when the match burns out.” she lighted the whole bundle of matches one after another, for she wanted so much to be with her grandmother. The matches burned with a light that was brighter than the noonday, and her grandmother appeared more beautiful than ever. She took the little girl in her arms, and they both flew upward in brightness and joy, far above the earth, where there was neither cold, nor hunger nor pain. The next morning the poor little girl was found still, leaning against the wall; and the New Year’s sun rose and shone upon her pale face.

The Chinese variational translation of The Little Match-Seller is as follows: 卖火柴的小女孩 [1] 这是一个寒冷的除夕之夜。天正下着大雪。一个没戴帽子,光着脚丫的 穷苦小女孩正在街上走着。她的旧围裙里兜着许多火柴。一天下来,谁 也没向她买过一根火柴;谁也没给她一个铜板。她又冷又饿,哆嗦着向前 走。 [2] 家家户户的窗口都透出灯光,街上飘着一股烤鹅的香味。她想起今天是 除夕。她在两所房子的一个夹角无力地坐下,感到又累又冷。她不敢回 家,因为她没卖掉一根火柴,没给家里赚到一个铜板。再说,家里也是一样 的冷。他们家什么也没有,头上就是屋顶,风可以从屋顶上吹进来。 [3] 她那双小手快要冻僵了。唉!哪怕一根火柴也能暖暖呀。她抽出一根,哧, 划着了,火冒出来了!就象一支小小的蜡烛。这根燃烧的火柴给她带来了 光明和温暖。她把手放在上面取暖。

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[4] 这真是一道美丽的火光。小姑娘觉得自己仿佛坐在一个大铁炉旁。她刚 刚伸出双脚,想暖和一下,火焰忽然熄灭了,手里只有一根燃烧过的火柴。 [5] 她又在墙上擦着了一根,被照亮的那堵墙变得薄纱一般透明,她可以看见 屋里的东西:有一张桌子,桌上铺着雪白的台布,上面放着精美的佳肴和冒 着香气的烤鹅。更美妙的是,这只鹅从桌子上跳下来,胸脯上带着刀子和 叉子,朝小姑娘走过来。这时火柴熄灭了,眼前只留下一堵又厚又冷的 墙。 [6] 她又划着一根。现在她发现自己坐在一棵漂亮的圣诞树下。绿树枝上燃 烧着成千上万支蜡烛。小姑娘把手伸过去,火柴熄灭了。 [7] 她在墙上又擦了一根火柴。火柴把四周都照亮了,在光亮中老奶奶出现 了。“奶奶!”小姑娘喊道,“带上我吧!火柴灭了也别离开我。”她把所有的 火柴一根接一根地都划着了,因为她非常想和奶奶呆在一起。这些火柴 放出强烈的火芒,照得比大白天还要亮。奶奶显得比以前更美丽。她把 小姑娘抱在怀里,在光明和快乐中飞走了,越飞越高,一直飞到没有寒冷,没 有饥饿,也没有痛苦的地方去了。 [8] 第二天早晨,人们发现这个可怜的小女孩还坐在那个墙角里。新年的太 阳升起来了,阳光照在她惨白的脸上。 (许国璋《英语》(附:自学辅导)第二册,外研社,1992,287页) We can identify the use of adaptation techniques after analyzing the complete translation and the variational translation in English, as well as the variational translation in Chinese. As this section mainly describes and explains the macro-process of variational translation from a macro-perspective, let us analyze the process of variational translation via the backward induction method.

9.1.1

The Adaptations from the Original to the Variational Translation Versions

The adaptations in the first two paragraphs of the completed translation in the English version are as follows: (1) The meaning of the deleted part is presented in the content following “evening of the old year.” (2) Some unnecessary descriptions have been deleted in the preceding part, since the setting of a cold night has been introduced. (3) The narration of “barefoot,” interspersed with flashbacks, has been deleted because it is subordinate. (4) “[A] number of matches, and had a bundle of them in her hands” was condensed to “a bundle of matches,” transforming redundancy into conciseness. (5) There is no need to describe her “miserable” condition or her beauty because they are obvious. (6) The marked words have been replaced by “fine,” and “roamed through” has been replaced by “was walking in.” The replacements make the translation simple and easy for children to understand.

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(7) The clause of cause has been changed into a simple sentence: “[S]he remembered that it was New Year’s Eve.” This sentence highlights the figure and streamlines the structure. (8) The redundant clause “one of which projected beyond the other” was deleted to make the sentence concise. (9) “Tired and cold” are appropriate alternatives. (10) “Of money” is redundant information. (11) It is obvious that she did not go home because it was almost as cold at home as on the street, and she wished to avoid her strict father. Therefore, this part has been deleted. (12) Changing to “the wind howled through it” is a better choice, since the use of sentences that are less complex is a linguistic feature of fairy tales. (13) The concessive clause is not appropriate for the word “howled.” (14) The word “perhaps” can indicate a person’s assumptions; thus, this part is redundant. (15) As the word “burnt” contains the meaning of “sputter,” “sputter” was deleted for conciseness. (16) Mentioning “stove” is sufficient because the features and functions of stoves are almost the same in both cultures. (17) Exclamations are not needed here, and a direct description of the girl warming herself by a fire when she sat next to the stove is acceptable. (18) Using the word “match” is more direct. (19) The virtual scenes were deleted and the real ones preserved. (20) Retaining “burnt match” is sufficient. The variational translation of The Little Match-Seller is achieved through these adaptations, and becomes succinct and concise. Xu Guozhang’s comment on this version is that “the style of writing is beautiful and it’s worth learning by heart” (1992: 183). If we do not consider indirect translation, the Chinese version can also be regarded as a condensed translation of the original. We find that, by comparison, the translator has pruned the redundant information and rendered the content more prominent and concise in order to make the original more suitable for children to read.

9.1.2

The Adopted Adaptation Techniques and Variational Translation Methods

With regard to the complete translation, the numbered parts of the English original are analyzed as follows: (1) The deletion line marked in the text clearly accounts for a considerable proportion. (2) The underscored parts indicate paraphrasing.

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(3) The parts with wavy lines represent condensation. (4) Double vertical lines indicate a new line and a separate paragraph. This paragraph is set by the translator according to its meaning: (5) Double underlining indicates the replacement of archaic or unfamiliar words (or phrases) with commonly used words. (6) The underlined parts denote structural readjustments or alterations by means of the integrating technique. The variational translation methods used are as follows: (1) is selected translation, (2) is narrated translation, (3) is condensed translation, (4) is edited translation, (5) is altered translation, and (6) is edited translation. Based on the analysis, we can see that five adaptation techniques have been used, with deleting being the dominant technique and editing, narrating, condensing, and altering as supplemental techniques. Therefore, the Chinese version of The Little Match-Seller can be labeled as a variational translation or selected translation.

9.1.3

The Reasons for Applying Adaptation Techniques

One possible reason that Xu Guozhang chose The Little Match-Seller as the reading material in the second volume is because it is suitable for students who have only learned approximately 2000 words. After having been adapted, this version is easy for beginners to read because unfamiliar words have been translated into plain words, and the length is now appropriate. The language in this version has been made smooth, clear, and plain and the information has been concentrated, thus rendering it suitable material for teaching purposes. Another possible reason that the translator deleted parts and modified the text was to meet the needs of the target readers, particularly of child readers in English-speaking countries. The translator divided the second paragraph into three paragraphs because children find it easier to read shorter paragraphs.

9.2

The Microscopic Process of Variational Translation

Variational translation can be divided into “variation” and “translation.” “Variation” means adaptation and “translation” means language transformation. The combination of the two results in three approaches, namely translating after adapting, adapting after translating, and the combination of adapting and translating.

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9.2.1

9 The Process of Variational Translation

Translating After Adapting

Translating after adapting means that the original is adapted and then translated. As deleting and editing are two major adaptation techniques, typical examples of translating after adapting are selected translations and edited translations. This type of variational translation can be accomplished relatively easily. An example is Xu Guozhang’s inclusion of Guo Moruo’s poems as pronunciation training material in the textbook English. For example, Example 9.2 The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, The lowing herd wind slowly o’er the lea. The ploughman homeward plods his weary way, And leaves the world to darkness, and to me.

Thomas Gray (1716–1771) 暮钟鸣,昼已暝, 牛羊相呼,纡回草径, 农人荷锄归,蹒跚而行, 把全盘的世界剩给我与黄昏。

(郭沫若 译) (许国璋《英语》(附:自学辅导)第四册,外研社,1992,165页 Xu Guozhang selected the British poet Thomas Gray’s poem Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. This section was taken from the first of the 32 sections in this poem, while the Chinese version was taken from Mo Ruo Yi Shi Ji (A Collection of Poems Translated by Guo Moruo). Guo’s translation of this part also presents a picture of returning home at twilight, and brings a song titled Mu Gui (Returning Home at Dusk) to the minds of Chinese readers. The Chinese lyrics are “He Ba Chu Tou Zai Jian Shang, Mu Gui De Lao Niu Shi Wo Tong Ban” (in English, the two lines mean “shoulder a hoe, and go home with the cattle at dusk”).

9.2.2

Adapting After Translating

This refers to the process of translating the work and then adapting it. The adaptation technique of adding, which is easy to identify in translation, is used frequently. For example, in the appreciation of foreign poetry, the translator first translates the original and then adds comments; similarly, in reports of foreign news, relevant background knowledge is often added. In other situations,

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variational translation methods such as selected translation, edited translation, narrated translation, and condensed translation are applied first, followed by the adaptation technique of adding. Example 9.3 2.3 Brown说,研究语言不能不建立假说,把若干假说汇为一体;这 就成为语言模型(linguistic model)。模型越能逼真地复制那可以观察到的语言 行为,模型的结构就越能正确反映语言的结构。模型可以用来研究真人实有 的行为。可以测试假说的是非正误,也可以解释各种语言现象。但是模型如 何建立,分为多少个部分,彼此有何关系,这些都由建立模型者自定,因此语言学 理论大部分就是阐述为什么建立模型和如何建立模型的。 Brown认为,应该把语言能力和交际能力分开,语言能力是由句法能力、语 义能力和语音能力组成的(53页)。 按:Brown在本书内用语未免混乱。在29页,他把语言能力分为语法、语 义、语音三部分;在53页,他却把语言能力分为“句法”、语义、语音三部分。 这就是说,他虽然批评Chomsky,但是在使用术语方面,有时已不知不觉地跟着 Chomsky走了。 (Quoted from Wang Zongyan. See Foreign Linguistics, No.1,1986) There are three paragraphs in Example 9.3. Wang applied condensed translation to Sect. 2.3 of the original text to form the first paragraph, which introduces the basic information in this section. He also chose to translate some content pertaining to the classification of language competence (on p. 53 of the original text), which formed the second paragraph, and commented on the second paragraph in the third paragraph using his own words. The combination of comments, condensed translation, and selected translation not only gives readers an overall picture of this section, but also allows the readers to understand the key points.

9.2.3

The Integration of Adapting and Translating

The integration of adapting and translating accounts for a larger proportion than translating after adapting or adapting after translating does. Integration is manifested in the combination of narrated translation, condensed translation, summarized translation, summarized transcomment, transwriting, annotated translation, and cited translation. Example 9.4 WORDS LIKE FREEDOM There are words like Freedom Sweet and wonderful to say. On my heartstrings freedom sings All day every day. There are words like Liberty

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That almost make me cry. If you had known what I know You would know why.

WARNING Negroes, Sweet and docile, Meek, humble, and kind: Beware the day They change their mind! Wind In the cotton fields, Gentle breeze: Beware the hour It uproots trees!

