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ABSTRACT：Literal translation and liberal translation are two important methods and both play key roles in translation. However, some textbooks say that most translations are literal translations while others maintain most are liberal ones, besides, some others suggest a combination of the two. This paper focuses on the facts that regulate liberal translation. Because of the differences in culture, society, history, geography, and so on, there exists a great difference between Chinese language and English language, which does naturally lead to the liberal translation.
KEY WORDS： literal translation；liberal translation
1. Introduction of translation
What is translation? “ Expressing (sth. Spoken or esp. written) in another language or in simple words.”1 Peter Newmark, the famous English translation expert, describes it as to render the meaning of a text into another language in the way that the author intended the text.2 Nearly one hundred years ago, YAN Fu put forth faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance, the three difficulties in translation. “From the responsibility that the translator has, faithfulness should be for the original author, expressiveness for the Chinese readers, and elegance for the art.”3 Once the greatest Chinese literary figure, LU Xun, also laid particular emphases on faithfulness and expressiveness. In some sense, translation is commonly neither a paraphrase nor an imitation.
2. Four factors regulating liberal translation
2.1Difference in syntax
“Syntax is the study of the rules governing the ways that words, word groups, and phrases are combined to form sentences in a language, or the study of the interrelationships between elements in sentence structures.”4. English, in some sense, is a language of reaching meaning by its form. It requires that words can completely show its meaning and the construction is strict. Chinese, however, is a language that form is changeable by its meaning. English puts emphasis on hypotaxis, while Chinese places emphasis on parataxis. Hypotaxis is explained as “the dependent relation of a construction on another”5 . Parataxis gets its meaning as “the placing of related clauses, etc in a series without the use of connecting words.”6 English, from phrases, sentences to passage, may not live without connectives and inflection. But Chinese, by the contrary, is not restricted by rules of grammar and can combine freely. Following are some examples of phrases: 花灯：festival lantern 花纹：decorative pattern
花甲：a cycle of sixty years 花魁：the queen of flowers
In the above four phrases, the character“花” is sometimes an noun, and sometimes an adjective, but no matter which form it is, it can combine freely with another character. Contrarily, English has to depend on the inflection to combine phrases. We cannot simply translate them into “flower”.
2.2 Different ways of expressing ideas
Chinese and English belong to different language system, and have different background of culture. So they have formed their own particular ways of expression. “Translation is not the only change of language, but it must refer to language.”7 The feeling we have in mother language may be nothing in another language, or even leads to the obstacle to another language. Such great distinctions require that we should use liberal translation. For literal translation cannot find its place here.
2.2.1 Different word orders
Generally speaking, Chinese and English keep the similar word orders, but there also exists some discrepancies between them. Just because of those discrepancies, we often easily make mistakes when we do English-Chinese or Chinese-English translations. Literal translation pays special attention to the structure and form, and it must be royal to the original style. Liberal translation, however, just requires to keep the original meaning, without noticing the style. For example:
冷热：hot and cool 轻重：heavy and light
水陆：land and water 钢铁：iron and steel
2.2.2 Different expressions of color words
The discrepancy in colorful language is also the production of different culture between Chinese and English. In Chinese, red, which means happy, celebrating, rich, successful and all the good meaning, is a very good color word. Usually in a wedding, the bride and the bridegroom wear red flowers, and walking on the red carpet. In the ancient China, the bride must be dressed in red and be sent to the bridegroom’s in a red sedan. But in English, it goes so far away. Red is often used to modify danger, agony and prohibition, such as red alert (紧急警报), red flag（危险信号）.
More examples:
红豆：love pea see red：愤怒
红人：a favorite with sb. in power red ideas：革命思想
2.3 Liberal translation in rhetoric
A sentence, containing a rhetorical device, may give the reader a more thoughtful feeling and reach a special effect of expression. It usually has a deeper meaning. To translate this kind of words, if we use the literal translation, it must be beyond its original meaning, or it will be a strange translation product. Liberal translation is necessary in the rhetorical sentences, especially in simile, metaphor and metonymy. Simile usually contains such words as “like, as, as if, similar to…”, in Chinese, they are “如，像，好象，似…”. Many simile sentences can not be translated so easily, they must depend on the liberal translation. “His bedroom is like a kettle of fish.”(他的房间乱得一团糟。). If we translate it as “他的房间像一桶鱼。”, it must be unacceptable.
