实用科技英语翻译.docx

A Practical Course on EST Translation

《实用科技英语翻译》

Prof. Wei CHEN
陈伟 教授

Institute for Translation & Intercultural Studies (ITIS)
School of Foreign Languages
Wuhan University of Technology

Course Description

Course Title: A Practical Course on EST Translation/ 《实用科技英语翻译》
Hours/week: 2 sessions per week
Students: Second-year students (A–level, Grade 2008)
Instructor: Prof. Wei CHEN, Institute for Translation & Intercultural Studies (ITIS), School of Foreign Languages, WHUT
Reference books:
1) Wuqiu FAN. Selections on Practical EST Translation. Foreign Language Publishing House. 2001./范武邱。《实用科技英语翻译讲评》。外文出版社。2001年。
2) Zhijie FENG. Essentials for EST Translation. China Translation Publishing House. 2000./冯志杰。《汉英科技翻译指要》。中国对外翻译出版公司。2000年。
3) Xianfa HUA. A New Practical Textbook of English-Chinese Translation. Hubei Education Press. 2001./华先发。新适用英译汉教程。湖北教育出版社。2001年。
4) Chengzhang LIN. An Introduction to English Lexicology. Wuhan University Press.1996./林承璋。英语词汇学引论。武汉大学出版社。1996年。

Objectives:
This course aims at training students to develop some elementary translation skills as capable EST translators or CIOs (Chief Information Officers) equipped with some knowledge of lexical and discourse features of EST genres, criteria of EST translation, and aware of the common grammatical mistakes or errors in EST translation, rhetoric devices and logics through translation theories study and translating practice.

《实用科技英语翻译》是以科技英语文体的词汇语篇特征、科技英语翻译的标准、科技英语翻译的常见语法错误、修辞问题和逻辑问题为主要内容，以科技英语翻译理论为指导，在科技英语翻译实践的基础上，集多种教学模式和教学手段为一体的教学体系。本课程的教学目标是培养学生的科技英语的翻译能力，使他们在今后学习和工作中能轻松地胜任科技英语情报收集和翻译工作。

We wish to:

1） Offer optional but special classes for the students to develop their interests towards EST translation. As science and engineering majors, the students will have chances to learn and appreciate EST materials;
2） Help the students enlarge their EST vocabulary so as to build a robust foundation for ESP (English for Special Purposes)(在拓展学生科技英语翻译能力的同时，有效地实现大学英语与专业英语的有效衔接。);
3） Help the students improve their reading ability through studying and appreciating texts of different styles in EST translation;
4） Help the students enhance their language accuracy and fluency in EST translation;
5） Help the students improve their critical-thinking ability in EST translation;
6） Familiarize the students with relevant translation theories in order to grasp some techniques used for EST translation;
7） Offer the students workshops to do EST translation.

Teaching Methods: lectures; questions and answers; in-class discussion; presentations by students (giving students more space to air their own opinions)

Contents:
Lecture 1  : Introduction
Lecture 2  : Lexical features of EST genres
Lecture 3  : Discourse features of EST genres
Lecture 4  : Common Prefixes, Suffixes and Affixes in Technical Terms Translation
Lecture 5  : Body Nouns Used in Technical Terms Translation
Lecture 6  : Some Common Techniques in Technical Terms Translation
Lecture 7 :  Theme-Rheme Represented in EST Translation
Lecture 8 :  Aesthetic Orientation in EST Translation
Lecture 9 :  Shifts between Generalization and Specification in EST Translation Lecture 10 : Sentence Length and Focus in EST Translation
Lecture 11 : Logic Analysis in EST Translation
Lecture 12 : EST Translation Practice
Lecture 13:  Some Common Grammatical Mistakes in EST Translation
Lecture 14: Some Common Rhetorical Mistakes in EST Translation
Lecture 15: Some Common Logical Mistakes in EST Translation
Lecture 16: Exam

Focuses:
1. Lexical and discourse features of EST genres;
2. Criteria of EST translation
3. Translation expertise in EST translation

