刘美贤
山东省烟台第三中学 山东 烟台 264010
I. Introduction
Although Chinese and English are both highly expressive languages and have many similar parts of speech, they still belong to different language families, which determines that they have different expressive habits, sentence structure and also a few different parts of speech. Besides, the corresponding parts of speech in the two languages do not necessarily refer to exactly corresponding groups of words. For example, nouns are much more frequently used in English than in Chinese, so we may come to a lot of situations where conversion of some English nouns are necessary for perfect translation.Therefore, the author takes conversion of English nouns as the topic for research, hoping to contribute a little to the research of conversion of parts of speech in E-C translation.
II. Conversion of Nouns in English-Chinese Translation
Nouns are much more frequently used in English than in Chinese, therefore we may come to a lot of situations where conversion of some English nouns into Chinese verbs, adjectives, adverbs is needed to achieve the maximal expressiveness in the rendering.
2.1 English Nouns Converted into Chinese Verbs
Both Chinese and English boast extremely rich words and expressions. They have almost the same capability to express themselves and share the sameness more or less in vocabulary, because they both shoulder the responsibility of carrying the ideology and culture of their own. However, English is the predominance of nouns over verbs. In Chinese the verb is the predominant part of speech. Therefore, under a lot of cases we need to convert some English nouns into Chinese verbs in English-Chinese translation.
2.1.1 English Nouns Converted into Chinese Verbs-situation1
Nouns which form verb-object relation with other parts of speech in original text can be converted into verbs. Here we will discuss two common types of “verb-object” forms. One is formed by a preposition or conjunction with two nouns in front of it and behind it respectively. In this case we need to translate the first noun before the preposition into Chinese by converting it into a verb to form a verb-object word group.
(1) We should going along with the trend of times and responding to the will of the people, continue our march towards the establishment and development of a constructive strategic partnership between our two countries.
我们要顺乎潮流, 合乎民意, 为建立和发展两国的建设性的战略伙伴关系而迈向前进。
(2) Elizabeth listened as little as she could, but there was no escaping the frequent mention of Wickham’s name.
伊丽莎白尽量不去听它，但总免不了听到一声声提起约翰的名字。
(3) The UN document calls for the settlement of the Middle East conflicts on the basis of Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories and Arab acknowledgment of Israel’s right to exist.
联合国文件呼吁以色列撤出所占土地, 阿拉伯承认以色列的生存权,在此基础上解决中东冲突。
2.1.2 English Nouns Converted into Chinese Verbs-situation2
There are also nouns possessing the property of a verb or derived from a verb that can form subject-predicate relation in the original text. There are also two forms of this “subject-predicate” relation. One is formed by a noun with a possessive pronoun before it. The noun is normally converted into a Chinese verb with the possessive pronoun acting as its subject.
(1) Her first attempt at egg drawing won praise from his teacher.
她初次画蛋就获得了老师的夸奖。
(2) His own investigations had begun on a day in the preceding spring.
他自己考查（各家系谱），是在刚过去的那个春天里有一天开始的。
The other subject-predicate relation is formed by a preposition with a noun before it and another noun behind it. In this case the first noun is converted into a Chinese verb and serving as the predicate of the subject-predicate word group.
(1) The gloomy forecast mentioned about the destruction of the balance of the nature.
这种阴暗的预测谈到自然界的平衡将遭到破坏。
(2) The attempt of Israel to go against the sanction from the UN would be folly.
以色列试图违背联合国的制裁, 那简直是一种蠢举。
2.1.3 English Nouns Converted into Chinese Verbs-situation3
There is also noun which forms subject-predicate-object relation with other parts of speech. Usually with the original sentence in such a structure--possessive pronoun + noun + preposition + common noun. The first noun which possesses the property of a verb or derived from a verb will be converted into a Chinese verb, and acts as a predicate in the translated textual material.
(1) Their visits to Mrs. Philip were now productive of the most interesting intelligence.
从此他们每次访问菲利普太太都都获得了最有趣的消息。
(2) His inquiries after his father were not favorably answered.
他问起爸爸的病情可没有得到满意的回答。
2.1.4 English Nouns Converted into Chinese Verbs-situation4
There is this kind of noun which forms a steady collocation with its preceding verb. The noun should be converted into verb while the preceding verb can be ignored in translation.
(1) Elizabeth made no objection.
伊丽莎白没有反对。
(2) We must learn the use of dictionary.