Langston Hughes (1902–1967) 第一首:诗人自言:听到“自由”一词便忍不住要哭。为什么哭?最后两行作了 回答:你如果吃过我所吃的苦头,你就会懂得我为什么要哭。 第二首:别看黑肤的人们这样驯服,谦虚,恭顺。小心!总有一天,他们的思想 要变!小心棉田里的和风,会把树连根拔起。作者Langston Hughes, 美国黑人作 家, 写小说, 戏剧, 也写诗。他的诗写黑人的遭遇,富于音乐美。 (许国璋《英语》(附:自学辅导)第四册, 外研社, 1992, 26–27页) The first paragraph in Chinese paraphrases the content of the first poem, and the first half of the second paragraph in Chinese paraphrases the content of the second poem. These two paragraphs are a combination of adapting and translating. The second half of the second paragraph first introduces the author and the genre, and concludes with the addition of a comment. This comment is not only an evaluation of all the poet’s works, but is also an evaluation of the two poems. The following is Xu Guozhang’s introduction to Lesson 4, titled “The dog must die!” in the textbook English: Example 9.5 在这个短篇里,作者写出了一个正直的劳动妇女形象。Maggie是 设在工厂附近的一家小咖啡店的女侍。丈夫去世后,她要养活一家七口人。 她善良肯干,工人们都爱她。一天,富家的狗咬伤了她的儿子,按照法律,可以把 狗除掉,但主人想出一笔钱把狗保住。钱一加再加,Maggie 不为所动,坚持要除 掉这条狗——不是报复,而是为了儿童和成人免遭伤害。围绕着狗案的处理, Maggie的形象跃然纸上。 全文一千字,语言流畅,是极好的作品。 (许国璋《英语》(附:自学辅导)第四册,外研社, 1992, 277页)

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This is an example of transcomment with translation exceeding comment. In the first paragraph, all the sentences except the last one has been produced via the condensed translation method, and the last sentence is a comment on the characterization of the maid. The second paragraph is a comment on the language of the original. The following is an example of international publicity: Example 9.6 [1] 中国的文房用具,一直受到极大的重视。由于各个时代的统治者,往往都 是文人,出于他们对文化的深刻理解,对文房用具的理解,从而推动了文 房用具的发展。使它们在很早的时候,就从某种实用工具变为了赏用兼 具的艺术品了。 [2] “文房四宝”只是一个概称。泛指笔、墨、纸、砚。有时则专指“湖笔、 徽墨、宣纸、端砚”。 [3] 其实,除纸墨笔砚外,文房中还有许多用品。如印章、笔筒、书镇、印泥 及盒,乃至刀削、水滴、笔洗等。明时有人将文房中有关用品列了一份 清单,竟有四十余种。这表明,文人对自己的文房用具已达到了非常讲 究、非常“专业化”的程度。 [4] 中国迄今发现最早的毛笔实物为战国时期的“楚笔”。战国时长沙属楚 国,故此得名。这支笔用上好的兔箭毛制成,笔杆为圆竹条,用细小的丝 线缠住笔头与笔杆,外面涂漆加以固定。它做工精良,是一件难得的文 物。 [A] Traditional Chinese stationery includes Chinese ink brush, rice paper, ink stick and slab, known as scholar’s four jewels. [B] Cherished by men of letters of the past generations, the stationery has been developed into something both practical and enjoyable. [C] Some have even become important cultural relics. (from Stationery Section of Chinese Culture) The first step in variational translation is deletion. The underlined parts of Example 11.6 have all been deleted; [A] is the result of the selected translation of the Chinese paragraph [2]; [B] is the outcome of deletion and the narration of the Chinese paragraph [1], while [C] is an added part which is translator’s own wordings.

Chapter 10

The Mechanism of Variational Translation

Abstract This chapter explores the mechanism of variational translation. Based on the simplified figure of the variational translation system in this chapter, it can be concluded that the mechanism takes five aspects into account: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

Target readers restrict the translator’s choices; The translator determines the adaptation techniques; The adaptation techniques consist of variational translation methods; The adaptation techniques have an effect on the original work; and The form of the original work may change depending on the inclusion of content.

Keywords Mechanism of variational translation techniques Inclusion of content





Target readers
Adaptation

The mechanism of variational translation refers to the process and mode of interaction among the components of the variation translation system. In order to explore the mechanism of variation translation, the figure showing the variational translation system in Chap. 5 is simplified as follows: (Fig. 10.1).

10.1

Target Readers Restrict the Translator’s Choices

With reference to the variational translation system, we know that the subject of variational translation is different from that of complete translation. The former’s subjects include the translator and the target readers, and the latter only the translator, who belongs to a single-subject system. The single subject in complete translation mainly considers himself/herself, and seldom takes target readers into account when translating. In variational translation, the translator and the target readers constitute a two-subject system, which is a subsystem of the variational translation system. In the subsystem, the appropriateness of the translator’s © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 Z. Huang and Y. Zhang, Variational Translation Theory, New Frontiers in Translation Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9271-3_10

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D original work

E variaonal translaon work

C variaonal translaon

B translator

A target reader

Fig. 10.1 Simplified variational translation system based on Fig. 5.1

decisions depends not only on how she/he treats the original, but also on whether she/he really understands how to meet the target readers’ demand for the original information. If there are more than two subjects, such as when an editor is temporarily involved in the variational translation practice, the translation process becomes more complex because the editor will often make some alterations to the contributed translations. Editors frequently make these kinds of alterations out of consideration for the target readers. The editor’s alterations are justified because s/ he is also the first reader of the translator’s translation. How well the translation is done is one thing, and how well the task is done is another. The former does not equal the latter. What the translator does is relevant to the translation circle, while whether the target readers are satisfied with the translated version is not. It is the choice of adaptation techniques within variational translation that determines whether the version is popular with the target readers, and the translator’s choice of adaptation technique depends on the purposes of translation, including by whom the version is used, how it is to be used, what effect the version should achieve, and so on. On the evening of October 28, 2000, the central national orchestra performed a high-level Chinese folk concert at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris. Western music and Chinese folk music can be likened to Western food and Chinese food in terms of having different flavors that suit different tastes. How to introduce Chinese folk music to foreign countries in an appropriate way has become a key issue. Chen Xieyang, the orchestra’s conductor, believed that Chinese culture should be introduced with well-designed forms and artistic language that could be understood easily by Westerners. How can Beijing Opera be adapted to French taste? According to past practice, one should choose a plot that includes more martial arts and less singing and monologues. However, the play “Female generals from Yang’s Family” was put on stage in this performance. Before and during the performance, the translator used various forms of narration to explain the plot and the characteristics of Beijing Opera, which gave the target audience a better understanding of the plot, thus making the performance a success.

10.2

10.2

The Translator Determines the Adaptation Techniques

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The Translator Determines the Adaptation Techniques

The above-mentioned example also shows that translators should adopt corresponding flexible adaptation techniques according to the actual needs of the target audience. If the lyrics and monologues of the Beijing Opera were to be translated in their entirety, the result would be accurate, but would not necessarily lead to a successful performance. Beijing Opera is a comprehensive art, which includes components such as drama, singing, music, dance, and martial arts. These components constitute this unique art form. In fact, only one-fifth of the plot of “Female generals from Yang’s Family” is sung. If the five components of Beijing Opera were to be presented to a foreign audience simultaneously, the plot would be difficult for the audience to understand. Therefore, a brief introduction to the plot prior to the performance will help the audience to understand the plot. From this example, we can see that target readers influence the translator’s choice of adaptation techniques; the translator then employs adaptation techniques such as adding, deleting, editing, narrating, condensing, integrating, and altering to translate the original work. Yan Fu was a master of variational translation who was able to use all seven adaptation techniques skillfully. He adopted adaptation techniques to translate the work of Evolution and Ethics by Huxley (1893). During China’s crisis and the decrease in national strength in the late Qing dynasty (1636–1912), Yan Fu, as a translator and thinker, had to employ adaptation techniques to absorb foreign political ideas in order to improve China’s social governance and to meet the needs of the target readers. For example, Yan Fu’s Chinese version, titled On Evolution, is a selected translation of the Prologue and main text of volume 9 of Evolution and Ethics by Huxley. After selecting volume 9, Yan Fu re-organized the selected parts and added titles, which indicates that he employed the editing technique. There are no unfamiliar expressions in the translated version, and the translation is narrated in Yan Fu’s own words, which shows that he used the narrating technique. In the Chinese version of On Evolution and Ethics, Yan Fu inserted brief narrations of the ideas of Darwin, Spencer, Malthus, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Epicurus, which indicates that he used the condensing technique. After applying adaptation techniques such as selecting, editing, narrating, and condensing to translate the original, Yan Fu adopted a critical position to comment on the translated content. Yan Fu also made some alterations to the original, and sometimes replaced examples considered unsuited to the Chinese social context with new examples. This kind of adaptation technique is called the altering technique. In the article “Memoirs of an Amateur Translator” (see Wang Shoulan, 1989: 32-33), Chinese translator Wang Zuoliang said that he once chose Corbett’s essay “A Journey on Horseback” to translate with selected translation method. He liked the essay, which contains beautiful descriptions of scenery and records of people’s

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sufferings, which caused the essay to resemble a landscape painting, and a kaleidoscope of the refugee experience. The essay was hailed as an excellent example of English prose due to its straightforward and idiomatic expressions. Wang selected a number of distinctive sections of the essay and translated them in an attempt to convey the personality of the author and politician. The reason that Wang adopted the selecting technique to translate the essay was that he found the content and characteristics of the selected sections extremely attractive. From this example, we can infer that the employment of adaptation techniques is the result of the integration of the target readers’ demands and the translator’s desire.

10.3

Adaptation Techniques Constitute the Variational Translation Method

Seven adaptation techniques constitute eleven variational translation methods. See Chap. 7 for details. It is well known that condensing translations has become usual practice in international conferences; this requires interpreters to reorganize the translations of speeches beforehand based on the time limit for a speech and the priority of certain information. If the translator does not condense the translation conscientiously, the speech content will be redundant and the speech will exceed the time limit. Under such circumstances, the chairperson must remain patient until the redundant speech ends; when it does, the chairperson usually requests the translator or interpreter to condense the redundant speech to fit into the given time limit. During the process of condensing, the important content is selected for translation and the unimportant or redundant information is deleted. In such a situation, what the translator or interpreter will adopt is the adaptation technique of deleting, and the adapted translation falls into the category of selected translation. It can be concluded that interpretation is the easiest way to adopt adaptation techniques in translation practice. Any irrelevant and redundant words will take up communication time and decrease the effectiveness of communication at an international conference. Therefore, interpreters are generally required to be flexible in the use of more than ten types of variational translation methods by taking part in regular training programs and gradually developing a good command of adaptation techniques. Translated works demonstrate the traces of variational translation methods most clearly. German writers have a keen interest in ancient Chinese poetry, as evidenced by the numerous translations of Li Bai’s Thoughts in the Silent Night. In 1890, the German impressionist writer Bilbaum produced an altered translation of Thoughts in the Silent Night. When his altered translation is re-translated into Chinese, the Chinese version of his translation is as follows:

10.3

Adaptation Techniques Constitute the Variational Translation Method

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月光明亮地躺卧在我的床前, 地上似乎布满白雪。 我抬起我的头,月亮清澈皎洁。 我低下我的头, 我思念你, 乡村,你是我小小的故乡。