Difficulty: Translation techniques in EST translation

课程的重点是科技英语文体的词汇和语篇特征和翻译的标准。难点是科技英语的翻译技巧。

Requirements of Students
a)    Attend every class unless it is impossible for good reason. (Points are awarded for class participation. If you do not attend, you cannot participate.) If you cannot make it to class, please let me know ahead of time. ONE absence without note for sick leave will lead to the loss of one point; THREE absences with note for sick leave will lead to the loss of one point
b)    Be punctual.
c)     Keep cell phones turned off during class time.
d)     Work positively and contribute to the best of your ability in class.
e)     Complete all assignments on time. Makeup tests and late assignments will only be considered in case of emergency.
f)      Take full advantage of necessary resources to practice your skills.

Assignments:
a)        background knowledge search for each lecture;
b)        preview work for each lecture;
c)        exercises after each lecture;
d)        one quiz for every 4 lectures.

Assessment:
a)        attendance (10%)
b)        in-class participation (20%)
c)        monthly quiz (10%)
d)        final exam (60%)

本课程分为五大部分。第一部分介绍科技英语文体的词汇特征，如科技术语的翻译总原则、合成科技术语的语义分析、类比构词及其翻译和科技术语翻译中的矛盾处理等；第二部分介绍科技英语文体的语篇特征，如：当代语言学理论在科技英语翻译中的作用、科技翻译中的美学取向、科技英语翻译中的虚实互化现象、主位述位在科技翻译中的表现、科技翻译中句长和语句重心的处理等。第三部分阐述科技英语的一般特征及其翻译的标准。第四部分说明科技英语翻译的常见语法错误、修辞问题和逻辑问题。第五部分为科技英语翻译实践。

Lecture 1 Introduction
1. The Definition of EST (English for Science & Technology)
EST (English for Science & Technology or Technical English or Scientific English) is a special language variety widely used in the fields of science and technology. It’s believed that it first came to being in the 1950s along with the rapid development of science and technology, and it many researchers and scholars began to conduct investigation of this common features of this special genre including reading comprehension, writing and even translation.
Example 1
Since the joint gap between a piston and a cylinder has great influence on the service life of an engine, and the primary factor influencing the joint gap is the deformation of a piston under working condition, it is important to show up the actual deformation of piston and for this purpose the finite element has been widely applied to analyze it numerically in China.
活塞与气缸的配合间隙，对于发动机的使用寿命影响很大，影响配合间隙的主要因素是活塞在状态下的变形。真实反映活塞变形情况，国内已广泛采用有限元法进行数值分析。
Example 2
The action of air on an airplane in flight at low altitude is greater than that at high altitude.
空气对于低空飞行飞机的作用力大于高空飞行的飞机。
Example 3
Pictures can be stored in the camera’s internal memory (about 14 MB) or on the Secure Digital (SD) memory card. If no memory card has been inserted in the camera, pictures will be stored in the memory, and if the camera contains a memory card, then pictures will automatically be stored on the card.
2. Stylistic Features of EST
Completely different from other genres such as everyday English, literature English, EST has its own stylistic features due to the specialty in content, field and discourse functions, and partly due to the unique habits of EST writers, which are mostly represented in lexical level and syntactical level.
2.1 Lexical level
1) Numerous Technical Terms
Technical terms refer to those lexicons specialized in a certain subject or area, with which laymen are unfamiliar, e.g. cryogeneics（低温学）, noepinephine（新肾上腺素）
Characteristics:
A. Lengthy: mostly containing roots or affixes originating from Latin, Greek and French, etc.
e.g. nucleonics（核子学）, semisomnus（半昏迷）, autoradiography（自动射线照相术）
B. Numerous compounds coined（新造）to signify the new things coming out in the science and technology
e.g. radiophotography（无线电传真）, anti-armored-fighting-vehicle-missile（反装甲导弹）
C. numerous abbreviations
e.g. FM (frequency modulation 调频), telesat (telecommunications satellite通讯卫星)
2) Numerous pseudo-technical terms
Everyday English EST different senses
e.g. frame 框架 1机架（machinery）；2）帧（telecommunications）
transmission 1)发射（radio engineering）；2）传动、变速（machinery）；3）透射（physics）；4）遗传（medical science）
2.2 Syntactical Level
1) Nominalization（名词化结构）
For conciseness: abstract nouns denoting action or state + v-ing form or nominal phrases,
e.g. the transmission and reception of images of moving objects by radio waves（通过无线电波来发射和接受活动物体的图像）;
illumination intensity determination（照明强度测定）；
the generation of heat by friction（摩擦生热）；

