浅析英语体育新闻词汇的特点及翻译策略毕业论文.doc

本科生毕业论文浅析英语体育新闻词汇的特点及翻译策略A Brief Analysis of the Features and Translation of English Sports News Vocabulary摘要体育是社会文明的标志。2008年北京奥运会的举办，大大激起了民众的体育热情，体育新闻报道成为人们了解体育赛事，关注世界体育发展的重要渠道。英语体育新闻除具有一般新闻的特点外，自身有其独特的语言特色及文体特征。本文主要通过分析著名的英语体育新闻报纸或杂志来研究其词汇。英语体育新闻的词汇错综复杂，种类繁多。本文主要分析了英语体育新闻词汇的四个特征,即体育专业术语、缩略语、修辞和俚语的使用。然而,不同种类的词汇其翻译方法也各有不同，本文根据“功能对等”理论，简要介绍了两种翻译方法：直译，即按照词汇的字面意思直接翻译,这种方法主要适用于体育专业术语、缩略语以及部分使用修辞的词汇的翻译；意译，即将词汇的隐含意义翻译出来，不拘泥于其表面形式,大多数修辞性词汇，如:隐喻、转喻的词汇,以及俚语的翻译应使用意译。本文旨在通过浅析英语体育新闻的词汇特点及其翻译方法，使读者对英语体育新闻有更深的认识，减少阅读中的障碍，准确理解新闻所要传递的信息，进而促进不同国家民族之间体育信息的交流与发展。关键词：英语体育新闻；词汇特点；直译；意译AbstractSport is the sign of social civilization. The hosting of the famous 2008 Beijing Olympic Games has greatly aroused people's enthusiasm to sports. Sports news becomes an important way for people to understand the sports events and pay more attention to the development of world sports. In addition to the general features of news, English sports news has its own unique language characteristics and stylistic features. The thesis mainly studies the words by taking famous newspapers and magazines as examples. The vocabulary in English sports news is quite complex and full of various types. The thesis analyses its four lexical features: sports terminology, abbreviations, rhetoric and slang. However, different types of words have their own translation methods . In the thesis, the author briefly introduces two kinds of translation methods based on the theory of “functional equivalence”: literal translation, namely we can literally translate the vocabulary, so the method is mainly used for the translation of sports terminology, abbreviations and some rhetorical words; free translation, which means we must accurately express the words' implied meaning, but not focus on its forms. Therefore, free translation is frequently applied in the translation of most rhetorical vocabulary that using rhetoric such as metaphor and metonymy, and slang. The thesis briefly analyses the lexical features and its translation methods in English sports news, which aims at making readers have a deeper understanding of English sports news, reducing the barriers in reading, comprehending the sports message that the news intends to convey, and finally promoting the exchange and development of sports events among different nations.Key words: English Sports News; Lexical Features; Literal Translation; Free TranslationTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsI摘要IIAbstractIIITable of ContentsIVChapter1 Introduction11.1 Research Background11.2 Aim and Significance of Research11.3 Organization of the Thesis2Chapter2 Literature Review32.1 English Sports News32.1.1 The Definition of News32.1.2 The Introduction of English Sports News42.2 The Theory of “Functional Equivalence”42.2.1 Definition of “Functional Equivalence”42.2.2 Main Contents of “Functional Equivalence”52.2.3 The Links between “Functional Equivalence” and English Sports News Vocabulary52.3 Researches at Home and Abroad6Chapter3 Lexical Features of English Sports News83.1 Sports Terminology83.2 Abbreviations93.3 Rhetoric103.3.1 Metaphor103.3.2 Metonymy103.4 Slang113.5 Summary13Chapter4 Lexical Translation of English Sports News144.1 Literal Translation144.2 Free Translation15Chapter 5 Conclusion175.1 Major Findings175.2 Suggestions for Further Research185.3 Summary18Bibliography19Chapter1 IntroductionThe study of English sports news has a long history, which has expanded from stylistics to linguistics. The thesis focuses on the word level. This chapter is made up of three parts: the research background, the aim and significance of research and the organization of the thesis. 1.1 Research BackgroundWith the rapid development of information industry, the widespread cooperation and communication among countries are becoming closer and closer. The world is gradually turning into a global village, in which all kinds of news are provided and shared fast, efficiently and conveniently. As one kind of news, sports news plays an important role in social and cultural life. Sport is the symbol of social civilization. At the same time, it is international, so we need to deliver the latest sports news to meet the demands of fans across the world. On the occasion, more and more English sports news appears on newspapers, magazines, TVs and Internet every day. English sports news is a type of news, having its unique language features and writing styles, therefore, many scholars have studied various aspects of English sports news. However, scholars mainly regard sports news as a whole entity to study its linguistic aspects such as foregrounding and whole features, such as the stylistic features or language characteristics. Few have paid attention to the study of specific details, including the words, tone and so on. Based on previous studies on English sports news, the thesis mainly focuses on the lexical features and