British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 14 September 2014, Vol. 12 (1)

Transcription

1 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 14 The Necessity of Translation Shifts in Current English-Chinese Translation on BBC Political News 论 翻 译 转 移 在 当 今 BBC 时 政 新 闻 英 汉 翻 译 中 的 必 要 性 NAEL F M HIJJO Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, University of Malaya nael_hijjo@yahoo.com LYU HUILING Chengdu Institute, Sichuan International Studies University @qq.com ABSTRACT The translation of BBC English-Chinese political news is considered as a bridge across Chinese people who represent 19.1% of the world total population (Chinese Official Population Clock website, 16/01/2014). However, this kind of bridge is not always easy to be built because of the various intricate diversities such as history, culture, social ideology, aesthetic interest etc. between the two languages. Considering those components, translation shifts become an unavoidable phenomenon in English-Chinese political news translation activity. According to Catford (1965), translation shifts mainly contain two types of transferring forms: level shifts and category shifts (including structural shifts, unit shifts, class shifts and intra system shifts,). In this paper, the authors explore the various translation shifts exiting in the English-Chinese political news translation on BBC website on the light of Catford s theory (1965), aiming to embodying the necessity of translation shifts. Key words: Catford, translation shifts, political news, English, Chinese. 1.1 INTRODUCTION With the development of modern society and the constant changes of domestic and international situations, English political news has become a mass media which is accepted by a large number of people around the world (Gitlin 1980). In recent years, especially some international English news

2 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 15 websites such as BBC, France 24, VOA, CNN, etc. have occupied the leadership position in English political news (Hijjo 2013). For Chinese people, if we want to gain more information about the current political news around this world, translation will be an essential bridge. However, due to the various differences such as culture, customs, language differences, etc., there are always some changes which called translation shifts in the translation process from the SL (source language) to the TL (target language) (Steiner 2013). Since 1950s, many linguists such as Jean Vinay, Jean-Paul Darbelnet (1958), Roman Jakobson (1959), Eugene Nida (1964), John Catford (1965), Peter Newmark (1988), etc., have investigated the notion of shifts in translation between two languages from linguistic perspective in their works and studies. Moreover, as a representative figure of translation theorist in linguistic school, Catford followed Firth and Halliday linguistic model which analyses language as communication, operating functionally in context and on a range of different levels (e.g. phonology, graphology, grammar, lexis) and ranks (sentence, clause, group, word, morpheme, etc.) (Munday 2008: 60). In 1965, Catford put forward the concept of translation shifts for the first time in his work A Linguistic Theory of Translation The Term Shift in Translation The translation process is considered as a transformation in the process of replacement of a certain code system with another by maintaining the same function and delivering the same massage. Moreover, the term of shift, which is used by some linguists as transposition (Vinay and Darbelnet 1958) has appeared for its first time in Catford s work A Linguistic Theory of Translation in Newmark (1988) did not use the word shift but transposition, he argued that transposition in translation is a necessity especially when translating the verbal adjectives end with able, -ible, -bar, - abile, etc. which always exist in one language but do not exist in another one i. Furthermore, Vinay and Darbelnet (1958) also did use the term transposition instead of shift. For them, transposition means a

3 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 16 change of one part of speech for another without changing the sense ii. Thereby, it is a method that translator can use to substitute the SL word class with another one in the TL without changing the information meaning. They classified the transposition into two types: obligatory and optional. Obligatory transposition refers to when the TL does not have a correspondent word-class and tense, and the optional one is related to when the TL has both a literal correspondence and the transposition one iii. They also named others categories under transposition such as verb to noun, adjective to verb, noun to verb, noun to adjective, etc. For example: English ST (Source Text): It s my conviction that [ ] the correctness of this policy Chinese TT (Target Text): 我 坚 信 这 个 政 策 是 正 确 的 This example presents two categories under transposition: noun to verb and noun to adjective CATFORD S NOTION ON TRANSLATION SHIFTS Catford (1965) assigned Chapter 12 of his book A Linguistic Theory of Translation to discuss the translation shifts which was also called transposition by Vinay and Darbelent (1958), Newmark (1988) and other linguists in their works. He defined translation shifts as small linguistic changes occurring in translation of ST to TT and considered that translation shifts took place at both grammatical and lexical levels iv. In addition, Catford (1965) made a remarkable contribution to distinguish formal correspondence and textual equivalence (Munday 2008) FORMAL CORRESPONDENCE Formal correspondence is any TL category which can be said to occupy, as nearly as possible, the same place in the economy of the TL as the given SL category occupies in the SL v, according to A

