Shanghai foreign language education press
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| THE COHESIVE LEVEL
Beyond the second factual level of translating, there is a third, generalised, level linking the first and the second level, which you have to bear in mind. This is the 'cohesive' level; it follows both the structure and the moods of the text: the structure through the connective words (conjunctions, enumerations, reiterations, definite article, general words, refetential synonyms, punctuation marks) linking the sentences, usually proceeding from known information (theme) to new infor- 24 PRINCIPLES mation (rhemc; proposition, opposition, continuation, reiteration, opposition, conclusion - for instance - or thesis, antithesis, svnthesis. Thus the structure follows the train of thought; determines, say, the 'direction 1 afd'ailleurs ('besides 1 , 'further 1 , 'anyway') in a text, ensures that a colon has a sequel, that ulterieur has a later reference; that there is a sequence of time, space and logic in the text. The second factor in the cohesive level is mood. Again, this can be shown as a dialectical factor moving between positive and negative, emotive and neutral. It means tracing the thread of a text through its value-laden and value-free passages which may be expressed by objects or nouns (Margaret Masterman (1982) has shown how a text alternates between 'help 1 and 'disaster'), as well as adjectives or qualities. You have to spot the difference between positive and neutral in, say, 'appreciate' and 'evaluate'; "awesome 1 and 'amazing 1 ; 'tidy 1 and 'ordered'; sauber andraVi; ^passed away 1 (indicating the value of the person) and *died\ Similarly you have to spot differences between negative and neutral in say 'potentate' and 'ruler 1 , These differences are often delicate, particularly near the centre, where most languages have words like 'fair', 'moderate 1 , mafiig, passable, assez bon whose value cannot always be determined in the context. My third level, this attempt to follow the thought through the connectives and the feeling tone, and the emotion through value-laden or value-free expressions, is, admittedly, only tentative, but it may determine the difference between a humdrum or misleading translation and a good one. This cohesive level is a regulator, it secures coherence, it adjusts emphasis. At this level, you reconsider the lengths of paragraphs and sentences, the formulation of the title; the tone of the conclusion (e.g. the appropriateness of a tout prendre, en definitive (often tricky), en fin de compte, enfini}), a la fin, en somme y en tout etat de cause to summarise an argument at the beginning of a final sentence). This is where the findings of discourse analysis are pertinent. tải về 2 Mb. Chia sẻ với bạn bè của bạn:
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