its translation.1.2 Aim and Significance of Research Today, sport has become an indispensable part of people's life, and the whole world is paying more and more attention to the development and transmission of sports. Therefore, in the newspaper or magazine, the sports news section occupies a large section. Sports information is interactional all over the world. English is referred to as a universal language, so the best way to know the latest and precise sports news is to read English sports news. As a type of news, English sports news aims to transfer information, so it must be easy to understand. However, English sports news has its unique styles and language features. The thesis selects the vocabulary to study, because it is the basis to understand the news. The thesis specifically analyses the lexical features and translation methods through the examples of famous newspaper and magazine, which aims to help readers learn some professional words and presentation skills, and finally understand the sports news properly.1.3 Organization of the ThesisThe thesis briefly analyses the lexical features and its translation in English sports news. It consists of five chapters. The first chapter is the introduction, indicating the research background and its aim and significance. The second chapter is literature review, including three parts: the meaning of English sports news, including the definition of news and sports news, the introduction of the theory of “functional equivalence” and research at home and abroad, The third chapter is devoted to the lexical features of English sports news, consisting of four features: use of sports terminology, abbreviations, rhetoric and slang. The forth chapter briefly introduces two kinds of translation skills of English sports news vocabulary based on the theory of “functional equivalence”: literal translation and free translation. The fifth chapter draws a conclusion, summarizing the major findings of the thesis and making suggestions for future research.Chapter2 Literature Review In this chapter, the author first introduces the meaning of English sports news, including the definition of news, some features of sports news and English sports news. Then the author precisely expresses one theory of translation, “functional equivalence”. Finally, the author states the previous research on features of English sports news at home and abroad, and some theories about its translation. 2.1 English Sports News In the part, we will introduce what news is, then give a brief definition of sports news and English sports news.2.1.1 The Definition of News We have to admit it is easier to identify the news than make the definition of news. Many definitions have been given to “news”, among which there is a well-known saying: it is not news when a dog bites a man, but absolutely news when you find a man bites a dog. The man-bites-dog definition, though sounds absurd, fully illustrates one of the widely accepted news value, the unusual, bizarre nature of a recently happened event.Different definitions have been given to “news” at different times and in distinct places. In Tang Dynasty (618-906AD), when a handwritten or wood-block-printed gazette was published for the emperor and his subordinates, news was things happening to and around the emperor.According to Modern Chinese Dictionary (2002), news is: A: the domestic and foreign information reported from the newspapers or broadcasting stations; B: the latest news events happening in our society. The definition of news from Chinese Words Encyclopedia (Lu Dingyi, 2002) says that: A: current political or social events reported by the newspapers, news agencies, broadcasting stations or TV stations, which calls for the requirements of being speedy, timely, true, succinct and based on facts. It has many forms: information, correspondence, features, survey reports, news photos, television news etc; B: something talked by people which is interesting and novel. The definition accepted in Chinese academic circles as standard is that news is the reporting of recent events.From all the definitions above, we can summarize the definition of news as follow: news is the reporting of recent events which have certain social values and can arouse people's interests widely.2.1.2 The Introduction of English Sports News After making clear of what news is, we can comprehend the meaning of sports news easily. Sports news is a type of news, transmitting related information about sports games and fitness activities. It also represents a kind of spirit, that is, challenging ourselves, surpassing ourselves, defeating ourselves and finally pursuing perfect. Sports news mainly report competitive sports games, and it focuses on entertainment and leisure. Moreover, sports news is international. Thus, as English is used around the world, English sports news tends to be more and more important. However, English sports news is different from the other kinds of news. It has its own lexical features and stylistics features, and the thesis will analyze its lexical features in chapter 3.2.2 The Theory of “Functional Equivalence” In 1964, Nida put forward the concept of “dynamic equivalence” in his book Toward a Science of Translation. Later at the end of 1980, he rendered his “dynamic equivalence” into “functional equivalence” and interpreted that the meaning of these two concepts are just the same. However, he prefers the concept of “functional equivalence” for the convenience of describing the degrees of adequacy of a translation. 