4 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 17 Linguistic Theory of Translation of Catford (1965). Besides, Catford (1965) also put forward that formal correspondence was built between two languages since both languages texts function at the same grammatical units i.e. morpheme, word, phrase, clause, sentence. Hereinafter is a classic example which was set by Catford (1965) representing a formal correspondence between English as the SL and French as the TL: English SL text: I ve left my keys on the table. French TL text: j ai laissé mes clés sur la table. vi This example refers to a morpheme rank which belongs to formal correspondence as mentioned by the authors above. Therefore, the purpose of formal correspondence is supposed to make both the form and the content of the ST in the TT correspond to each other as much as possible. However, Catford (1965) argued that formal correspondence cannot be achieved easily because of different linguistic systems between two languages. Consequently, under that condition, translators must produce a textual equivalence in translation process TEXTUAL EQUIVALENCE Equivalence, as defined by Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary is the condition of being equal or equivalent value and function vii. Thus, equivalence in translation means that when one element of the SL is translated into another one of the TL, their meanings are the same. According to Catford (1965), textual equivalence is any TL text or portion of text which is observed on a particular occasion, to be the equivalent of a given SL text or portion of text viii. As below, there is an example from BBC Website to clarify the textual equivalence between English as the SL text and Chinese as the TL text: English SL text: German call for inquiry into British embassy 'spying' Chinese TL text: 德 国 要 求 调 查 英 国 大 使 馆 间 谍 活 动

5 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 18 The above example suggests that there is no formal correspondence but textual equivalence. First of all, the English SL text above is a phrase yet the Chinese translation text presents a complete sentence. However, they share the same meaning. Thus, the noun call and the noun inquiry in the English SL text are attached to the verb 要 求 and the verb 调 查 in the Chinese TL text. Hence, a conclusion can be drawn that the Chinese TL text 德 国 要 求 调 查 英 国 大 使 馆 间 谍 活 动 is the textual equivalence of the English SL text German call for inquiry into British embassy 'spying'. As the authors discussed above, formal correspondence cannot be achieved easily. Thereby, translators ought to generate some textual equivalence in their translation activities. Accordingly, in order to realize textual equivalence, various shifts take place. Catford (1965) classified textual equivalence into two main categories: level shifts and category shifts. He also proposed the four types of category shifts: structure shifts, class shifts, unit shifts, and intra-system shifts. 2. FACTORS LEADING TO TRANSLATION SHIFTS OF ENGLISH-CHINESE BBC POLITICAL NEWS TRANSLATION 2.1 LINGUISTIC FACTOR The translation of English-Chinese political news not only should be faithful to the SL, but also should meet with the people's language habits of the TL. However, Chinese and English belong to different languages families and systems (Chen and Connie Ho 1986). That is one of the most important elements that generate translation shifts in English Chinese politic news translation activities. Due to limited space, from linguistic prospective, the authors analyze only from the diversity of one kind of sentence structures in English and Chinese on the grammatical stage. Generally speaking, different nationalities often delivery the same objective facts in different word order because of their different habits of thinking. It is said that the main order to reflect reality is

6 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 19 Subject-Behavior, Behavior-object, Behavior signs in English nation s thinking. Under this kind of thinking mode, one of the most essential forms of language delivery which is Subject+Verb+Object+Adverbial generated. But in Chinese language, it is Subject+Adverbial +Verb+Object ix. For instance: Paris. SL text: Authorities said Dekhar had been jailed in 1998 for his role in a string of fatal shootings in TL text: 当 局 说, 德 克 哈 曾 因 卷 入 1998 年 的 巴 黎 连 环 枪 击 杀 人 案 而 入 狱 In the subordinate clause after the word said of the SL, all the time adverbial in 1998, the reason adverbial for his role in a string of fatal shootings and the place adverbial in Paris are put behind the main structure Dekhar had been jailed. However, in the TL, all the adverbials are in front of the verb 入 狱 but not like 德 克 哈 曾 入 狱 在 1998 年 因 卷 入 连 环 枪 击 杀 人 案 在 巴 黎. Furthermore, English language also thinks that a long attribute must be placed behind the object which is modified, while Chinese grammar puts attribute before the modified one. For example: SL text: French authorities have named a man arrested on suspicion of carrying out recent gun attacks in Paris as Abdelhakim Dekhar. TL text: 法 国 警 方 说, 最 近 发 生 的 巴 黎 枪 击 案 的 被 捕 嫌 犯 名 为 阿 布 代 尔 哈 吉 姆 德 克 哈 In the SL, the modified object is man and following it is a long attribute arrested on suspicion of carrying out recent gun attacks in Paris. However, the Chinese translation text is 最 近 发 生 的 巴 黎 枪 击 案 的 被 捕 which is placed before the modified one 嫌 犯 is the attribute. 2.2 CULTURAL FACTOR Culture is another essential factor producing translation shifts in English-Chinese political news translation (Ho and Crookall 1995). News is one type of communication processes of cross-culture, and the function of it is reporting the latest events and information (Jensen 1986). But as communicators and