In the Chinese back-translation, we can see that, in Bilbaum’s altered translation, the concealed “I” in the original was highlighted in the German version, the philosophical reason for which, according to Wei Maoping (1996: 307), is that Westerners emphasize the human being as being independent of nature, while Orientals still regard humans as part of nature. This is why the author of the Chinese poem deleted “I,” and the German translator added it. In addition, in the German version, Bilbaum concretized the “hometown” as a “village.” The naturalist movement originated in France, and was introduced to Germany by the German writers, the Hart brothers. Julius Hart produced an altered translation of Li Bai’s Thoughts in the Silent Night in 1894. When his altered translation is re-translated into Chinese, the Chinese version of his translation is as follows: 在我床前月亮洒下了最明闪亮的光芒。 在那地上闪烁着的是洁白清新的晨光? 我抬头凝视月亮; 我低头思念我的故乡。

In the Chinese version, we can see that, in Hart’s altered translation, “Frost” has been changed to be “white and fresh morning light” which, according to Wei Maoping, shows that the translator attached great importance to the change of light and color, and to the literary style of naturalism. In this version, we can see the evolution of the reception of Chinese literature; that is, the translator brought his subjectivity into full play during his translation of Chinese literature. Different translators use different adaptation techniques. In addition to Julius Hart’s altered translation of Li Bai’s Thoughts in the Silent Night in 1894, the German writer and representative of impressionist literature, Demer, translated the poem in another way in the same year. The following is the back-translated Chinese version of his translation: 我床前地板上 是明亮的月光; 我似乎觉得 晨光已经 落在门槛, 我双眼疑惑。 我抬头看去, 看到一轮明月,

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在高处闪光。 我低下 低下我的头 思念我的故乡

Julius Hart and Demer were from two different schools of poetry genre, as the former changed the Chinese pentatonic poetry into four lines and the latter into twelve lines. We can judge the proficiency of the adaptations by comparing the two versions. Hart’s version sounds clumsy and the language does not flow smoothly, while Demer’s version is lively, concise, and has a sense of rhythm. Furthermore, Hart’s version stresses the precise description of the scene, while Demer’s version highlights the expression of subjective impression. The reason for the differences in their versions is that different literary perspectives had different attitudes toward the original, which resulted in different variational translation styles.

10.4

Adaptation Techniques Have an Effect on the Original

Once the variational translation method has been established, variational translation enters the implementation phase. Different adaptation techniques can have different impacts on the original. For example, if selected translation method is used, the translator should select or delete some of the information in the original. In edited translation method, the translator should reorganize and process the information in the original. With regard to transcomments method, the translator should make some comments while translating the original, or provide a summary of comments upon completing the translation. These examples illustrate that adaptation techniques have an impact on the information in the original version, as well as on the form or style thereof. In the preface or postscript of their variational translation works, many translators explain the process of how they applied the adaptation techniques intentionally or unintentionally. For example, in the preface to the book I’m a woman (American volume), the compiler Qian Mansu (1995) stated that “due to the space limit of the book, we had to delete some contents of some long novels. If readers are interested in reading the full translations, please refer to the list of translated works in the appendix.” Works by 39 writers are included in I’m a woman (American volume); the works of 11 of the writers have been translated using the deleting technique. The length of the content of the works varies from thousands of words to a few dozen words. It is the desired length of the text and the target readers’ needs that lead the translator to select adaptation techniques, such as deleting and condensing, to render the original content. When discussing the translation criteria “Similarity in Spirit” and “Similarity in Form,” Wang Shoulan (1989: 571) said that Poems of China’s Tang Dynasty was

10.4

Adaptation Techniques Have an Effect on the Original

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published in France in 1862; it is regarded as the earliest French translation of Chinese poetry, and is assumed to have been translated from a priest’s Latin version, not directly from the Chinese original. Each poem was translated as explanatory prose that conveyed the meaning faithfully, but the style of the poems was lost. Another example is the following: A poor Chinese man of letters once interpreted Chinese poems for a Frenchman on the streets of Paris; the Frenchman recorded the information from the interpreter, and rewrote the verses as French poems. Although these French poems have a strong flavor of French poetry, nothing of the Chinese poetry style was retained. The French translator adopted the altering technique to change the form of the Chinese poems; we could also say that the French translator adopted the narrating technique to narrate the poems’ meanings in French in the style of French poetry, which means that the resulting poems are quite different from the Chinese poems in terms of form and style.

10.5

Form Change Depends on the Inclusion of Content

Variational translation is a translation activity that incorporates relevant content from the original work. This incorporation results in the disruption of the original content and form, and the original form varies due to the changed content. There are two relationships governing content inclusion and form change. First, the same content as in the original can be presented in different forms in the context of the target language. As seen in the example of the Chinese poem that was translated in France in the previous section, a poem can also be translated in the form of prose. Second, the inclusion of content varies with people, time, and place; these are active factors that can change easily, while the form is relatively stable. The content changes, then the form will change accordingly. The following example of Chinese-to-English translation is a case in point: Example 10.1 茶礼和茶俗是中国茶文化的一个重要内容。寻常之家的茶礼 分祭祀茶礼和敬客茶礼。古人对祭祀十分重视。在先秦时期,祭祀活动与军 事活动并列为国家的两件大事。古时的人把死去的人当活着的人对待,认为 活人的一切日常活动,人死后在另一个世界也同样活动。人间少不了茶,死后 也应照常饮用,故千百年来,形成了独特的茶祭。中国人客来敬茶,为什么作为 一种礼呢?因为,敬茶不但茶质要好、水质要净、茶具要洁、冲茶有度、而且 端茶有礼。古时送茶,用茶托,手指不及盏边。茶至客人面前,主人从仆人手中 或从茶盘中接过茶盏,双手捧到客人身边的茶几上说:“请喝茶”、“请用茶”。 客人要站起微微欠身,回答:“谢谢”。南方喝工夫茶。斟茶以后,主人端起的第 一杯茶,恭恭敬敬地先献给座上最年长者。敬后,其他客人才可举杯向主人致 敬,并表谢意。敬茶注水,也要有礼貌。注水不能满杯,满杯烫水外溢,往往使客 人受窘,是失礼的。给客人添水,不能等客人把茶喝干,否则是对客人的一种怠 慢。佛教寺院的茶礼,有敬佛、待客和茶禅三个方面。佛堂上用茶供佛。一 杯清茶数盏果品,这是每天一大早在佛面前敬供的茶水,在仪规中称“茶汤”。

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僧人坐禅,分六个阶段。每个阶段结束,寺院监值都要“打茶”,行茶五匝,以及提 神。 Tea serves many purposes in China. The way it served used to be a social etiquette and a religious sacrifice. There were rules on when, how, where and to whom to serve what kind of tea. Now people just drink tea for its own sake. (from Tea Art Section of Chinese Culture) Although Chinese tea ceremony is not as famous as Japanese tea ceremony, it is also replete with connotations. It is a pity that the sentence “Tea serves many purposes in China” in the version above summarizes China’s tea ceremony and tea etiquette very roughly. The social tea ceremony and the temple tea ceremony are summarized in the translated sentences 2 and 3. Therefore, the first three sentences are condensed translations of the original text, and the form and length of the translation have been reduced to about one-third of the original text. In addition, the last sentence in the translation has been added, and does not exist in the original. Therefore, the English version is an example of the variational translation type of transwriting. The added sentence in the English version explains the purpose of drinking tea in China to foreign readers. This sentence is a supplement in terms of the content and form of the original, and the translator’s motivation was to give a foreign audience a comprehensive understanding of the traditional customs involved in Chinese tea culture and the real lives of Chinese people. However, as the layout space in the English version is limited, the translator has had to abstract the connotations and procedures of tea drinking in China repeatedly, which inevitably decreases the Chinese cultural connotations. This is an example of unsuccessful variational translation.

References Qian, Mansu. 1995. I Am a Woman (American Volume) [C]. Shijiazhuang: Hebei Education Press. Wei, Maoping. 1996. A History of China’s Influence on German Literature [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.

Chapter 11

The Special Effects of Variational Translation

Abstract This chapter elaborates on the special effects of variational translation according to five aspects: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

Abundance: This refers to large amounts of information, Swiftness: This refers to the rapid dissemination of information, Excellence: This refers to the high quality of the information, Economization: This refers to saving time and space in translation, and Preciseness: This refers to the precise positioning of information.

These five special effects show the advantages of using variational translation in reconstructing human knowledge and advancing cross-cultural communication and the spread of information, as well as in distinguishing variational translation from complete translation.







Keywords Special effects Variational translation Cross-cultural communication

The special effects of variational translation, which are generated during the process of variational translation and are completely different from those of complete translation, depend on the nature of variational translation. To some extent, complete translation consists of micro-activities, while variational translation consists of macro and micro-activities. In general, the special effects of variational translation, having a definite objective, tend to incorporate foreign information in a better, faster, and more economical way. Specifically, the special effects include large amounts of and condensed information that is of a high quality and is strongly pertinent, which can save time for the target readers and disseminate information among them quickly. The special effects of variational translation can be summarized in five words: abundance, swiftness, excellence, economization, and preciseness. Detailed discussions are presented in the following sections of this chapter.

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 Z. Huang and Y. Zhang, Variational Translation Theory, New Frontiers in Translation Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9271-3_11

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11.1

The Special Effects of Variational Translation

Abundance: Large Amounts of Information

Abundance refers to large amounts of desired information which results from increasing the ratio of information capacity to carriers of translated work. There are three ways to increase the proportion of information spread, which are similar to increasing the concentration of liquids, namely (1) to discharge a solvent, (2) to extract a solvend, and (3) to add a solvend. (1) To discharge a solvent By “to discharge a solvent,” we mean that, when encountering the original work, which does not have to be overly long, the translator has the right to delete some parts of the original work in the interests of the target readers. If some unwanted or redundant information is deleted in the selected translation, there will be fewer words and more necessary information, which will increase the proportion of useful information. If the selected translation is far from satisfactory, and is still not concise in terms of expression and structure, adaptation techniques such as editing, narrating, condensing, and integrating are needed. After adopting these adaptation techniques to accomplish the selected translation, the translator excludes the redundant information and highlights the useful information for the target readers. (2) To extract a solvend When part of a solvent is extracted, the proportion of the remaining solvend increases significantly. The remaining solvend may need to be reduced further to expel impurities. This means that the content becomes more refined, which is one of the functions of edited translation, narrated translation, and so on. Let us now compare the reports from the media in China and abroad when Dai Xianglong, the former president of the People’s Bank of China, met the press in the first session of the 9th National People’s Congress:Congress: Example 11.1 Chinese report by a Chinese reporter 记者问: 今年固定资产增长率能否达到百分之十以上? 戴相龙答:国家计划固定资产的投资在1998年增长百分之十以上。在执行 中有可能比这个比例还要高一些。在东南亚出现金融危机以后, 中国更需 要扩大内需, 来促进开发国内市场。中国居民储蓄额很高, 每年增加8000 亿元左右。所以, 扩大内需是有条件的。我们将加快在建工程的建设速 度, 同时适当加大企业技术改造的力度。我们利用生产资料价格比较低、 富余劳力比较多的优势, 扩大对公路、铁路、环保以及基础设施建设方面 的投资。其中很重要的一条, 我们将在居民住房方面增加更多的投资。例 如, 今年要修改个人住房贷款的抵押办法, 使个人住房贷款有成倍的增 长。但我们同时也要注意坚持市场原则、有效益的原则, 防止出现重复建 设, 其资金来源主要是建设单位自有资金、自筹资金或者发行债券, 同时 将增加贷款。当然, 银行贷款要严格遵循贷款原则, 不支持积压产品和重 复建设, 避免产生新一轮的通货膨胀。