2.2.1 Definition of “Functional Equivalence” Functional equivalence implies different degrees of adequacy from minimal to maximal effectiveness. A minimal realistic definition and a maximal ideal definition could be stated respectively as follow:“The readers of a translated text should be able to comprehend it to the point that they can conceive of how the original readers of the text must have understood and appreciated it.” “The readers of a translated text should be able to understand and appreciate it in essentially the same manner as the original readers did.” (Nida, 1998: 118)2.2.2 Main Contents of “Functional Equivalence”In his book Language, Culture, and Translating, Nida has distinguished degrees of his “functional equivalence” from the aspects of cognitive and experiential factors, namely, the minimal, realistic “functional equivalence” and the maximal, ideal “functional equivalence” that we have discussed above. Nida stresses that anything less than that minimal degree of equivalence should be unacceptable, while that “maximal level of equivalence is rarely, it never achieved except for texts have little or no aesthetic value and involving only routine information” (ibid.). “Functional equivalence” is the soul of Nida's overall theory of “principle of equivalence.” From early 1960s to 1990s, Nida didn't stop studying and perfecting his theory and tried to make it more scientific and useful. The improvement lies in two aspects: first, the degree of functional equivalence has been clearly divided into two scales, which makes the principle more practicable; secondly, Nida's minimal, realistic definition of “functional equivalence” is more definite, concrete and understandable. According to Nida's theory, the fundamental principle of translation is equivalence. In order to have a better understanding of Nida's “functional equivalence”, one must bear his following words in mind. “In general it is best to speak of functional equivalence in terms of a range of adequacy, since no translation is ever completely equivalent. A number of different translations can in fact represent varying degrees of equivalence. The means that equivalence cannot be understood in its mathematical meaning of identity, but only in terms of proximity, i.e. on the basis of degrees of closeness to functional identity”(Nida,1993:117).2.2.3 The Links between “Functional Equivalence” and English Sports News Vocabulary English sports news has its own unique language style, stylistic features and special vocabulary, which may be different from the receptor language, so we cannot just translate literally without considering its influence and the culture of target language. The function of sports news is to deliver latest sports information to readers, so its aim is to make sure the readers grasp the implied meaning of the information. When translating, we need not to pursue the complete equivalence of the forms, what we should focus on is its implied message or its function to the readers. That is just what the theory of “functional equivalence” advocates. English sports news vocabulary is the main part of the whole piece of news, only if we interpret the vocabulary accurately can we ensure the achievement of the news function. Because of the features of English sports news vocabulary, it is necessary to apply the theory of “functional equivalence” to its translation.2.3 Researches at Home and AbroadNowadays, with the development of sports and the increased link among countries, more and more people pay attention to sports. Various kinds of mass media as newspapers, magazine, and TVs constantly introduce the development of world sports to people. On the occasion, English sports news appears, which is a bridge linking the world sports and culture. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze and comprehend the language features and translation skills of English sports news, which has the significant meaning to the development of sports in our country and the cross-culture communication with the world. For the lexical features of English sports news, there are various sayings according to different measures. The study of lexical features of English sports news is a hot topic for scholars. Many researchers have an