7 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 20 readers are in different cultural backgrounds, comparing to the other types of problems, it is the most inevitable and frequent for translators to encounter cultural problem (Zhijun 1995). For instance, post and rank address are not often adopted in English. The form title + last name is often applied to address government officials, imperial kinsmen and people in military and religion circles, i.e. Pope John, Prince William, President Obama, etc. But in Chinese, the words that express social status, such as post, professional title, job, all can be used in the designation (Gu 1990). They are usually employed with names in order to express respect to the object person. All in all, rank and post address in Chinese are much more extensive and challenging than in English. Another point is that the title appellations of country leaders are not the same according to different countries such as General Secretary Xi ( 习 总 书 记 ), President Obama( 奥 巴 马 总 统 ), Prime Minister Abe( 安 倍 首 相 ), etc. Because of the effect of different culture backgrounds, translators cannot translate all of president into 主 席 which also called 总 统, Prime Minister into 首 相 which also named 总 理 in some countries. Therefore, news especially political news translators must pay more attention to the cultural differences otherwise it cannot achieve the accurate results of dissemination (Peña 2007). 2.3 IDEOLOGICAL FACTOR Translation is a rewriting activity of the original text. Thus, the ideology including political ideology and cultural ideology of the translator is a very important factor for political news translation (Kuo 2005). It is said that no matter in what circumstances, political ideology is always a huge impact on the translation. The tenser political situation is, the more constrained the translation would be by political awareness of the translator. Government is the sponsor for news translation, affecting the translation activities by rules and regulations, which reflect the government's own ideology or the ideology that

8 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 21 government imposed on people, and these ideologies has tremendous power. However, these regulations own immense power. Due to the impact of their own culture, the translator has his or her own ideology. Unlike other styles of writing, news translation is related to the interest of ruling party. In another word, the translator cannot translate things not only according to the principles proposed by scholars, but also must somehow be controlled by ideology (Tsai 2005). Between China and western countries, there are many cultural and political ideological conflicts (Tsien 1954). For example, in Western countries, the news media has consistently advocated the freedom of expression and the courage to correct mistakes of the ruling party. Western media is particularly keen to disasters, scandals and other kinds of negative events. The more catastrophic or shocking the event is, the more media interest will be attracted. This nature of news reports makes criticism and dissatisfaction on the government often appear flagrantly on western news media. On the contrast, the Chinese media receives more ideological restrictions from the government. In addition, the ideology of target audience also cannot be overlooked. Therefore, translator must consider the reader's life attitude, mental habits and aesthetic standards and adopt appropriate translation strategies to meet the different tastes of the target audience. In summary, faced different ideological factors, news translator should choose translate strategies flexibly to solve ideological problems between different cultures, so that the target audience can easily understand and accept it (Fairclough 1992).

9 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences THE APPLICATION OF VARIOUS TRANSLATION SHIFTS AND EXPLANATION OF THE RESULTS ON CURRENT ENGLISH-CHINESE POLITICAL NEWS TRANSLATION TEXTS FROM BBC WEBSITE 3.1 BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF VARIOUS TRANSLATION SHIFTS ACCORDING TO CATFORD shifts: As mentioned above, Catford (1965) divided shifts into two main types: level shifts and category LEVEL SHIFTS Accordingly, level shifts would be something which of grammar in one language and lexis in another x. In traditional English grammar, words are grouped into two types of words: content words which has substantive lexical content and function words presenting grammatical features. For example, a noun such as flower has substantive lexical content in that it indicates the coloured part of a plant from which the seed or fruit develops xi and people can easily draw a picture of a flower; however, a pronoun like she would not be easy enough to describe its content, which is a function word marking some features such as person, number and case and it is a third person singular nominative pronoun. Moreover, the dominant content words found in English are verb, adjective, adverb, noun, and preposition. Besides, determiner, quantifier, pronoun and auxiliary are function words in English. It is said that if the gap between two languages is big enough, this kind of shifts will frequently occur. Therefore, level shifts can easily appear in the translation between English language and Chinese language, because these two languages belong to two totally different language systems English is a branch of Germanic Language and Chinese is included in Sino-Tibetan Language. The shifts are