Metaphor is a commonly used rhetorical device. The translation of metaphors largely depend on the liberal translation method. The sentence “There are plenty more fish in the sea”(天涯何处无芳草)，in this sentence, “fish” is compared to the better person or chances.
Sentences of metonymy are most likely to be translated liberally.
He drunk a cup.(他喝了杯水。)
2.4. Liberal translation in idioms
Both Chinese and English have many idioms, which have great cultural features. For a foreigner, it is very hard to know them well. Thus, to translate the idioms is more challenging. Either literal or liberal translation is proper here, but sometimes it is difficult to translate literally or even if we have translated it out, it leads so reluctant, and even hard to understand. Hence, we use liberal translation a lot. Following is the example:
她怕碰一鼻子灰，话到了嘴边，她又把它吞了下去。（茅盾《子夜》）
She was afraid of being snubbed, so she swallowed the words that came to her lips.
“碰一鼻子灰”, if it is translated into English literally, the foreign readers may not understand its meaning, so liberal translation is taken here.
3. Conclusion
All the factors that I have talked above build the liberal translation. However, liberal translation does not mean translating at will; it must be faithful to the original and not so free without any limitation. Nowadays, more and more people advocate a combination of the literal and liberal translation. Because they have a good connection: literal translation is the basis and liberal translation is the complement of the literal one. This combination is of great effectiveness and may create more wonderful translation works.
Through such a long time working on translation, I have learned more about it, both in theory and practice. I believe those knowledge will benefit me all my life and guide me correctly in my later study and work..
参考文献
[1] Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary (fourth edition)[Z].牛津大学出版社, 1997年。
[2] Peter Newmark．A Text Book of Translation[M]．Prentice hall International (UK) Ltd.,1998.
[3] 林语堂.论翻译（1894 —1948）[C].外语教学与研究出版社，1984年。
[4] 胡壮麟等．语言学教程[M]．北京：北京大学出版社，2001年。
[5] [11] Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language[Z].The World Publishing Company, 1976.
[6] 程永生.中国近现代直译与意译研究[J].淮南工业学院学报，2002年 。
[7] 朱维之.翻译与文学修养[A].南京：江苏人民出版社，1984年。
作者简介：龚海红，女，籍贯：江苏，学历：本科，职称：讲师，主要研究方向：外国语言学与应用语言学，工作单位：江苏海事职业技术学院。
KEY WORDS： literal translation；liberal translation
1. Introduction of translation
What is translation? “ Expressing (sth. Spoken or esp. written) in another language or in simple words.”1 Peter Newmark, the famous English translation expert, describes it as to render the meaning of a text into another language in the way that the author intended the text.2 Nearly one hundred years ago, YAN Fu put forth faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance, the three difficulties in translation. “From the responsibility that the translator has, faithfulness should be for the original author, expressiveness for the Chinese readers, and elegance for the art.”3 Once the greatest Chinese literary figure, LU Xun, also laid particular emphases on faithfulness and expressiveness. In some sense, translation is commonly neither a paraphrase nor an imitation.
2. Four factors regulating liberal translation
2.1Difference in syntax
“Syntax is the study of the rules governing the ways that words, word groups, and phrases are combined to form sentences in a language, or the study of the interrelationships between elements in sentence structures.”4. English, in some sense, is a language of reaching meaning by its form. It requires that words can completely show its meaning and the construction is strict. Chinese, however, is a language that form is changeable by its meaning. English puts emphasis on hypotaxis, while Chinese places emphasis on parataxis. Hypotaxis is explained as “the dependent relation of a construction on another”5 . Parataxis gets its meaning as “the placing of related clauses, etc in a series without the use of connecting words.”6 English, from phrases, sentences to passage, may not live without connectives and inflection. But Chinese, by the contrary, is not restricted by rules of grammar and can combine freely. Following are some examples of phrases: 花灯：festival lantern 花纹：decorative pattern
花甲：a cycle of sixty years 花魁：the queen of flowers
In the above four phrases, the character“花” is sometimes an noun, and sometimes an adjective, but no matter which form it is, it can combine freely with another character. Contrarily, English has to depend on the inflection to combine phrases. We cannot simply translate them into “flower”.