我们必须学会使用字典。
2.1.5 English Nouns Converted into Chinese Verbs-situation5
The nouns derived from verbs by adding such suffixes as -er or -or need to be converted into verbs if they imply the meaning of the verb rather than indicating identity or some other profession.
(1) He is a lover of Chinese painting.
他爱中国画。
(2) He is not much of a talker.
他不太健谈。
2.1.6 English Nouns Converted into Chinese Verbs-situation6
When we have no way in our translation to find a suitable noun consistent with the expression habits of the Chinese language for an English noun, we probably need to convert the noun into a Chinese verb.
(1) Sources suggested that this decline is largely due to a sharp cutback in the credit offered by the Canadian government to these countries.
有消息说这一下降主要是因为加拿大政府大幅消减向这些国家提供信贷而造成的。
(2) A look into the future may very well justify one’s optimism about china’s economic development.
展望未来对中国经济 的发展完全可以持乐观态度。
2.2 English Nouns Converted into Chinese Adjectives
As mentioned above nouns are much more frequently used in English than in Chinese. There is no surprise that sometimes we need to convert some abstract nouns into their closely related corresponding adjectives to make our translation more natural and comfortable to read.
2.2.1 English Nouns Converted into Chinese Adjectives- situation1
Some abstract nouns preceded by indefinite articles, need to be converted into adjectives.
(1)It is often a great sorrow to me.
所以我时常觉得很难过。
(2) In the course of learning, students’ independent thinking is an absolute necessity
在学习的过程中学生独立思考对学习是绝对必要的。
(3) Both sides agree that the meeting was a success.
双方都认为只是一次成功的会议。
2.2.2 English Nouns Converted into Chinese Adjectives- situation2
Some abstract nouns, which are derived from adjectives by adding suffixes often need to be converted into the corresponding adjectives so as to make a natural and fluent translation.
(1) The air was fresh and fragrant; it gives people a feeling of exceptional coolness and comfort.
空气如此清香, 使人感到分外凉爽，舒畅。
(2) We are immensely impressed by the splendor and warmth of our reception at the Great Hall of the People.
在人民大会堂为我们举行的隆重.热烈的欢迎仪式,给我们留下了深刻的印象。
(3) We are deeply convinced of the correctness of this policy.
我们深信这个政策是正确的。
2.2.3 English Nouns Converted into Chinese Adjectives- situation3
The English construction “of + abstract noun” which serves as a predictive of a sentence, with the abstract noun indicating characteristics of things is often converted into the corresponding Chinese “be+ adjective” construction.
(1) The air of the campus perfumed by spring flowers in full bloom give you a feeling of exceptionally refreshing comfort.
春天, 鲜花盛开, 校园里空气中弥漫着芳香, 沁人心脾, 分外令人舒畅。
(2) But it is of small importance.
不过这也无关紧要。
(3) It is of no consequence, I shall see her in January.
奥, 不要紧. 我正月里就可以和她见面。
(d) Some nouns modified by a preceding indefinite article and indicating a statement instead of giving a judgment by serving as object complements or predicatives in the original text, should be converted into adjectives in translation.
(1) You are a greater blockhead than I had supposed you to be.
你比我想象的还要傻得多。
(2) I consider myself a fairly respectable scholar of Hebrew language.
我认为我的希伯来文程度相当好。
2.3 English Nouns Converted into Chinese Adverbs
Some abstract nouns or noun phrases which have some logical relation with other elements of sentences sometimes need to be converted into adverb in order to make the translated Chinese version of text more natural and fluent.
(1) I had the fortune to meet him.
我幸运地遇到了他。
(2) When he catches a glimpse of a potential antagonist, his instinct is to win him over with charm.
只要一发现有可能反对他的人, 他就本能的要用自己的魅力把此人争取 过来。
(3) According to Beijing’s strategic plan for its development in the new century, Beijing will be the first city in mainland China to realize initial modernization, forming a basic framework for a modern international metropolis.
按照北京市制定的新世纪战略发展规划, 2010年北京率先在全国基本实现现代化,构建起现代化大都市的基本框架。
(4) I have the honor to inform you that you application has been accepted.
我荣幸的通知阁下您的申请已被接受。
III. Conclusion
From the above comparatively detailed analysis, we can learn that conversion of nouns in English-Chinese translation is not only necessary but possible because though no two words in any two languages ever seem to have precisely the same meaning, though the syntactic structures in different languages differ greatly, languages exhibit far greater similarity of structure at the near-kernel level than they do on the level of surface structures. Only by means of conversion can we achieve entirely adequate translation.
References
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