10 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 23 especially embodied in the tense differences between these two languages. We use the same example in section 1 of part 3 to clarify the level shifts between English and Chinese. ST: Authorities said Dekhar had been jailed in 1998 for his role in a string of fatal shootings in Paris. 当 局 说, 德 克 哈 曾 因 卷 入 1998 年 的 巴 黎 连 环 枪 击 杀 人 案 而 入 狱 In English ST, there is a sign of past perfect tense had done which is a function part here. But in Chinese TT, translator used a lexis 曾 to present the grammar element had done in English. However, all present perfect tense have/has done, past perfect tense had done and past tense did can be translated into Chinese lexis such as 着, 了, 过, etc CATEGORY SHIFTS When defined category shifts, Catford (1965) classified it into four types structure shifts, unit shifts, class shifts, and intra-system shifts STRUCTURE SHIFTS Catford (1965) said that structural shifts are the most common form of translation shifts, involving mostly a shift in grammatical structure xii. For example, there are also a lot of passive sentences translating into active sentences in Chinese due to different grammatical structure of the two languages such as the example in part 3.1. Besides, different word orders also show structure shifts between these two languages. There is a quite interesting sample to reflect structure shifts between an English source text and two Chinese translation texts. ST: Eight years in the broadcasting business had made him deft at such juggling. TT1: 在 广 播 界 所 干 的 八 年 使 他 相 当 熟 悉 这 套 玩 意 了

11 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 24 TT2: 他 在 广 播 界 干 了 八 年, 对 这 套 玩 意 已 经 相 当 熟 练 了 The subject of main structure in ST is Eight years, followed by subject complement in the broadcasting business ; verb part is had made, and him is the object. In TT1, the subject is 八 年, following the attribute 在 广 播 界 所 干 的. However, TT2 translates ST into two sentences and 他 is subject, before an adverbial phrase an adverbial 在 广 播 界 ; 干 了 is verb with past tense but 八 年 becomes an adverbial CLASS SHIFTS Class shifts is a shift that one of the SL parts of speech is changed to another one in the TL. It means that the equivalent words of SL and TL have the same meaning but different classes. Class shifts can be found from verb to noun, noun to adjective, adjective to verb, etc. The following is an example to present class shifts between English and Chinese: ST: The new situation requires the formation of a new strategy. [n.] 新 形 势 要 求 制 定 新 战 略 [vt.] UNIT SHIFTS As defined by Catford (1965), unit shifts are also called rank shifts, which indicate translation equivalent in the TL is at a different rank to the SL xiii. Rank refers to the linguistic units of sentence, clause, group, word and morpheme. For example, SL uses a clause to express the meaning, but it is possible to be converted into a word or phrase instead in TL. For example:

12 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 25 ST: The unarmed US aircraft (phrase) took off from Guam on a flight that was part of a regular exercise in the area. 这 两 架 美 军 飞 机 都 未 携 带 武 器 (sentence), 它 们 是 在 周 一 从 关 岛 起 飞 的, 在 该 海 域 的 飞 行 活 动 是 日 常 演 练 的 一 部 分 INTRA-SYSTEM SHIFTS This type of shifts occurs when two languages have almost the same corresponding systems but the TL text contains a non-corresponding term of the SL. In another word, intra-system shifts take place when a change occurs at the language s number, article, etc. especially a singular noun is translated into a plural noun. For example, in English, the singular form noun advice corresponds with a plural form des conseils in French xiv ; in English, you can mean 你 and 你 们 in Chinese. 4. THE ANALYSIS OF THE SAMPLES FROM BBC WEBSITE In this section all samples from BBC political news on website are analyzed and observed for instances of the realization of level shifts and category shifts. Sample 1. ST: US President Barack Obama sent a letter to Mr Karzai vowing to respect his nation's sovereignty, and pledging that US forces would not enter Afghan homes except for "extraordinary circumstances". 美 国 总 统 奥 巴 马 致 信 阿 富 汗 总 统 卡 尔 扎 伊, 承 诺 尊 重 阿 富 汗 主 权, 除 非 在 特 殊 情 况 下, 美 军 将 不 会 进 入 阿 富 汗 人 的 住 宅 In the above example, there are level shifts with a grammar element would in English ST but changed into a lexis 将 in Chinese TT, and structure shifts in ST, it puts the adverbial except for extraordinary circumstances at the end of main structure of the sentence but in TT, the adverbial 除 非 在 特 殊 情 况 下 is positioned in front of the modified part.