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Abundance: Large Amounts of Information

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Chinese version of an English report by the Associated Press 他说, 为了平稳渡过这场危机, 中国将开发自己庞大、但落后的、有着13 亿人口的市场, 但同时并不准备采取使人民币贬值这样的措施, 因为这样 做可能会破坏其它方面的形势。 戴相龙在记者招待会上说, 这是像中国这样一个大国应该负起的道义上的 责任。 戴相龙说, 今年固定资产投资投入在基础设施如公路和港口的建设上、居 民住房和工厂等方面的增长率将高达15%。 Chinese version of an English report by Reuters 中国人民银行行长戴相龙今天说, 中国将在三年内投资1万亿元, 通过增加 开支摆脱经济增长趋缓的局面, 避免亚洲金融危机。 戴许诺要从银行系统中抽出更多的资金投入基本建设项目。 戴在一年一度的人大会议举行的新闻发布会上说: “ (特别是) 在东南亚出 现金融危机之后, 中国更需要扩大内需, 来促进开发国内市场。”. (引自杨玲, 1999: 303–304)The main idea behind Dai Xianglong’s answer was to boost investments and tap into the domestic market. The total number of words in the reports presented by China, the United States, and the UK were 368, 167, and 144, respectively. While the Chinese report is faithful to the original, the foreign reports tend to be more concise and to the point, and include additional information. The Associated Press’s expression is colloquial, does not include jargon, and adds some essential background information. For example, those who do not know much about China are able to understand the definition of the market and construction in the process. Reuters provided a more detailed description, such as investing one trillion RMB over three years, while the Associated Press stated a specific percentage (15%), which indicates that it not only reported what the president of bank had said, but also added some information about China acquired from daily life. In the above analysis, we can see that correspondents who put less energy and time into their research and lacked the ability to extract information could not produce simple, concise reports; in contrast, foreign correspondents were able to produce succinct reports by understanding the essence of China’s domestic financial policy and drawing on the target readers’ knowledge to meet their readers’ demands. (3) To increase a solvend The above the example actually includes two types of variational translation, namely annotated translation and transwriting. Even if the original work has undergone a complete translation, it is still highly condensed. However, the target readers probably do not understand the meanings; thus, its user value cannot be achieved. If the translator adds some explanations or relevant background, the amount of useful information will increase.

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When several related texts are translated using variational translation methods, such as edited translations, summarized translations, and narrated translations, the amount of information and the length both increase in the target text, but the incremental length is always less than is that of information. The length of the final translated text, compared with several or dozens of texts, is reduced dramatically, while the proportion of useful information surges. Dr. Li Yongquan, the Guangming Daily’s correspondent in Moscow, once said that, when reporting on a certain event, selected translation and edited translation were often employed; when presenting in-depth reports (e.g., the sinking of the Kursk submarine), it is necessary to have a full grasp of the news from all sources, including Russian radio and television, online information, and even the information acquired from other country’s news media, and to summarize the information immediately. Instead of using a single report, it was of great importance to edit and integrate the old and new sources to amplify and elevate the quality of the report.

11.2

Swiftness: The Rapid Spread of Information

The changes that took place from the beginning to the end of the twentieth century were more dramatic than they had been in any other century. The twentieth century also witnessed tremendous changes in information communication technology. As a result of the emergence of e-mail, information can be transmitted via the simple click of a mouse, which has subsequently brought about a new challenge for the exchange of information between two languages. Consequently, a complete translation cannot be equal to the new challenge. It is crucial to identify and promote new ways of shifting from one language to another quickly. The popularity of machine translation systems, which only produce imperfect translations, indicates that the public wants to access as much information as possible in the shortest time. However, the machine translation system is not perfect, since it often produces unreliable translations. Therefore, variational translation is a contemporary translation method that can meet the translation requirements of the information era. The features of variational translation are low in input, short in time, and quick in returns. From ancient to modern times, it has been necessary to respond quickly to foreign information in the arena of international affairs. Before the Opium War in 1840, a high-ranking official of the Qin dynasty (1636–1912) named Lin Zexu paid close attention to the international situation, including foreign law. He was aware that The Law of Nations (1758) by Vattel contained much relevant information he desired. Due to time pressure, he asked his foreign friend Parker, who had limited ability to read French and speak Chinese, to translate the essential parts of the original by means of selected translation. Although Parker completed the translation work on time, Lin was not satisfied with the result. At this time, Yuan Dehui, Lin’s

11.2

Swiftness: The Rapid Spread of Information

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subordinate, found an English version and produced a new translation, which enabled Lin to understand Vattel’s book more easily (Wu Deduo 1999: 333). Had an English version or a qualified translator been available immediately at the time, Lin would have acquired the information more quickly. The nature of books and periodicals has changed over time, just like pop music, and has become short-lived products in the information era. In the United States and Japan, most new books that appear on the market will be removed from bookstores after one or two months if they do not sell well, and the paper will be recycled. At present, many bestsellers are parts of a series by an author, and are published at intervals to ensure that they hit the shelves at the right time. Publishers are delighted to see easily understandable books with different writing styles and appropriate illustrations. Therefore, most bestsellers consist of around 200 pages, and the content tends to be coarse and immature; thus, such books are not the optimum way for authors to express their ideas. According to Zhou (1998: 28–29), the only way to promote such periodicals or bestsellers quickly is to adopt adaptation techniques such as deleting, condensing, and so on. If a complete translation were to be produced, the work may lose its market share because a new version may be released before the translator has completed the translation, let alone had it published. In addition, the application for the copyright to a certain book is a lengthy process. When the original work is long and is translated via the complete translation method, it will be difficult to find the right translator to complete the translation on time. Under such circumstances, if the translation work continues, the value of the original work will be less due to the time needed to publish the translated work and the changing interests of the target readers; in other words, the length of time from translation to publication is the main factor in the depreciation in the value of the translated work. Complete translations are incompatible with the demands of the information era because translating and publishing the original information is time-consuming; complete translations take translators longer to produce, which delays the publication date, and usually makes target readers spend more time in reading. In order to accelerate the process of spreading information to meet the needs of the readers and society, it is advisable to delete redundant information by means of selected translation, edited translation, and condensed translation, to optimize the useful information by using summarized translation and summarized transcomment, and to integrate new and old knowledge by adopting transwriting and annotated translation. International news, particularly world-shaking events and breaking news, needs to be spread as soon as possible. For example, when a NATO missile attacked the Chinese Embassy in former Yugoslavia in 1999, China Radio International took the lead in disseminating the breaking news at seven o’clock the same day, which was only 40 min after the attack. The Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia first reported the news to China in Chinese, and China Radio International then spread the news after it had been translated into English (Xinmin 2000). This example illustrates that China Radio International has competitive advantages in terms of timeliness and

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speediness. Therefore, the staff of news agencies such as the Xinhua News Agency tends to employ different types of variational translations.

11.3

Excellence: High-Quality Information

Due to the present surge in information, people are inclined to value the quality of information. Only high-quality information, which is the third feature of variational translation, can gain market share and target readers. High quality includes sufficient information, which refers to the sufficiency of desired information per unit. For example, in selected translation, the necessary information, which is submerged in the redundant information in the original work, accounts for a smaller percentage (˂1) but, after variational translation is employed, the percentage rises to 100% when a suitable carrier is found, even if it is only a fragment of the length of the original. High quality also includes accurate information. While an original work may cover every aspect that may be needed by different readers, a translated work tends to select the necessary information carefully in order to meet the readers’ expectations. If the original work, which is always an integration of old and new knowledge regarding a subject, contains some brand-new knowledge that certain readers may not understand, the translator, by deleting the old knowledge, can integrate some unfamiliar knowledge about the relevant subject into the new knowledge in the original work, which raises the quality of the variational translation compared with that of the completely translated work. High quality includes perfect timeliness. The Hong Kongese translation scholar Zhou (1998: 24–25) provided the example of Hong Kongers demanding a book about health. A book catering for Hong Kongese readers was produced by finding three to four old and new books on the theme and looking up foreign journals. Zhou made several adjustments to the original book, such as replacing some recipes with examples using Chinese food, replacing some content with new content acquired from other resources, simplifying many complicated theories, shortening the length of the Chinese version, and giving the book a clear title. The book sold well. This example illustrates that, in the information era, it is wise to translate most foreign works via variational translation methods. High quality includes optimization. The authors of original works are not always adept at word use, particularly those who write non-literary works. In such cases, translators should grasp the main ideas of the original works, upgrade their structures, and strengthen the function of the translations. High quality includes efficiency, which refers to giving the reader efficient information. With regard to the example of the foreign economic report, the correspondent neglected his or her duty as a result of being unable to identify the information that would be useful for the target readers. The report should take the problem, the measures, the main ideas, and the significance thereof into consideration, not the duration of the conference, the number of people, or the complexity of

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Excellence: High-Quality Information

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the ceremony. In addition, it is difficult to increase the readability of a translated work if it is a copy of the document or if it consists of meaningless words. In other words, in-depth analysis is required. Experts and well-trained correspondents are able to grasp the main idea in the news report and translate it in a concise, clear, and concrete manner by discarding the dross and avoiding stereotyped expressions. Numerous leading foreign news agencies have attained this standard.

11.4

Economization: Saving Time and Space in Translation

There is currently a widespread idea that people have a tendency not to read thick books. Compared with previous times when one may have read a long book for weeks or a month, time has now become a precious commodity. Hefty tomes include long-winded translated books such as novels, research monographs, and product manuals, as well as publicity texts. Some of these books or texts are still long and their prices are high. People can only determine if literary or non-literary works are good or bad by reading them, which is another problem in reading lengthy books. Faced with this reality, how can the translators help readers to save time, publishers to save layout space, and themselves to save effort? Before a machine that can transform human mental activities or discourses into written language directly and correctly is invented, translation will continue to be time-consuming for translators. With reference to the same passage, it is obvious that a selected translation thereof would take less time than a complete translation. In the original work, not all the words and sentences are gems that are needed by target readers; thus, they are not worth adopting the complete translation method and refining each word. In addition, if each passage were to be translated during the process of summarized translation and summarized transcomment, and the translator’s creative writing were to be added, this would take a large amount of the translator’s time. When using adaptation techniques, such as selecting, editing, condensing, and summarizing, the translator will spend less time and effort when translating and writing. When applying the method of complete translation, the translator will not add notes and explanations to the translation, which wastes the targeted language readers’ time in the attempt to understand some implicit meanings and connotations. Thus, it would be better for a translator, not a number of target readers, to be exhausted during the process of translating. In the practice of complete translation, translators have to put in more time and more physical effort than they would in the practice of variational translation. The translator’s effort will be wasted when the target readers are only interested in reading one paragraph or several paragraphs of the complete translated work, or if they believe that the translated work has no value. Therefore, it is advisable for translators to take the target readers into consideration and to adapt the original to avoid the shortcomings of a complete translation.

