• 1) Being silent or showing a lack of enthusiasm • 2)Offering an alternative • 3)Postponement(delaying answers) • 4) Putting the responsibility on a third party or something over which you have no control
Dragon-Boat Festival
•
The lightsome dragon-boats appear on the river as though the stars twinkle in the milkway. The richly decorated pleasure-boats look like a scene of mirage. The splendid awnings in green and gold chain into a palace of crystal. Is this a fairyland or a mere dream? Looking above, you can see the doves flying about; looking below, you can see the sailing lamps glittering. Crackling are the fireworks, which present you a picture of fiery trees and silver flowers.
• 4)– Waiter! • --Yes, sir • 5)—Yes? • --I’d like two tickets, please • 6)– Everything will be all right soon, yes? • 2 Different ways to say Yes
How to refuse others?
assertions about how terrific it all is, but in unintentionally hilarious language that leaves the reader laughing out uninformed … The brochure also suffers from lack of background material, the taking-itfor-granted that the reader already is familiar with many aspects of Chinese
• 1. Lexical equivalence
• 2. Idiomatic equivalence • 3. Grammatical-syntactical equivalence • 4. Experiential equivalence
• 5. Conceptual equivalence
Lexical Equivalence
1. Color Terms 眼红 青天 怡红公子 blue-eyed boy
green-eyed blue sky Green Boy 眼中红人
Idiomatic Equivalence
1. raining cats and dogs 2. Love me, love my dog. 3. Give a dog a bad name and hang him. 4. 狗嘴里吐不出象牙来 a filthily mouth can not utter decent language
Experiential Equivalence
1.The word “Ocean” to the tribe in a mountainous jungle region
2.Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
Conceptual Equivalence
Spanish: Te amo / Te quieto English: owl cricket Chinese: magpie bat
Case 13
我失骄杨君失柳, 杨柳轻飏直上重霄九。
----- 蝶恋花· 答李淑一
Version 1
I lost my proud Poplar and you your Willow, Poplar and Willow soar into the Ninth Heaven.
• 5)Avoidance • 6) General acceptance of an offer but giving no details • 7) Diverting and distracting • 2 Japanese way to say No
Discovering Problems: Translating across Languages

〔骄杨〕指作者的夫人杨开慧。杨开慧(一九○一——一九三○)， 湖南长沙人，一九二一年加入中国共产党，在中共湘区委员会负 责机要兼交通联络工作，后随作者去上海、武汉等地。一九二七 年大革命失败后，隐蔽在长沙板仓坚持地下工作。一九三○年十 月被国民党反动派逮捕，十一月牺牲。 〔飏(yá ng扬)〕飘扬。 〔重霄九〕九重霄，天的最高处。我国古代神话认为天有九重。 〔吴刚〕神话中月亮里的一个仙人。据唐段成式《酉阳杂俎》， 月亮里有一棵高五百丈的桂树，吴刚被罚到那里砍树。桂树随砍 随合，所以吴刚永远砍不断。 〔嫦娥〕神话中月亮里的女仙。据 《淮南子· 览冥训》，嫦娥(一作姮娥、恒娥)是羿(yì 异)的妻子，因 为偷吃了羿从西王母那里求到的长生不死药而飞入月中。 〔舒广 袖〕伸展宽大的袖子。 〔忽报人间曾伏虎，泪飞顿作倾盆雨〕忽 然听到中国人民终于推翻了国民党反动派统治的捷报，两位烈士 的忠魂顿然高兴得泪流如雨。 〔舞、虎、雨〕这三个韵脚字跟上 文的“柳、九、有、酒、袖”不同韵。作者自注：“上下两韵， 不可改，只得仍之。”
Version 2
I’ve lost proud Yang and you’ve lost Liu, Their souls fly up into the blue.


Байду номын сангаас
蝶恋花· 答李淑一（1957年5月11日） 我失骄杨君失柳， 杨柳轻飏直上重霄九。 问讯吴刚何所有， 吴刚捧出桂花酒。 寂寞嫦娥舒广袖， 万里长空且为忠魂舞。 忽报人间曾伏虎， 泪飞顿作倾盆雨。 这首词最早发表在一九五八年一月一日湖南师 范学院院刊《湖南师院》。 注释 〔答李淑一〕 这首词是作者写给当时的湖南长沙第十中学语 文教员李淑一的。
Case 14
Translate the following and comment on it.
轻快的龙舟如银河流星，瑰丽的彩船 似海市蜃楼，两岸那金碧辉煌的彩楼连成 灯舞回旋千姿百态，汽船腾起一江春潮， 射击手点破满天彩球，还有雀鸟争鸣，花 卉盆景竞艳，书画、工艺展览铺出琳琅满 目的画廊…… 啊，滨江城是不夜城，龙舟 会是群英会。
Questions
1. Do you know the meanings of 杨柳 here? What do they refer to? How should they be translated in English?
2. What do you think of the two English versions?
Comments on the Translation
• My first reaction was unfortunately laughter because it is so full of mistakes. It omits some necessary information about the Dragon-Boat Festival, including its historical origins and when it actually takes place. These things are important … The copy seems to try to “snow” the reader with fanciful, overblown

词中的“柳”指李淑一的丈夫柳直荀烈士(一 八九八——一九三二)，湖南长沙人，作者早 年的战友。一九二四年加入中国共产党，曾任 湖南省政府委员，湖南省农民协会秘书长，参 加过南昌起义。一九三○年到湘鄂西革命根据 地工作，曾任红军第二军团政治部主任、第三 军政治部主任等职。一九三二年九月在湖北洪 湖革命根据地被害。一九五七年二月，李淑一 把她写的纪念柳直荀的一首《菩萨蛮》词寄给 作者，作者写了这首词答她。
Questions I
1. Do you think the original is a lively presentation? Is it well written? Why or why not? 2. Is the translation faithful to the original? Is it appropriate for foreign readers?
history and culture … It doesn’t tell you where to go, how to get there, when things are open and closed, how much they cost, and so forth. All these are things people visiting an area want to know.
How to Say Yes and No
• Translate the following: • 1) Do you like the new school? • --Yes, I do • 2) –Please don’t say that • --Yes, I will • 3)—I know what he wants • -- Yes? • -- Money!