13 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 26 Sample 2. ST: The Loya Jirga can amend or reject clauses in the pact, though its decisions are not binding. The deal will also have to be approved by parliament. 部 落 长 老 们 的 大 国 民 议 会 可 以 修 改 或 删 除 安 全 协 定 文 本 草 案 中 的 条 款, 但 他 们 的 决 定 不 具 备 约 束 力 这 份 协 定 文 本 还 必 须 得 到 阿 富 汗 议 会 的 批 准 Sample 2 includes two types of shifts intra-system shifts and class shifts. In ST, its in English is the singular possessive form of it which can be used to represent an inanimate thing understood, previously mentioned, about to be mentioned, or present in the immediate context. However, depending on the context meaning, translator used 他 们 的 which is a possessive form of a plural person pronoun 他 们 to present its. This is an intra-system shift according to the theory of Catford (1965). Another shift is class shifts approved, a verb in English ST, but its correspondence 批 准 is a noun in Chinese TT. Sample 3. ST: The initial collapse happened just before 18:00 (16:00 GMT) on Thursday, when the Maxima store was busy with customers. 事 发 时 间 为 晚 上 18 点, 正 是 超 市 营 业 高 峰 顾 客 众 多 的 时 候 In sample 3, the authors mentions on unit shifts. In ST, The initial collapse happened can be regarded as a simple sentence. However, translator use a phrase 事 发 instead. This is called unit shifts according to Catford (1965).

14 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 27 Sample 4. ST: The vote will be held in less than six months' time, and Mr Karzai has served two terms so cannot stand again. 按 照 计 划, 阿 富 汗 总 统 大 选 将 在 半 年 之 内 举 行, 而 卡 尔 扎 伊 已 经 担 任 了 两 届 总 统, 所 以 不 会 再 次 连 任 Structure shifts: held in less than six months' time (post-adverbial) 在 半 年 内 举 行 (preadverbial). Level shifts: will be (grammar element) 将 (lexis) Sample 5. ST: "China has always been concerned about the Philippines typhoon disaster," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said. "In the spirit of helping the dying and healing the injured, we plan to send rescue workers to the disaster area." Naval medical ship the Peace Ark will make its way to the Philippines "as soon as possible", Hong Lei added. 外 交 部 发 言 人 洪 磊 说 : 中 方 一 直 高 度 关 注 菲 律 宾 台 风 灾 情, 愿 本 着 救 死 扶 伤 的 精 神, 经 与 菲 方 协 调 和 确 认, 中 国 政 府 派 遣 的 应 急 医 疗 队 和 中 国 红 十 字 会 国 际 救 援 队 将 于 近 日 赴 菲 该 船 具 备 较 好 灾 区 医 疗 救 援 能 力 和 机 动 性, 将 尽 快 启 航 将 (lexis) Level shifts: has been (grammar element) 一 直 (lexis); will (grammar element) Class shifts: in (prep.) 本 着 (v.); to (prep.) 赴 (v.).

15 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 28 Sample 6. ST: US politicians have indicated they will push forward with a bill proposing more sanctions against Iran next month if the talks fail. 美 国 政 界 人 物 已 经 暗 示, 如 果 有 关 谈 判 失 败 的 话, 他 们 将 在 下 个 月 推 动 一 项 进 一 步 制 裁 伊 朗 的 立 法 法 案 Level shifts: will (grammar element) 将 (lexis); if (grammar element) 如 果 (lexis) Structure shifts: next month (post-adverbial) 在 下 个 月 (pre-adverbial); if the talks fail (post-adverbial) 如 果 有 关 谈 判 失 败 的 话 (pre-adverbial). Sample 7. ST: Kennedy, who served less than three years, is often ranked among the nation's most revered presidents. Just 46 when he died, he is praised for his youthful vigour, his leadership through the Cuban missile crisis and his vision to put a man on the Moon. 担 任 总 统 不 到 三 年 就 去 世 的 肯 尼 迪, 通 常 被 认 为 是 美 国 最 受 尊 敬 的 总 统 之 一 他 在 遇 刺 身 亡 时 才 46 岁, 人 们 叹 息 他 的 年 轻 和 活 力, 赞 扬 在 他 领 导 下 美 国 战 胜 了 古 巴 导 弹 危 机, 人 类 第 一 次 登 上 月 球 也 是 由 于 他 的 远 见 卓 识 Structure shifts: Kennedy, who served less than three years (post-modifier) 担 任 总 统 不 到 三 年 就 去 世 的 肯 尼 迪 (pre-modifier) Class shifts: youthful (adj.) 年 轻 (n.); leadership (n.) 领 导 (v.). Sample 8. ST: US troops backed South Korea in the Korean War, which killed at least two million people. 美 国 在 1950 年 代 造 成 两 百 万 人 死 亡 的 朝 鲜 战 争 中 支 持 韩 国