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With regard to complete translations, the information needed by the target readers is distributed throughout the work as a whole, which makes it time-consuming for readers to find the information they need. Hence, it is more convenient to select or edit that information, which will be more concentrated. If the original work is full of empty phrases, target readers will be eager to have a condensed translation to save the time that would otherwise be spent in reading. Reader Digest, founded by an American named Wallace, publishes 31 million copies in 16 languages every month, including a Chinese edition that is available in Hong Kong. There are many reasons for the popularity of Reader Digest, which deserves the title of “The Magazine with Most Readers around the World.” The two main reasons for its worldwide popularity are saving time and decreasing difficulty. With regard to the first reason, reading a digest is similar to reading several newspapers, but yields twice the result with half the effort; this is particularly important in today’s world in which time is money. Therefore, a digest is an ideal form for those who wish to be informed about a topic quickly. With regard to the second reason, even if some readers have sufficient time to read, it is not easy for them to obtain most of books and newspapers they desire. Readers are not only required to buy these items but also to read them one by one. Even if they read all of them, what they are able to remember clearly is equal to what the digest can provide. Consequently, publications in the form of digests are welcomed across the world, including the Chinese market. As a typical example, the popular magazine Readers, sponsored by Gansu People’s Publishing House, is always ranked at the top of domestic magazine and periodical circulation in China. Science and technology are changing with each passing day; thus, it is not surprising that the best of yesterday becomes the worst of tomorrow. Brand-new findings in a certain field may have been disseminated months before a work translated via the method of complete translation is completed and enters the market. Thus, variational translation can not only meet the challenge in terms of translation time but also save the translator time by focusing on the information that the target readers require. Currently, the press values the space available on pages, and does not allow this space to be wasted. Restricted layouts may also mean that the translator needs to use different variational translation methods to adapt the original work.

11.5

Preciseness: Precise Positioning of Information

Translators should adopt the pertinent methods of variational translation to meet the specific needs of the target readers, as ways of accepting, rejecting, and expressing a concept usually depends on these specific needs. In addition, whether to deliver all the information or to render part of the information according to the different target readers’ needs is also a consideration. Translators need to present the most essential or pertinent information to meet a specific condition. In other words, if the translation ignores the needs of the readers or is aimless, the goal of cultural

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Preciseness: Precise Positioning of Information

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communication cannot be attained. Some people have voiced the opinion that Yan Fu’s works would not be as enlightening if they had not integrated Western thoughts and Chinese practices by translating the original work in the Chinese style, and adding his own thoughts and comments via the adding, summarizing, and condensing techniques. The specific needs of target readers are reflected on not only in the acceptance or rejection of the translated content but also on the translator’s choice of wording and writing style. The translation of Buddhist Scriptures in Chinese history, strongly supported by ancient governments and catering for the demand of rulers as well as general readers, is an optimal example of precise information positioning. Ji Xianlin’s research (1991: 239) found that there were few tragedies in ancient Chinese literary works. The story of Ramayana, which is a tragedy set in India, was turned into a comedy in China through variational translation to match the preferences of Chinese people. Wang Shoulan (1989) once said that when the Chinese translator Li Jianwu summarized and reflected on his career in translation, Li held that it was not easy to meet the needs of both refined and popular taste in translated works. While a translated work that suits both refined and popular taste is welcomed, if it fails to appeal to both readerships, the readers are likely to boycott the translated work. Therefore, Li held that it is not necessary to meet both standards at the same time. On the contrary, it would be better to translate a work according to the specific needs of the target readers. Li’s remark indicates that the degree of precise information positioning is directly proportional to the popularity of the translated work among the target readers. Variational translation may alter the original work due to political factors, which also indicates the precise positioning of information. Because of the different standpoint and viewpoint of the translator, a Japanese translator once misinterpreted and arbitrarily abridged the original works of Mao Dun, a Chinese realist writer, thus distorting the themes in his work. In 1940, Toseisha of Japan published a series entitled Modern Chinese Literary Work Collection, in which Hong, written by Mao Dun, was translated into Japanese by the late Japanese translator Takeda Taejun. In the novel Hong, the expression in the source text “to boycott the Japanese products” was translated as “to boycott the inferior products” in target text, and “Japanese products store” as “Russian store”; such mistakes were obviously not the result of language deficiency. The Japanese scholar Matsui Hirohikaru mentioned in his book Mao Dun: A Chinese Realist Writer that, from a negative perspective, the translator deliberately distorted the characteristics of the period in which the novel was set, or at least transmitted distorted images to the target readers. In the 1920s, it was universally acknowledged that there was no Russian store in Chendu, where the leading characters in the novel lived, but the translator ignored the historical background, which referred to the period from the May 4th Movement of 1919 to the May 30th Movement of 1925, when the Chinese people struggled vigorously against imperialism and feudalism. The boycott of Japanese products was one of the main events in these patriotic movements (Li Xiu 1984: 43–44).

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References Ji, Xianlin. 1991. Comparative Literature and Folk Literature [M]. Beijing: Peking University Press. Li, Xiu. 1984. Overseas Researches on Mao Dun [M]. Changsha: Hunan People’s Publishing House. Wang, Shoulan. 1989. Famous Translators’ Remarks on Contemporary Literary Translation [M]. Beijing: Peking University Press. Wu, Deduo. 1999. Literary Mind and the Carving of Sameness [M]. Shanghai: Academia Press. Xu, Xinmin. 2000. Letting the World Understand China [N], Guangming Daily, December 21. Zhou, Zhaoxiang. 1998. Translation and Life [M]. Beijing: China Translation and Publishing Corporation.

Chapter 12

The Standards of Variational Translation

Abstract This chapter discusses the standard of translation, and maintains that, as no targeted text is absolutely faithful to the source text, similarities between the target text and the source text can be used to judge the quality of translated texts. The general standard of variational translation is then introduced, and whether the variational translation activities and the products thereof can meet the special needs of particular readers under certain conditions is discussed. Lastly, detailed analyses of the specific standards of variation translation are explained. Keywords Standard of variational translation standard

12.1


General standard
Specific

A Brief Discussion of Translation Standards

With regard to the idea of a standard, the standard must be determined before it is established. What is the essence of the relationship between the translation standard and the definition of translation? Let us clarify this via a simple process of deduction. Translation standards are the criteria for gauging translations, and translation criteria are the principles on which translation is based. Translation principles are the rules with which translation is supposed to comply, and translation rules are not only the laws inherent in translation proper but also the essential, innate characteristics that exist in translation practice; a definition of translation is a precise and concentrated account of the essential characteristics of translation. It is thus obvious that standards are derived from the definition. To put it another way, the definition is to standards what the river’s source is to a tributary. Any reasoning that is not based on a clear distinction between the two concepts would be groundless, and any discussion of standards that is unrelated to the nature of translation would be like a tree without roots, and would not be persuasive. Having defined the nature of translation as a thinking and linguistic activity through which the translator transforms information from the source language culture into information in the target-language culture with the aim of keeping the © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 Z. Huang and Y. Zhang, Variational Translation Theory, New Frontiers in Translation Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9271-3_12

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information similar (see Chap. 4), it is clear that translation standards are not based on the concept of “absolute sameness.” The following section clarifies this from the perspective of literature or culture. According to Luo Peng (1995: 67–74), the coexistence of different translation versions of the same source text is acceptable to the target readers, although some still cling to the idea that it is an abnormal phenomenon resulting from the market economy. This is a perfect illustration of the fact that there is tremendous room for creativity in translated texts; moreover, while a variety of standards can be proposed for translated texts, the outcome is largely dependent on the translators’ cultural knowledge, literary skills, and imagination. Therefore, we should allow and encourage translators to exercise their creativity. Luo Peng also emphasized that professionals should alter their fundamental standpoints about translation theory and practice, come to understand that the differences between two texts, rooted in their cultural genetics, are absolute, and abandon their pursuit of the illusion of absolute sameness. In a general sense, translation is also a type of literary comparison, which seeks not only similarities but also differences, and in which difference-seeking plays a more important role to some extent. In the case of translation practice, translators do not have to follow the source text over-cautiously; instead, they should bear in mind the notion that there is no longer so-called sameness once the first word has been translated. Once foreign texts are translated into Chinese, they are inevitably colored by Chinese history, philosophy, mentality, and value systems, which is beyond the control of even the translators themselves. Hence, cultural misunderstanding could arise in translation. In fact, in the bi-directional translation between Western languages and Chinese, misunderstandings not only exist, but are unavoidably numerous. From the reception perspective, this is why the information received by readers of the original is different from that obtained by target readers, which also explains why there is always a gap, sometimes an immense one, in the interpretation of the same work by readers of original and the target readers of its translated version. Viewing translation standards in this light, we can conclude that such concepts as “fidelity,” “sameness,” “faithfulness,” “equivalence,” and “dynamic equivalence” are not only idealistic, they are Utopian. When these standards are employed specific instructions in translation practice, they produce contradictions and reveal that this standard is unrealistic in translation practice. Consequently, translation standards need to be twofold: “ideal” is the upper level and “real” is the lower. The former indicates the general orientation, while the latter addresses particular issues. Translation standards that incorporate the upper level but exclude the lower would not be convincing and could never be used as a measuring instrument. We have also attempted to explore the law inherent in translation, and maintain that this law pertains to “being similar”; in other words, the law is the pursuit of similarity between the original and the translation (see Huang Zhonglian 2000a: 138–198), and the standards adopted to evaluate translations also focus on similarity. There are nine levels of similarity, namely extremely similar, quite similar, fairly similar, relatively similar, somewhat dissimilar, relatively dissimilar, fairly

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dissimilar, quite dissimilar, and extremely dissimilar. For complete translations, the standard should be extremely similar, and the other levels of similarity fall into the scope of variational translation. They will be discussed in detail in the next section.

12.2

The Standards of Variational Translation

12.2.1 General Standards One of the main features of variational translation is the pursuit of efficiency. Effective variational translation refers to effective variational activities that demonstrate a state of effectiveness in terms of translator’s effort, as well as the process and result of variational translation, which embodies one of the essential characteristics thereof. Effective variational translation is characterized by the following four features: 1. The first feature is the humanization of variational translation, which means it is human-oriented and aims to meet the needs of specific target readers. Complete translation meets the demands of all members of society, while variational translation adopts a more targeted approach to meet the audience’s needs by segmenting its intended readers. 2. The second feature is the full optimization of variational translation, which serves to maximize the efficiency of the variational translation process. 3. The third feature is that it is economical in nature, as it decreases unnecessary mental, physical, and financial investment as much as possible. 4. The last feature is the localization of translations, which aims to make the dissemination of translations more extensive and effective in the cultural context of the target language. Therefore, the formation of a standard for variational translation should be based on its nature and features. In general, attention should be paid to whether the variational translation activities and the resulting products can meet the particular needs of specific readers under certain conditions.

12.2.2 Specific Standards According to the variational translation system, in addition to its macro and micro features, specific standards can be formulated as follows. Although the standards are dynamic and flexible and may vary among different people and places, they share some general principles.