2) Lengthy sentences and logic connectors
For explicitation（将事理充分说明）, we often employ some lengthy sentences containing expressions and clauses（短语和分句）and logic connectors such as hence, consequently, accordingly, however, on the contrary, as a result, in short, etc.
3) The Present Tense and The Perfect Tense
The stated findings and results in the essays or books can be verified and repeated.
4) The Passive Voice
Objective, less subjective, scientific, impersonal,
5) The Antecedent（先行词）‘it’Construction
For balance of sentence structure
e.g. It is quite useful to think of the earth and its atmosphere as being rather like an onion – that is a ball made up of layers, although unlike an onion, each layer is made of different material.
6) Double or triple propositions（介词词组连用）
Relationship of different things such as spatial and temporal relationship（时空关系）, subordination（所属关系）and cause-effect relationship（因果关系）etc.
e.g. The action of air on an airplane in flight at low altitude is greater than that at high altitude.
空气对于低空飞行飞机的作用力大于高空飞行的飞机。

Lecture 2 Prerequisites for EST Translation
1. Basics of Specialty
EST involves many fields in natural sciences, therefore it’s quite essential to get familiar with the knowledge of the relevant subjects along with a rich vocabulary necessary for EST translation.
******************************************
德马格起重机械（上海）有限公司: 技术翻译& 高级经理教授助理
Technical Translation & Assistant Wanted
Target and Mission
1. Technical translation
2. Provide professional assistant to the Division Manager of Company Development.

Requirements:
1. University education, major in English of Science and technology, Engineering, professional translator qualification
2. Excellent in English
3. At least 3 years experience on technical translation with known translation service provider.
4. Good computer software skills (i.e. Windows, Excel, Power Point, MS Project and etc.)
5. Experience with Translation Memory Management software, e.g. Transit or Trados is preferred.
6. Basic knowledge of mechanical & electrical technology
7. Ability to work independently in area of own responsibility.
8. Proficiency in Microsoft office & operation of office machinery

Responsibilities:
1. Translate technical documents and standards
2. Assist Division Manager in administration affairs and technical reports
3. Assist Division Manager for market survey.
4. Assist Division Manager to manage all technical standards (ISO, EU, GB, JB, Demag standards, etc)
5. Assist Division Manager to manager ISO 9001 quality system and related procedure documents;
6. Others activities request from top management team
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2. Accurate comprehension of semantic meaning
Ø Popular words + learned words (technical terms): Specialized meanings in EST consult the dictionary
Ø the rapid development of science and technology: newly coined words @@ we cannot find them in the dictionary ?? translation expertise
3. Analyzing the Lengthy Sentences
Lengthy sentences: segmentation + main clause + logic + translation
科技英语中有大量长句，长句中含有若干分句和许多短语及其他修饰限定成分，这给理解带来了一定困难。 翻译时首先必须对长句进行深入细致的分析，先理解主干，再层层明确各成分之间的语法关系和语义逻辑关系， 然后根据情况，选择采用顺译、逆译或综合译法。表达时一定要将意义的准确性和清晰度放在首位，该断句就断句，该增益就增益，不可死扣原文形式。
Prof. Guangzhong YU（余光中）:的的不休
4. Wording
EST: formal in style
3 levels: academic（学术性） + technical（专业性） + popular（通俗性）
experts well-educated versatile people laymen
the most formal the most informal
e.g.
1) Experts: AIDS获得性免疫缺乏综合征，poliomyelitis脊髓灰质炎，diarrhea腹泻
2) Laymen: pink eye红眼病，the runs拉肚，AIDS艾滋病/“爱之病”，poliomyelitis小儿麻痹症
5. Familiarizing the word-formation
Newly coined words: neologisms
Prefix +Root + suffix
A. Compounds
e.g. heartman（换心人）, photobotany（光植物学）, hot-press（热压）
B. Affixation
e.g. antibody（抗体）, semisynthetic（半合成的）, futurology（未来学）
C. Clipping
e.g. influenza – flu, parachute – chute（降落伞）, university –varsity, three-dimensional film --3-D（立体电影）
D. Blending
e.g. teleprinter +exchange – telex（电传）, biological + rhythm – biorhythm（生理节奏）
E. Acronyms
e.g. AC (alternating current交流电), DC(direct current直流电),CCTV(closed circuit television闭路电视)
** Multiple meanings:
e.g. AC
1) absorption coefficient（吸收系数）, 2)adapter cable（适配电缆）, 3)air condenser（空气冷凝器）, 4)air conditioner（空调）, 5)alternating current, 6)automatic control（自动控制）, 7) accumulator（蓄电池）, 8) analog computer（模拟计算机）
6. Assignments: Summarize the commonly used prefixes and suffixes.