16 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 29 Unit shifts: which killed at least two million people(clause) 造 成 两 百 万 人 死 亡 的 (phrase) Structure shifts: in the (post-adverbial) 在 1950 年 代 (pre-adverbial); which killed at least two million people(post-modifier) 成 两 百 万 人 死 亡 的 (pre-modifier). Sample 9. ST: The Arctic Sunrise was sailing under a Dutch flag when it was stopped and searched on 18 September. Thirty people - 28 activists and two journalists - were detained. 极 地 曙 光 号 在 今 年 9 月 18 日 被 俄 罗 斯 截 查 时, 悬 挂 着 的 是 荷 兰 的 国 旗 船 上 的 30 人 被 拘 押, 其 中 28 名 是 活 动 人 士, 还 有 2 名 记 者 Class shifts: under(prep.) 悬 挂 (v.) Unit shifts: 28 activists and two journalists(phrase) 其 中 28 名 是 活 动 人 士, 还 有 2 名 记 者 (sentence). Sample 10. ST: Egypt's Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty accused Mr Erdogan of "interfering in Egypt's internal affairs". 埃 及 外 交 部 长 谴 责 土 耳 其 继 续 干 涉 埃 及 内 政 Level shifts: ing (grammar element) 继 续 (lexis). Sample 11. ST: The US - which has more than 70,000 troops in Japan and South Korea - had previously said it would not abide by the Chinese-imposed zone. 在 日 本 和 韩 国 派 有 七 万 多 驻 军 的 美 国 此 前 曾 表 示, 他 们 将 不 会 遵 守 中 国 划 设 的 防 空 识 别 区

17 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 30 Structure shifts: which has more than 70,000 troops in Japan and South Korea (postmodifier) 在 日 本 和 韩 国 派 有 七 万 多 驻 军 的 (pre-modifier) element) 将 (lexis) Level shifts: had done (grammar element) 曾 (lexis);would not (grammar Intra-system shifts: it (singular pronoun) 他 们 (plural pronoun). Sample 12. ST: China's unilateral establishment of an air defence identification zone (ADIZ) demonstrates President Xi Jinping's resolve to defend China's territorial integrity. 中 国 单 方 面 宣 布 划 定 防 空 识 别 区, 反 映 了 习 近 平 决 心 捍 卫 中 国 领 土 完 整 Unit shifts: China's unilateral establishment of an air defence identification zone (ADIZ) (phrase) 中 国 单 方 面 宣 布 划 定 防 空 识 别 区 (sentence) Class shifts: establishment (n.) 划 定 (v.); resolve (n.) 决 心 (v.). Sample 13. ST: Latvia's PM Valdis Dombrovskis has announced his resignation, and thereby the fall of his government, over the deadly collapse of a Riga supermarket. 在 里 加 一 家 超 市 楼 顶 坍 塌 的 致 命 事 件 发 生 后 六 天, 拉 脱 维 亚 总 理 周 三 (27 日 ) 宣 布 辞 职, 该 国 政 府 也 因 此 倒 台 Class shifts: fall (n.) 倒 台 (v.) Structure shifts: over the deadly collapse of a Riga supermarket (post-adverbial) 在 里 加 一 家 超 市 楼 顶 坍 塌 的 致 命 事 件 发 生 后 六 天 (pre-adverbial)