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(1) Standard 1: Clear positioning of specific readers All translations, including complete translations and variational translations, are aimed at meeting the demands of the target readers. Variational translation narrows the scope of needs. More specific needs will lead to more targeted translations. The American magazine Reader’s Digest, which mainly serves local readers, employs numerous additions, deletions, and alterations to fulfill its aim of adapting the magazine to other countries with different languages and for readers of different nationalities. Zhou Zhaoxiang (1998: 32) proposed putting the translation client’s interests first, and taking factors such as culture, pragmatics, and the client’s requests into account. These are elements that determine translation techniques and assist in the evaluation of translations. The goal of variational translation should be made clear, and both parties may need to reach a consensus before the translation process begins in order to ensure that the client’s expectations are met. A clear goal can serve as a standard for evaluating the quality of variational translation. The reader’s (user’s) requests and possible variational translation techniques that the translator could adopt must be stated clearly in the translation contract. This establishes a basis for the assessment of the completed translation. In the absence of a basis for evaluation, an evaluation can be conducted according to variational translation techniques. What is more, the translator will usually earn a decent income because variational translation usually pays more than complete translation does. (2) Standard 2: Appropriate choice of adaptation techniques We seem to be quite skilled at translating a foreign language into Chinese, bearing in mind that translating Chinese into a foreign language is much more difficult but, in contrast, we may find that variational translation may be the most difficult approach of all. Appropriate adaptation techniques can only be ascertained after careful study. The astute use of adaptation techniques is the key to achieving the desired effect via variational translation in foreign-oriented publicity. The correct choice of adaptation techniques paves the way for smooth variational translation, while inappropriate choices may cause undesirable outcomes and may sometimes even necessitate re-working. China Radio International’s program series and features are rich in content, highly informative, interesting, and give the listeners pleasure and enjoyment. However, the programs are facing many cultural, national, and geographical barriers. Complete translations may fail to allow foreign listeners to understand China’s opinions in the limited time of a radio report. Fan Weixin, who works at the radio station as a senior translator responsible for affairs related to Portuguese-speaking countries, is quite familiar with the cultures, customs, and traditions of those countries. He often draws analogies between figures, stories, and events in China and in Portuguese-speaking countries in order to create cultural affinity between the countries. If a dynasty in ancient China is mentioned,

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The Standards of Variational Translation

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explanations will be given by comparing it to a similar era in ancient Brazil or Portugal, or a period during which some historical figures lived. The listener can immediately understand what the radio reporter is saying with the help of this background knowledge. As a result, the articles translated by Fan Weixin meet the listener’s psychological needs, and are more acceptable to the listener; thus, he enjoys great popularity and achieves a satisfactory communication effect. (3) Standard 3: The correct use of variational translation methods In addition to the correct choice of adaptation techniques, the appropriate use of variational translation methods must also be taken into consideration, which means selected translation, summarized translation, edited translation, and so on, should be adopted if necessary. With regard to variational translation methods, factors such as the readership and the scale of publication also deserve attention when deciding on the sections to be translated and the degree of variational translation. The following example illustrates this. An article titled Cocтoяниe и пepcпeктивы paзвития нeфтянoй пpoмышлeннocти Poccии, which was published in the Russian journal Oil Industry, (Heфтянoe xoзяйcтвo) No. 1, 1994, explained that the Russian oil industry was sliding into a recession due to various negative factors. In order to alleviate the situation, the Russian government and relevant oil sectors rolled out a series of reform measures, which brought new hope to the Russian oil industry. After reading the entire article, we were of the opinion that selected translation would be appropriate because it could reduce redundancy; therefore, we translated the text entitled The Current Situation and Prospect of the Russian Oil Industry, which was later published in World Petroleum Industry, No. 12, 1994, via selected translation, as noted in the article. We translated both the present and the prospective situations using the selected translation method to transmit the rich information in the journal to provide the domestic oil industry with a more detailed picture of the present situation in the Russian oil industry, as well as its developing trends. The source article was published in January and the translated version was published in December of the same year, which means there was an information delay of almost one year. If we want the domestic oil industry to receive information as soon as possible, it would be appropriate to contribute translations to Petroleum News; as this is a semi-monthly newspaper, the selected translation methods would need to be adjusted accordingly. We would choose to translate the contents concerning the prospects because the newspaper focuses only on updates of oil technologies both at home and abroad, and does not usually require in-depth or special reports. Moreover, as the present situation in the Russian industry has only been partly reported on in the past year, the domestic oil industry knows little about it. For the oil industry, the most valuable news is predictions about the prospects of the Russian oil industry. Therefore, only about a quarter of the source article would be extracted for selected translation, which is also suitable for the page layout of the newspaper.

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In fact, from the present perspective, there is still much room for improvement in terms of the adaptation techniques employed in the published selected translation. The selected translation retained the original structure and contained over 5000 words, which causes even greater difficulties for reading. A better effect would have been achieved if edited translation methods had been adopted. First, two secondary headings, namely “the current situation” and “the prospect” could be added. The following tertiary headings could also be added below the two secondary headings: (1) “Production scale” and (2) “production crisis” could be added below “the current situation,” and (1) “developing market economy,” (2) “exploring new oil reserves,” (3) “enhancing oil extraction techniques,” and (4) “promoting international cooperation” could be included under “the prospects.” The tertiary headings would structure the edited translation clearly and allow the target readers to grasp the key points easily. (4) Standard 4: High use value of the original works Despite the correct choice of adaptation techniques and variational translation methods and the appropriate use thereof, a lack of knowledge about the use value of the original works in the target-language culture may also lead to poor translations. There is much room for discussion and deliberation concerning the edited translation methods used in the seventh chapter, “Information Reorganization” of Nida’s Viewpoints on Translation edited by Chinese translation scholar Tan Zhaixi (1984). Gu Jinming (1991) argued that it was inappropriate for the translator to condense the seven parts of the seventh chapter into five sections via edited translation. For example, Part C was integrated into Part F; this means that discourse types were prioritized over discourse structures, which may seem natural but is actually problematic. Parts A, B, and C of the seventh chapter analyzed three aspects affecting the style of translation from a macro-to-micro perspective, namely language development, language variation, and discourse types. On the other hand, Parts D, E, and F introduced the features constituting the style of translation from a micro-to-macro perspective, which are various stylistic features, the use and types of the stylistic features, and the features of discourse structures. Part G emphasized the role of the translator’s revisions in improving translations. Part C was removed from the edited version, thus rendering the three aspects that affect the style of translation incomplete by retaining only Parts A and B. As a result, the micro aspects were ignored, although the macro ones were retained. More importantly, several subtitles in the third section of the edited version might cause confusion for the target readers because the relevant concepts are only explained in the following section, Sect. 4. The logical order was reversed. We agree with Gu’s opinions. However, the translator of the book did not make any revisions in the new edition of Nida’s New Viewpoints on Translation, which was published in 1999. Views on whether deletion should be adopted in a translation may differ, but the basic logical order obviously requires adjustment. This example indicates that translators who employ variational

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The Standards of Variational Translation

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translation methods must be fully aware of the value of the original works and make proper predictions concerning use value of the original works in the target language. It also illustrates that the translated works should be inherently logical after the original work has been adapted, and that the logical order should not be disrupted due to the adaptations. (5) Standard 5: The appropriate role of the translator in variational translation practice Variational translation places no restrictions on the translator’s subjective initiative. Instead, it encourages and promotes the appropriate use of subjective initiative; otherwise, translations lacking a careful analysis of the original will be regarded as purely personal creations. The translator is expected to be familiar with the target readers’ specific needs before the role of the translator can be enacted appropriately. Whether the translator’s role has been accomplished successfully must be judged by the target readers, whose approval can be seen as the recognition of variational translation. Therefore, complete translation researchers and those who require complete translations should not jump to conclusions because the critics may target the incorrect objects. A typical example is the variational translation adopted by the famous Chinese translator Yan Fu (1854–1921). For more than a century, many people have criticized his translation methods solely from the linguistic perspective. In fact, he admitted that his adaptation techniques were unconventional, and entailed unique methods called variational translation. Having been born in a time of great national peril, Yan Fu understood the particular needs (concerns about the national fate and people’s lives) of the specific readers (imperial court officials) under certain historical conditions because he was a member of the elite and had a particular social status. Accordingly, he prioritized subjective initiative over the integrity of the original works, and used such adaptation techniques such as adding, deleting, altering, and annotating boldly, which demonstrates his remarkable skill as an undisputed master of variational translation. It can be said that Yan Fu’s subjective initiative was used both freely and appropriately. Appropriate use can only be deemed as valid on the basis of the dissemination of thoughts and cultural exchanges. Therefore, this standard is only culturally valid. From a broader perspective, attention should be paid to whether the variational translation practices conducted by the translator promote effective cultural exchange. (6) Standard 6: Fulfillment of variational translation effects Variational translation not only pursues the rapid transmission of information but also emphasizes external forms. Adaptation aims to optimize some or all of the external forms of the original. Translated works that ignore the alteration of content and the improvement of external forms are sometimes poor and cannot achieve the desired translation effects despite a great investment in effort. The famous Hong Kongese translation scholar Zhou Zhaoxiang (1998: 24–25)

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pointed out that translators should adjust their translations to meet specific needs or to achieve particular effects. Customers are willing to pay for quality services because they want to achieve certain short-term goals. For example, the translation of advertisements or press releases to advance public relations should achieve the effect of promoting publicity. The translation of foreign news should be aimed at boosting viewership by broadcasting global affairs, and the translation of books should lead to more sales. In addition, translations published in newspapers should attract people’s attention. Among the different effects that are achieved are long- and short-term effects, individual, collective and social effects, and movie and television effects. In other words, variational translation pursues various effects. During the Chinese Film Week held at the Chinese embassy in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, Russia, we were invited to be simultaneous interpreters for the movie Divorce Wars. We recorded the lines spoken in the Chinese movie and translated them into Russian. We then dubbed the movie at the cinema. Chinese is very concise, while Russian is complicated. As a result, a Chinese sentence normally has fewer syllables than its Russian version. In simultaneous interpreting, the Chinese interpreter may struggle to keep up even if he or she interprets as quickly as possible, particularly when the actors speak rapidly without any pauses, for example, when a quarrel is involved. Therefore, we made full use of summarized translation to translate the main ideas in the many dialogues, and most of the translations matched the movements of the actor’s mouths and kept up with the plot. We asked some of the audience members about our interpretation performance once the movie had finished. They said there were still some parts in which the Russian speech lagged behind the original dialogues, although the interpreting sounded very rapid. Moreover, part of the interpreting was too quick to be heard clearly. Some Belarusian children had to ask nearby adults for explanations because they could not keep up with the dubbing. In this regard, it is obvious that part of the variational translation of the movie requires further improvement.

References Gu, Jinming. 1991. On the Edited Translation of Nida’s Translation [J]. Journal of Foreign Languages (2). Huang, Zhonglian. 2000. On the Essence of Translation [M]. Wuhan: Huazhong Normal University Press. Luo, Peng. 1995. Translation, Mutation and Creation [A] included in Unicorns and Dragons: Misunderstanding in Looking for the Universality of Chinese and Western Cultures [C] by Le Daiyun et al. Beijing: Peking University Press. Tan, Zhaixi. 1984. Nida’s Viewpoints on Translation [M]. Beijing: China Translation and Publishing Corporation. Zhou, Zhaoxiang. 1998. Translation and Life [M]. Beijing: China Translation and Publishing Corporation.