2.2 Different ways of expressing ideas
Chinese and English belong to different language system, and have different background of culture. So they have formed their own particular ways of expression. “Translation is not the only change of language, but it must refer to language.”7 The feeling we have in mother language may be nothing in another language, or even leads to the obstacle to another language. Such great distinctions require that we should use liberal translation. For literal translation cannot find its place here.
2.2.1 Different word orders
Generally speaking, Chinese and English keep the similar word orders, but there also exists some discrepancies between them. Just because of those discrepancies, we often easily make mistakes when we do English-Chinese or Chinese-English translations. Literal translation pays special attention to the structure and form, and it must be royal to the original style. Liberal translation, however, just requires to keep the original meaning, without noticing the style. For example:
冷热：hot and cool 轻重：heavy and light
水陆：land and water 钢铁：iron and steel
2.2.2 Different expressions of color words
The discrepancy in colorful language is also the production of different culture between Chinese and English. In Chinese, red, which means happy, celebrating, rich, successful and all the good meaning, is a very good color word. Usually in a wedding, the bride and the bridegroom wear red flowers, and walking on the red carpet. In the ancient China, the bride must be dressed in red and be sent to the bridegroom’s in a red sedan. But in English, it goes so far away. Red is often used to modify danger, agony and prohibition, such as red alert (紧急警报), red flag（危险信号）.
More examples:
红豆：love pea see red：愤怒
红人：a favorite with sb. in power red ideas：革命思想
2.3 Liberal translation in rhetoric
A sentence, containing a rhetorical device, may give the reader a more thoughtful feeling and reach a special effect of expression. It usually has a deeper meaning. To translate this kind of words, if we use the literal translation, it must be beyond its original meaning, or it will be a strange translation product. Liberal translation is necessary in the rhetorical sentences, especially in simile, metaphor and metonymy. Simile usually contains such words as “like, as, as if, similar to…”, in Chinese, they are “如，像，好象，似…”. Many simile sentences can not be translated so easily, they must depend on the liberal translation. “His bedroom is like a kettle of fish.”(他的房间乱得一团糟。). If we translate it as “他的房间像一桶鱼。”, it must be unacceptable.
Metaphor is a commonly used rhetorical device. The translation of metaphors largely depend on the liberal translation method. The sentence “There are plenty more fish in the sea”(天涯何处无芳草)，in this sentence, “fish” is compared to the better person or chances.
Sentences of metonymy are most likely to be translated liberally.
He drunk a cup.(他喝了杯水。)
2.4. Liberal translation in idioms
Both Chinese and English have many idioms, which have great cultural features. For a foreigner, it is very hard to know them well. Thus, to translate the idioms is more challenging. Either literal or liberal translation is proper here, but sometimes it is difficult to translate literally or even if we have translated it out, it leads so reluctant, and even hard to understand. Hence, we use liberal translation a lot. Following is the example:
她怕碰一鼻子灰，话到了嘴边，她又把它吞了下去。（茅盾《子夜》）
She was afraid of being snubbed, so she swallowed the words that came to her lips.
“碰一鼻子灰”, if it is translated into English literally, the foreign readers may not understand its meaning, so liberal translation is taken here.
3. Conclusion
All the factors that I have talked above build the liberal translation. However, liberal translation does not mean translating at will; it must be faithful to the original and not so free without any limitation. Nowadays, more and more people advocate a combination of the literal and liberal translation. Because they have a good connection: literal translation is the basis and liberal translation is the complement of the literal one. This combination is of great effectiveness and may create more wonderful translation works.
Through such a long time working on translation, I have learned more about it, both in theory and practice. I believe those knowledge will benefit me all my life and guide me correctly in my later study and work..
参考文献
[1] Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary (fourth edition)[Z].牛津大学出版社, 1997年。
[2] Peter Newmark．A Text Book of Translation[M]．Prentice hall International (UK) Ltd.,1998.
[3] 林语堂.论翻译（1894 —1948）[C].外语教学与研究出版社，1984年。
[4] 胡壮麟等．语言学教程[M]．北京：北京大学出版社，2001年。
[5] [11] Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language[Z].The World Publishing Company, 1976.
[6] 程永生.中国近现代直译与意译研究[J].淮南工业学院学报，2002年 。
[7] 朱维之.翻译与文学修养[A].南京：江苏人民出版社，1984年。
作者简介：龚海红，女，籍贯：江苏，学历：本科，职称：讲师，主要研究方向：外国语言学与应用语言学，工作单位：江苏海事职业技术学院。