Lecture 3 Technical Terms in EST Translation
1. Compound Words: the most common way to enlarge the EST vocabulary
1) Compound nouns
A. N. N. e.g. diesel locomotive, force pump
B. ADJ. +ADJ. e.g. incandescent lamp, distant signal
C. V-ing + N. e.g. loading platform, rectifying stone
D. N. + V-ing e.g. side-loading, rail reconditioning
E. N. + V-ing + N. e.g. rail reclaiming plant, rail fastening broom
F. N. + V-ed + N./N phrase e.g.dip-forged disc wheel, dip-forged solid disc wheel
G. V. + partical（小品词）e.g. flyover, turnout
H. Particle + V. e.g. uprise, input
I. ADJ. + N. + head N.（中心名词）e.g. narrow-gauge railway, axial piston pump
J. ADJ. + ADJ. + N. + head N. e.g. basic direct access method, double acting stop block
K. ADV. + ADJ. + N./ N phrase e.g. locally alternative sequence functionally distributed computer system
L. N. + N. + N. e.g. gauge side control gear change lever
M. Capital Letter + N. (1) shape, feature and nature: e.g. U-steel, I-beam; (2) abbreviation: e.g. P-waves (P = primary), Q-factor (Q=quality)
N. Greek letter + N. e.g. gamma decay, alpha angel
2) Compound adjectives
e.g. anti-armored-fighting-vehicle-missile（反装甲导弹）
3) Grammar compound:
e.g. double-curved arcbridge, circular one-shaft vibrator, automate route control of train
2. Rules for Technical Term Translation
1) Syntactic Structure of Some Common Technical Terms:
A. S + V（主谓式）
B. V + O（动宾式）
C. ADJ + N（偏正式）
Suggestions of EST Technical Term Translation:
Based on the characteristics of Chinese syntactic technical terms, we should employ some translation techniques such as literal translation, free translation combination of literal translation and free translation, translation according to its image, etc.
在翻译合成科技术语时，我们应连心汉语词法上的特点，结合传统的音译、意译、音意结合、形译、象译等翻译方法，适当地讲科技术语译成主谓式或偏正式等结构。
e.g.
pile driving打桩（V + O）
in-track grinding现场打磨（ADJ + N）
up-and-down hump yards双向驼峰编组场（ADJ + N）
ballast regulating & compacting plate道渣整形夯实板（ADJ + N）
fire retardant paint防火漆（ADJ + N）
cut and cover明挖法（ADJ + N）
flyover立体交叉（ADJ + N）
U-steel槽钢（ADJ + N）
P-waves地震纵波（ADJ + N）
power supply供应电力（S + V）
rail reconditioning钢轨整修（S + V）
2) General feature of Compound Technical Terms:
A. accuracy（确切性）:accurately reflect