Chapter 13

The Scope of Variational Translation

Abstract This chapter introduces the use of variational translation in literary and artistic, social science, and sci-tech works. It reveals that, in translation practice, the scope of the application of variational translation is extensive, except for some extremely important documents, such as eminent leaders’ works, national leaders’ speeches, and legal documents, for which a translator should be cautious when adopting variational translation. Keyword Scope of variational translation science work Sci-tech works




13.1


Literary and artistic work
Social

Literary and Artistic Works

The opponents of variational translation often base their arguments on literary translation. As is well known, the most prominent features of literary works are rich in lexicon, complex in expressions, abundant in emotions, and diverse in style. In other words, literary works focus more on emotion than on reason, and integrate reason and emotion. It would seems natural or even inevitable to translate literary works completely in traditional ways when introducing them to a Chinese audience because this is the main form of literary translation, as well as the best way to meet the needs of foreign literary researchers and readers who want to access the full content of the original works. However, there are also some occasions on which complete translations are not necessary, such as the introduction to new literary works, excerpts of literary research on foreign works, the performances of some famous foreign plays in China, the performance of popular episodes of Chinese dramas in foreign countries, and some edited literary works or films that require plots considered unsuitable from the perspective of political ideology to be filtered. None of these examples require complete translations. The Chinese translator Dong Leshan (1997) explained that there was no need to be overcritical when translating movies or television plays; his view was that, as long as the audience did not misunderstand the story, it was acceptable for the © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 Z. Huang and Y. Zhang, Variational Translation Theory, New Frontiers in Translation Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9271-3_13

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translation to provide the gist because the sentences flashed by so quickly that nobody would remember them in their entirety. In the early 1980s, Huang Zuolin, a famous drama director, went to the Beijing Youth Art Theater to rehearse the play Galileo. At the time, a literary teacher from Germany had been invited to help the actors to rehearse the lines; the literary teacher found many mistakes in the translations, and hoped that Dong Leshan would relate these mistakes to Huang. However, Huang responded calmly, saying: “You can rest assured. I won’t use this translation version word for word in the rehearsal, and necessary modifications will also be adopted for mise en scene” (Dong Leshan 1997:163). Dong was also of the opinion that it was not necessary to be overcritical when translating movies or television plays because they differ from academic works, legal provisions, and business contracts that require accurate translation. Based on the above, translators may sometimes be pitied, as movie directors may alter the scenarios even though, as in the case of Galileo, the translator had not made mistakes in the translation. Therefore, variational translation will play a bigger role if the translator can cooperate with the director when translating. For example, alterations may need to be made in the translation of the play to cater for theatrical effects and the Chinese audience. Otherwise, the client will have to pay additional remuneration, while part of the translators’ efforts will be futile. High-quality translation deserves high remuneration, possibly even more than that paid for a complete translation. The above example shows that the burden on translators is generally greater than that of complete translation, and the cooperative spirit of the translators and the audience should also be emphasized. In the 1920s, Zheng Zhenduo chose some of Tagore’s poems to translate, and published an anthology. Later Chinese translators, such as Liang Shiqiu, Cheng Fangwu, and others published articles in Creation Weekly criticizing Zheng’s translation, and his adoption of selected translation. Liang thought that the employment of selected translation was extremely unwise, whereas Zheng considered that the English version of Tagore’s anthology of poems was in itself a kind of selected translation, and poems, unlike novels, cannot only consist of several translated passages because a poem constitutes a whole. Consequently, Zheng pointed out that selected translation should not be blamed; he did not intend to advocate selected translation, and only chose this method due to his lack of ability and limited time, and stated that he hoped that a complete translation of Tagore’s poems would soon be produced. As shown above, variational translation has been blamed in every generation, and even Liang and Cheng did not agree on the use of any variational translation method. Nevertheless, Zheng’s opinions are also justified, although it is a pity that he made compromises due to his lack of ability and limited time. The above example also shows the effects of extrinsic factors on variational translation. A history of Chinese literature, written by Herbert Allen Giles (1845–1935) and published in 1901, devotes a large amount of space to the narrated translation of Chinese literary works. When writing this book, Giles gave priority to presenting the outline of the content of Chinese works to readers via the narrated translation method because many target readers had neither heard of nor read these works. For

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example, in translating A Dream in Red Mansions, he opted to translate only Lin Daiyu's Elegy on Flowers, and narrated the rest of the novel. Moreover, he also selectively translated some chapters of A Romance of the Three Kingdoms, A Journey to the West, Records of the States in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, and so on. Giles actually made some adaptations when translating many Chinese literary works. One of the typical adaptations is his translation of the poem The Everlasting Regret by the famous Chinese poet Bai Juyi (772–846 AD). His successful translation astonished the Western academic communities, as people not only had high praise for the artistic attainments of Bai Juyi’s original poem, but also applauded Giles’ smooth and effective English version. To cater to English readers, Giles divided the long poem into eight parts entitled Boredom, Beauty, Festivity, Escape, Return, Homeland, and Fairyland. Following his translation, The Everlasting Regret, a lyrical poem, became a romantic narrative poem with distinct plots describing the Chinese love story of the concubine Yang Yuhuan and Emperor Xuan Zong of the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD). What is clear is that this version can cater for English readers because it may remind them of romantic love poems such as Chaucer’s works and Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida. From the above, it can be seen that Giles used translation methods such as narrated translation, selected translation, condensed translation, edited translation, and altered translation in his A history of Chinese literature. Just as the works of ancient people can be adapted, so can the works of contemporary authors. The Czech writer Kundera’s famous book, Joke (1967), was translated and published in France. The writer found that the translator “did not translate the novel, but made some adaptations of it” (Shi Kangqiang 1996:89). He accused the translators of recreating in three ways: (1) using hundreds of metaphors to alter the words in the original work; (2) the translation turned most of the originally simple and clear language into a pretentious mix of slang and archaic words for effect; and (3) it was difficult to understand the language that had been changed. What is more, the English translation is not much better: the number of chapters has been changed, the sequence has been adjusted, and many paragraphs have been deleted. The Chinese version is good, but has also been abridged and many changes have been made; these alterations can be divided into two types. One is related to politics, and the other is associated with sex, which is expressed in ellipsis or simply deleted, such as Sect. 16 in Chap. 6 (see Shi Kangqiang 1996). From this example, it can be seen that the translator or publisher’s choice was not appropriate and deserves “self-criticism.” The major Chinese publications introducing foreign literature, such as World Literature, New Perspectives on World Literature, Translations, and so on have, to some extent, published articles in the form of selected translations, edited translations, condensed translations, transcomments, and so forth. People have become accustomed to these versions, and are not aware of the fact that they are reading adapted translations.

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Social Science Works

The term social science generally refers to the study of social phenomena, and includes political science, economics, law, history, literature, aesthetics, ethics, and the like. Its style is characterized by formal words, rigorous reasoning, and complicated structures, with an emphasis on both rationality and emotion. Variational translations are produced based on these characteristics. When rationality and emotion differ, the translator can choose to transmit one of them; when the emotion is strong and the rationality is weak, the translator can add some writing to strengthen the motivation. Similarly, when the rationality is secondary, the translator can add some comments to increase the rationality. In his research, Chen Fukang (1991) found that, in 1920, the newspaper Morning Post announced the publication of the edited translation A Brief Introduction to Russian Literature by Zheng Zhenduo. However, the edited translation failed to emerge at the scheduled time. “It seemed that Zheng Zhenduo was not content with simply edited translations, instead, he preferred creative ones” (Chen Fukang 1991: 612). As a result, the book finally went public in 1924 with the new title A Brief History of Russian Literature. Due to the tremendous lack of reference material in the relevant fields in China, an overall reference to all possibly available English literature and other foreign literature was needed to compose this book, the publication of which was promoted by Qu Qiubai following his return from the former Soviet Union. Thus, the final work was rigorously academic, and integrated a basic history of Russian literature and Zheng Zhenduo’s personal understanding. The main reference was to Maurice Baring’s (1915) work Outline of Russian Literature, published in London; thus, a common misunderstanding was that Zheng’s publication was a translated version of Maurice Baring’s work. Although Zheng made reference to Baring’s work in the beginning of the book, he did not copy it completely. This can be seen in the second half of Zheng’s book, because his introduction to Chekhov, Gorky, Andreev, and other famous writers who emerged after the period of Turgenev and Dostoyevsky had not been covered in Baring’s work. When composing the book, Zheng was not simply translating and editing existing foreign documents concerning Russian literature. Instead, he created some adaptations that reflected his understanding of the history of Russian literature. The commentary in his text consists of his own analyses of and comments about authors and works in the book, most of which he had already read or translated. This is proof that his commentary was not a copy or narration of the opinions of other people. He added some new chapters on Gorky and Herzen that did not appear in the Baring’s work. Hence, A Brief History of Russian Literature was a combination of translation, comments, and writing. When expressing his opinion about translation, Zhou Yuliang commented on the translation of literary theories or critical essays. He stated that existing translations of these kinds of works were mainly word-for-word, which made them very difficult to understand, particularly with regard to works of literary criticism. He thought that

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this phenomenon was due to the fact that each critic had a personal set of basic concepts and terms, as well as presumptions about the target readers’ knowledge; therefore, translators tended not to explain some basic knowledge. The more academic an essay was, the more obvious this tendency would be. As target readers’ background knowledge and proficiency levels are different, difficulty in understanding the translations was bound to arise. Notes or annotations are obviously ideal solutions to the problem, but too many annotations would distract the readers and hinder them from maintaining and developing their interest in reading. In Zhou’s opinion, translators should have a thorough understanding of the content of the essays before translating them. In addition, their expressions should not be confined to the content and form of the original. Adding, deleting and narrating techniques could be used in translation, thus producing better translations. The prerequisite for using the narration technique was familiarity with the original content and meaning, which would allow the translator’s narration to meet the target reader’s interests and expectations. However, variational translation has limitations for essays related to social and scientific fields. For example, in the cases of legal documents and speeches by national leaders, variational translation techniques should be used carefully and discreetly. Cases in point would be the translations of publicity reports from the Xinhua News Agency and of speeches by China’s leaders in the China’s National People’s Congress. Some information about domestic affairs, if translated completely into foreign languages, is not to be accepted due to different readers’ expectations. Furthermore, the potential rise in political problems makes translations difficult for target readers to accept. A typical example is the translation of Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong, which is nation-wide best seller in China. Various selected translations of the book are now available in different languages both in China and abroad. Example 13.1: 革命战争是群众的战争,只有动员群众才能进行战争,只有依靠群众才能进行 战争。(《毛泽东选集》,1969年,122页) Peвoлюциoннaя вoйнa ecть вoйнa нapoдныx мacc, вecти eё мoжнo, лишь мoбилизyя нapoдныe мaccы, лишь oпиpaяcь нa нapoдныe мaccы. (Пpeдceдaтeль Mao Цзэдyн o нapoднoй вoйнe, Издaтeльcтвo литepaтypы нa инocтpaнныx языкax, 1968, c.17.) 一切反动派都是纸老虎。看起来,反动派的样子是可怕的,但是实际上并没 有什么了不起的力量。从长远的观点看问题,真正强大的力量不是反动派,而 是属于人民。(同上,1091页) Bce peaкциoнepы – бyмaжныe тигpы. C видy peaкциoнepы cтpaшны, нo в дeйcтвитeльнocти нe тaк yж cильны. Ecли paccмaтpивaть вoпpoc c тoчки зpeния пepcпeктивы, тo пoдлиннo мoгyчeй cилoй oблaдaют нe peaкциoнepы, a нapoд. (тaм жe, c. 7.) Moreover, from our experience abroad, we have observed that many international friends and foreigners with an interest in China’s achievements are eager to be informed about the former paramount Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping’s theory,

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which has contributed greatly to China’s prosperity in a short period. However, it is unnecessary to render the entire Selected Works of Deng Xiongping into foreign languages via the complete translation method, as a massive translated work would prevent the book from being disseminated among the target readers. Thus, it is advisable to integrate some research results pertaining to Deng Xiaoping’s theory into the essential content of the original book to produce an adapted book, and then to translate the work into different foreign languages to meet the needs of the specific target readers in each language.