18 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 31 Sample 14. ST: Mr Dombrovskis met the president for an hour and a half on Wednesday, the Baltic news agency Delfi reports. 波 罗 的 海 通 讯 社 报 道 说, 东 布 罗 夫 斯 基 斯 总 理 周 三 与 贝 尔 津 什 总 统 的 会 谈 进 行 了 一 个 半 小 时 Structure shifts: on Wednesday(post-adverbial) 周 三 (pre-adverbial) Class shifts: met (v.) 会 谈 (n.). Sample 15. ST: More than 100,000 people have died since protests against Mr Assad erupted in March 2011.Almost nine million others have been driven from their homes. 叙 利 亚 的 动 荡 已 经 导 致 超 过 10 万 人 死 亡, 并 且 让 接 近 900 万 人 流 离 失 所 Unit shifts: since protests against Mr Assad erupted in March 2011 (clouse) 叙 利 亚 的 动 荡 (phrase) Level shifts: have done (grammar element) 已 经 (lexis). Sample 16. ST: Washington and Havana broke diplomatic relations in 1961, but since 1977, they have had "interests sections" in each other's capitals under the legal protection of Switzerland. 华 盛 顿 和 哈 瓦 那 在 1961 年 断 绝 了 外 交 关 系, 但 自 1977 年 起, 两 国 都 在 对 方 的 首 都 设 立 了 照 管 利 益 办 事 处, 受 到 瑞 士 的 法 律 保 护 Structure shifts: in 1961 (post-adverbial) 在 1961 年 (pre-adverbial); in each other's capitals (post-adverbial) 在 对 方 的 首 都 (pre-adverbial) Level shifts: have done (grammar element) 了 (lexis) Class shifts: under (prep.) 受 到 (v.)

19 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 32 Sample 17. ST: The Cuban Interests Section said in a statement: "Despite the numerous efforts made with the State Department and several banks, it has been impossible to find a US or international bank with branches in the US to operate the bank accounts of the Cuban diplomatic missions." 古 巴 照 管 利 益 办 事 处 在 一 份 声 明 中 说, 尽 管 已 经 努 力 与 美 国 国 务 院 和 数 家 银 行 进 行 交 涉, 但 仍 然 无 法 找 到 一 个 美 国 银 行 或 国 际 银 行 的 分 行, 为 古 巴 使 团 提 供 银 行 账 户 Structure shifts: in a statement (post-adverbial) 在 一 份 声 明 中 (pre-adverbial) Class shifts: efforts (n.) 努 力 (adv.) Level shifts: has been (grammar element) 仍 然 (lexis). Sample 18. ST: This latest spat comes a few days after Foreign Office minister Mark Simmonds told MPs that Britain was reviewing its naval policy around Gibraltar following an illegal incursion into its territorial waters by a Spanish state vessel. 几 天 前, 英 国 外 交 部 官 员 向 国 会 议 员 们 表 示, 发 生 西 班 牙 政 府 船 只 非 法 进 入 直 布 罗 陀 水 域 事 件 后, 英 国 正 在 评 估 有 关 直 布 罗 陀 水 域 的 海 军 政 策 Level shifts: ing (grammar element) 正 在 (lexis) Class shifts: illegal (adj.) 非 法 (adv.); incursion (n.) 进 入 (v.) Structure shifts: following an illegal incursion into its territorial waters by a Spanish state vessel (post-adverbial) 发 生 西 班 牙 政 府 船 只 非 法 进 入 直 布 罗 陀 水 域 事 件 后 (pre-adverbial).

20 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 33 Sample 19. ST: The Greenpeace activists were staging a protest against Arctic oil drilling at a Russian fixed gas platform. Initially they were charged with piracy, but the charges were later reduced to hooliganism. 绿 色 和 平 组 织 的 活 动 人 士 当 时 正 试 图 登 上 俄 罗 斯 在 北 极 的 钻 井 平 台, 抗 议 在 北 极 开 采 石 油 俄 罗 斯 方 面 最 初 指 控 这 些 人 犯 下 了 海 盗 罪, 后 来 改 成 较 轻 的 流 氓 行 为 Level shifts: ing (grammar element) 正 (lexis) Class shifts: protest (n.) 抗 议 (v.); reduced (v.) 较 轻 的 (adj.). Sample 20. ST: At least 18 people were injured in the predominantly Shia area of Ancholi, local media report. Women and children were reported to be among those injured. 当 地 媒 体 报 道, 这 两 起 爆 炸 发 生 在 卡 拉 奇 的 什 叶 派 穆 斯 林 聚 居 区, 造 成 至 少 18 人 受 伤 有 报 道 说, 伤 者 中 有 妇 女 和 儿 童 Unit shifts: in the predominantly Shia area of Ancholi (phrase) 这 两 起 爆 炸 发 生 在 卡 拉 奇 的 什 叶 派 穆 斯 林 聚 居 区 (sentence) Structure shifts: Women and children (subject) 妇 女 和 儿 童 (object). Consequently, the same analysis as the first 3 samples also can be applied to the sample 4 to sample 20. According to the samples above, level shifts and structure shifts tend to occur most frequently in the translation of BBC English-Chinese political news, and intra-system shifts tend to relatively happen rarely. In addition, sometimes there are several types of translation shifts in one sentence like most of the samples above; it is also possible that only one translation shift exists in one sentence such as sample 10.