13.3

Scientific and Technological Works

Scientific and technological works refer to works related to natural science and engineering technologies. They study the experience and knowledge accumulated from various natural phenomena, and the exploitation and transformation of materials. Scientific and technological texts are characterized by a large amount of specialized vocabulary, rigorous syntactic structures, and an emphasis on logic rather than on emotions. Thus, variational translations of this genre highlight the information content instead of the form; that is, adjustments to the form could be made in order to convey the core meaning. In the process of scientific and technological translation, adopting such adaptation techniques as adding, deleting, editing, narrating, condensing, integrating, and altering is unavoidable. On one hand, scientific and technological works are increasing in number, are of diverse types in various languages, have different circulations, similar and overlapping content, shortened periods of validity, and frequent upgrades. On the other hand, the aims of scientific and technological translations are to disseminate new ideas, theories, technologies, and innovations, and to reflect new trends in developments. As a result, readers’ pursuits of foreign scientific and technological literature can be summarized via six expressions: quality seeking (scientific, reliable, and effective), update seeking (most recently updated), practicality seeking (instructive and specific), access seeking (easy to obtain and understand), swiftness seeking (rapid spread), and economization seeking (saving time, money, and energy). As stated above, scientific and technological works focus more on the information content than on form. This, together with readers’ demands for scientific and technological information, has determined the wide use of variational translation in scientific and technological texts; that is, the variational translation method is the most appropriate type of translation for scientific and technological material. Let us take the spread of information about oil as an example. Variational translation is adopted in almost all the articles in Oil News Journal sponsored by oil administration bureaus. The same tendency can also be seen in the foreign edition of China Oil Journal, as well as in almost all the other journals on oil. In fact, variational translations in China increased from the 1980s to the 1990s. At first, complete translation predominated but, later, selected translations and edited translations

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prevailed. Some summarized translations and summarized transcomments emerged at the end of the 1990s. A typical example is the journal Natural Gas Exploration and Development, which is published by the Institute of Geological Prospecting and Development of Sichuan Petroleum Management Bureau. In 1994, the fourth issue of the journal stipulated in its rules calling for papers that the journal had been transformed into a scientific collection of summarized translations, edited translations, and selected translations. It would mainly introduce new theories, research results, technologies, and experiences relating to the prospecting and development of natural gas from abroad. This was a typically straightforward requirement for variational translations in introducing foreign scientific and technological results. Many other journals, although not having stipulated such requirements, have prioritized variational translation when selecting and evaluating articles, which has attracted the attention of observant translators and has guided them when processing foreign information.

References Chen, Fukang. 1991. On Zheng Zhenduo [M]. Beijing: The Commercial Press. Dong, Leshan. 1997. Cultural Misunderstanding [M]. Beijing: China Social Science Press. Shi, Kangqiang. 1996. Altered Kundera [J]. Reading (1).

Chapter 14

The Value of Variational Translation

Abstract The value of variational translation is an important issue that has been neglected for a long time and needs to be resolved. In today’s market economy, the research on this issue has more theoretical and practical significance. This chapter shows that the values of variational translation lie in (1) (2) (3) (4)

embodying the translator’s life value, highlighting use value of the original work, meeting the readers’ particular requirements, and pursuing the social efficiency of variational translation.

These four values can reveal the essence of the existence and development of variational translation from the perspective of value. Keywords Value of variational translation Social efficiency

14.1


Translator’s life value
Use value


Embodying the Translator’s Life Values

In practice, variational translation is a process of interrelation and interaction between the translator and the original work. It is not only manifest in the change or alteration of the original work by the translator, but also in the translator’s satisfaction with the results of the translation. The process of variational translation enhances value of the translators’ labor, increases their creativity, and demonstrates their skills. It is true that a complete translation can reflect the value of the translator, but a variational translation is a better demonstration of the translator’s value. Although the translator can reproduce the content of the original in complete translation practice, in variational translation practice, she/he needs to put more energy and wisdom into the translation process, which enables the translator to realize his or her own value, achieve the use value of the original, and satisfy the specific value pursuit of the target readers. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 Z. Huang and Y. Zhang, Variational Translation Theory, New Frontiers in Translation Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9271-3_14

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In Chap. 8, the process of translating Bai Juyi’s poetry in Japanese history, or the Japanization process of translation, clearly illustrated how the translator changed Bai’s poetry and gradually nationalized it. From the careful transmission of the original content to the integration of the translator’s national feelings and original content in the translated work, the translator’s feelings and the national spirit are imprinted on the entire process of translation. The translator’s desire to express personal feelings is simply one of the embodiments of personal values in literary creations. The realization of the self-value of the translator can explain the significance of translators’ existence to some extent, including evidence of their ability, as well as their influence on others and on society. A translator’s personal value is realized by creating social value, and is recognized by the society. It is also possible to regard social value as the embodiment of the realization of personal value. There is no doubt that the famous Chinese translators Yan Fu and Lin Shu are good examples in this regard.

14.2

Highlighting the Use Value of the Original Work

From the perspective of the theory of complete translation, the use value of original works remains unchanged. If the translation environment is reader-oriented, there would be a gap between the original work’s value and its use value. The wider the gap, the more space and adaptations of the original work’s value will be needed. The original work’s value is the same for anyone, but its effectiveness depends on whether its value meets the specific requests of the target-language readers. Unlike a complete translation, a variational translation can highlight the use value of the original work. There are often several different translated versions of an original work in translation practice, including the completely translated version, the explanatorily translated version, and the simplified version of world-famous masterpieces. Dong Taiqin (1994) proposed the idea of enabling readers of all levels to contact, experience, and appreciate foreign cultures as early, quickly, and perfectly as possible via the availability of different translated versions. He maintained that the different translated versions include (1) the completely translated version, which is an attempt to reproduce the original content in its entirety, and is suitable for experts, scholars, and highly specialized readers; (2) the explanatorily translated version, which is suited to cultivated readers, and is the preliminary basis for introducing the completely translated work to the target-language readers; and (3) the simplified version, which is reader-friendly and suitable for general readers; as it attracts ordinary readers, it enables them to grasp the main ideas in the original work easily.

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Highlighting the Use Value of the Original Work

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The number of readers of the three versions mentioned above increases incrementally, with the translation requirement changing from complete translation to variational translation, and with different embodiments of the use value of the original work. Without the explanatorily translated version and the simplified version, the scope of application of the use value of original work would be much more limited. This is why demotic translations and pictorial versions of numerous world-renowned masterpieces have become increasingly popular with a wider range of readers, from adults to children and from universities to kindergartens, in recent decades. The goal of variational translation practice is to meet the target readers’ needs; thus, translators should produce adaptations of the original work with this goal in mind. This makes it easier for translators to make choices and to develop the use value of the original works. In contrast, if the translation does not achieve this goal, the translated work may be considered valueless or only have potential value, although the original work is considered to be of great value.

14.3

Meeting Readers’ Specific Requirements

There is no purposeless or reckless variational translation. Readers are the cause of variational translation. We can also say that readers are the purpose of variational translation itself, as we pursue and realize any purpose in translation solely to meet the readers’ demands for value. The value of variational translation ultimately involves the target-language readers’ demand for personal value. In other words, whether the translation is valuable or not, or how valuable the translation is, is a subjective issue, and is measured based on the personal value demand. The value of a complete translation is that it benefits society as a whole. Therefore, the value of a complete translation cannot be demonstrated as quickly, precisely, and intensively as that of a variational translation can. Translators attempt to meet the target-language readers’ specific requests in a bid to resolve the contradiction between the original work’s value and the target-language readers, which can be explained according to the following two aspects. (1) Finiteness and infinity. The needs of the entire society are infinite in terms of existence and change, which can only be approached step by step. Temporary insights may become outdated or proven to be wrong in the future. Most translators have a limited understanding and mastery of social needs. If they want to please every reader, the result may be losing every reader. Only by accumulating understanding of a limited number of readers, as well as by combining individual, temporary, and incomplete understandings can translators gradually approach the infinite social needs.

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(2) Whole and part. As mentioned above, the complete social demand is a collection of individual demands, and the overall understanding of the needs of society cannot be achieved by catering only to a particular individual’s demand, but requires the joint effort of different individuals with different perspectives. Therefore, if a complete translation is required, simply translate the original in its entirety, and if a variational translation is more applicable, produce an adapted work.

14.4

Pursuing the Social Efficiency of Variational Translation

14.4.1 The Pursuit of Timeliness The effectiveness of an activity is the top priority for humans’ purposeful activities. Time is most valuable for the translator. Time is life, money, and efficiency. She/ he must strive to shorten or accelerate the translation process while still achieving the purpose of translation. The time limitation compels the astute translator to think repeatedly; she/he will rehearse the processing of foreign information by virtue of her or his experience and knowledge, and will make a cost-input analysis of the translation activities. This kind of cognitive activity itself is a drain on energy and brainpower. In contrast to the actual variational translation activities, it is less time-consuming and can guarantee the completion of the objective, process, and input, and minimize the loss and waste in variational translation activities.

14.4.2 The Pursuit of Effectiveness What translation pursues is not a general result, but a specific result related to the interests and needs of the target readers. A result refers to the output corresponding to the input of an activity. Any translation has a result. In translation practice, it is common for most translations to have results rather than effects. Pragmatism focuses on effect and utility, and is predominant in modern Western philosophy. Variational translation theory advocates adapting original works for practical reasons in the pursuit of effectiveness.

14.4.3 The Pursuit of Speed The speed of variational translation means that less time is involved in completing the entire process of communicating information inter-lingually. Compared with a complete translation, in which the same process takes more time, variational

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translation is undoubtedly quicker and produces the same effect. Speed is one of the manifestations of the efficiency of variational translation.

14.4.4 The Pursuit of Optimization The pursuit of optimal value is the basic motivation for translators to promote translation activities. Optimal value is not only a question of action, but of an ideology; that is, what the translator regards as being the highest goal. Only when translators understand the goal of variational translation more clearly and rationally it is possible to approximate and realize the optimal value. The goal of variational translation is to satisfy the specific needs of particular readers under certain conditions. Needs determine the purpose of people’s activities and cause these activities to be purposeful, as manifested in real activities (Guo Zhan 1990: 1). The pursuit of optimization in variational translation advocates the best or better state of translation by adapting the form of the translation. Nevertheless, variational translation activities aim to solve the problem of translation means or methods; that is, they are only a means and ultimately point to a specific need. In other words, the optimization of the variational translation goal appears to be the means of translation, but is essentially the pursuit of goal optimization.

14.4.5 The Pursuit of Efficiency In brief, pursuing timeliness, effectiveness, speed, and optimization all serve to pursue efficiency. It is reasonable to use the word instead of “returns,” “effectiveness,” or “effect.” Variational translation efficiency refers to the ratio between the input and output of the translator. Efficiency refers to the relationship between cost and returns; it is directly proportional to output and return, and inversely proportional to input and cost. There is a cost involved in translating, which includes the process of translation and of completing the translation. When the output and the return are almost the same, the input will become the criterion for translation efficiency. The efficiency principle in translation activity emphasizes that time spent on a translation should be used productively to achieve greater output or return. Translation emphasizes the economy principle, which refers to achieving maximal effects with minimal costs, or less input for more output. The economy principle is characterized by the translator’s economic thinking. The translator is able to discard useless information when reading the original, which includes dross in the original language and information that is not necessary for the target readers. Thus, the key content and a reasonable structure can be highlighted. If the translator

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fails to adopt the economy principle consciously when translating the original work, she/he will be unable to provide valuable information for the target readers. Therefore, the economy principle should be stressed in translation, as non-economic thinking will result in the waste of materials, money, and time.

References Dong, Taiqin. 1994. On the Classification of Translation Editions. Chinese Translators Journal (3). Guo, Zhan. 1990. The Efficiency of Human Activities [M]. Beijing: People’s Publishing House.