21 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences THE EFFECTS OF TRANSLATION SHIFTS Translation shifts, as Catford (1965) discussed, are small linguistic changes occurring in translation of the ST to the TT. As we all know, where there are changes between two languages, there are easily existing misunderstandings and ambiguities. Apparently, that is an exact disadvantage of translation shifts. However, at the same time, in order to lessen the mistakes in translation, translation shifts are always regarded as a translation theory applied into translation activities. Though translation shifts is considered as changes from one language to another, the meaning delivered always has no many differences from the SL. In another word, we can see many advantages of translation shifts as follows: Translation shifts can help people under target language culture backgrounds. English and Chinese belong to two completely different language systems. It means that there are diversities in their language, linguistic grammar, lexis, etc. Sometimes, it needs to change the vocabulary s form, the sentence structure, grammar elements, and so on for the different language systems, politics, and expression customs. Furthermore, translation shifts is also useful to achieve the transplanting of multi-culture to link the whole world. Without translation shifts, translation activities cannot develop smoothly and people cannot understand the information of the SL accurately. 6. CONCLUSION The purpose of current paper was to explore the necessity of various translation shifts in English- Chinese translation when translating current English BBC political news into Chinese. To achieve this aim, the authors took some political news texts and their Chinese correspondences from BBC channel website. The data were analyzed in accordance to Catford s (1965) notion on translation shifts to make readers understand easily.

22 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 35 The theory of translation shifts provides a new way of thinking in translation fields, and makes us realize the necessity of translation shifts when differences such as pronunciation, vocabulary, syntax, etc. exist between two languages. This theory has many practical significances of translation work. However, one point must be figured out is that Catford s (1965) translation shifts theory is not applicable in all cases. The theory he proposed is only used on the sentence level or under the sentence level while ignoring the greater context such as passages, discourse, and communication, etc. Thence, when it refers to the translation of passage or discourse, the theory above cannot be an appropriate guidance. And, it needs more researchers to explore translation theory to solve those problems.

23 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 36 NOTES i Peter Newmark. Paragraphs on Translation (Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 1993), 74. ii Jeremy Munday, Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications (London and New York: Routledge, 2001), 45. iii Ibid. iv J. C. Catford, A Linguistic Theory of Translation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1965), 73. v J. C. Catford, 32. vi J. C. Catford, 76. vii Albert. S. H., and Sally Wehmeier.. Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000). viii J. C. Catford, A Linguistic Theory of Translation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1965), 27. ix 李 瑞 华 英 汉 语 言 文 化 对 比 研 究 ( 上 海 : 上 海 外 语 教 育 出 版 社,1996),405 x J. C. Catford, A Linguistic Theory of Translation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1965), 73. xi xii J. C. Catford, A Linguistic Theory of Translation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1965), 77. xiii J. C. Catford, J.C. Catford, 80.

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25 British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 38 Quarterly 13, no. 3 (1954): Vinay, J. and Darbelnet, J. (1958) Comparative Stylistics of French and English: a Methodology for Translation. Amsterdam: John Benjamin s Publishing Company. Zhijun, X. (1995). "China English: Interference variety In Cross-culture Communication [J]." Modern Foreign Languages 4 (1995): 001. 陈 丹 熊 苗 苗 论 卡 特 福 德 翻 译 转 移 理 论 与 英 汉 翻 译 中 的 句 式 转 换, 牡 丹 江 : 牡 丹 江 教 育 学 院 学 报,2012(4) 陈 尹 晴 汉 英 语 法 比 照, 湖 北 : 湖 北 经 济 学 院 学 报, 2006 (3) 郭 磊 试 论 卡 特 福 德 翻 译 转 移 理 论 与 英 汉 翻 译 中 的 词 类 转 换, 南 京 : 南 京 航 空 航 天 大 学 科 技 信 息, 2010(32) 李 瑞 华 英 汉 语 言 文 化 对 比 研 究, 上 海 : 上 海 外 语 教 育 出 版 社,1996 林 克 难 重 新 认 识 卡 特 福 德 翻 译 理 论, 天 津 : 天 津 外 国 语 学 院 学 报,2001(1) 张 健 新 闻 英 语 文 体 与 范 文 评 析, 上 海 : 上 海 外 语 教 育 出 版 社, 1994 Internet sources: BBC website & Chinese Official Population Clock website, 16/01/ Oxford Advanced Learner s Dictionary. Corresponding author: Nael F M Hijjo Affiliation: University of Malaya Full Address: Department of English Language, Faculty of Languages & Linguistics, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tel: nael_hijjo@yahoo.com