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This article examines the translation of Chinese political discourse in China in light of
the influence of the Cultural Turn in Translation Studies (TS). After illustrating the
key features of cultural oriented and power-focused transformations in the development
of TS, this article proposes an integrated approach, drawing upon both linguistic analysis
and cultural studies to explore the complexity and manipulated nature of the translation
of Chinese political discourse. Then, it discusses the main rhetorical and discoursal
characteristics of Chinese political discourse. Finally, this integrated approach is illustrated
with a sample study analysing the translation of the 2008 Chinese Government Report by
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
Keywords: linguistics-based, culture-based, translation studies, Chinese political
discourse
Social
context
Discourse
practices
Social
context
SL Text
Ethnography or document
studies to examine practice
and process of translating
Discourse
practices
TL Text
Translation Studies
which practices of translating produce the subject and the social world that
the translators and readers inhabit. In other words, this view not only aims to
describe the linguistic characteristics of the source language texts (SLT) and
target language texts (TLT), but also attempts to reveal how the translation has
been produced and consumed in relation to its socio-cultural context.
In this framework, text linguistics and rhetorical studies are employed to
examine the SL text and the TL text. At this level, the SL text and the TL text
are compared and contrasted with a view to identifying problematic areas
for further exploration by drawing on theories such as systemic functional
linguistics (Halliday and Matthiessen 2004; Martin 1992, 2000) and
contrastive rhetoric studies (e.g. Connor 1996; Scollon 1999, 2000; Scollon
and Scollon 1997; Kirkpatrick 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997). At the second level
of analysis, i.e., discourse practice, the translation production and consumption
64 Wei Wang and Liang Xia
appeals; and (5) the use of metaphors and analogies. Lu (1998) further argues
that as one of the early ancient Chinese texts on political communication, these
characteristics set up the standard for many speeches to follow in similar speech
contexts and by rulers in subsequent dynasties.
Lucian Pye also pointed out in his 1992 book, The Spirit of Chinese Politics,
that Chinese imperial and Communist politics share a lot in common in that
they are both hierarchical in structure, both show heavy dependence upon
formal ideologies, and moral righteousness. In his view (Pye 1992: ix), the
centrality of hierarchy, elaborate concerns involved in managing superiorsubordinate relations, and a pervasive use of moralistic rhetoric have combined
to produce in China a form of Confucianist Leninism
China has experienced ideological shifts since 1949 when Communists took
power and especially after Deng Xiaopings pragmatism prevailed in Chinese
politics in 1978. However, some key rhetorical features in Chinese political
discourse mentioned by Lu and Pye remain still valid. In the following, we
identify five rhetorical and discoursal features in contemporary Chinese political
discourse, some of which might be traced back to the ancient root and the spirit
of Chinese politics: the top-down approach in rhetorical practice; the positive
representation of the regime; the use of ideological-loaded terminologies; the
use of non-subject sentences and moral/ethical appeals.
The following sample study will draw on the integrated approach discussed
above and the five discoursal and rhetorical features of Chinese political
discourse to examine the translation of a Chinese government report delivered
by Premier Wen Jiabao in 2008.
4. A sample study
The study analyses the translation of the Report on the Work of the
Government delivered in the first Plenary Session of the 11th National Peoples
Congress (NPC) which held its annual meeting from March 5 to March 18,
2008 in Beijing.
At the plenary meeting of the NPC, Premier Wen Jiabao, on behalf of the
State Council, delivered the government report, reviewing the work of the past
five years and setting up major tasks for 2008. This report is, in a sense, both
a speech and a formal report delivered by the Premier orally at the meeting
of the National Peoples Congress. This comprehensive 24,098 word report
66 Wei Wang and Liang Xia
Source text
(yao)
Numbers of
occurrences
94
Target text
Numbers of
occurrences
will
43
must
26
need
17
should
interpersonal metaphor
have to
(bi xu)
14
must
14
(neng)
can
(xu yao)
need
must
be able to
will
can
could
(neng gou)
(ke neng)
3
1
The most frequently used modal auxiliary verb in the source text is (yao).
Although (yao) could be treated as a main verb or a temporality marker, in
this government work report (yao) has been translated as an auxiliary verb
that indicates epistemic necessity, a matter of probability. It is the speakers
willingness and carries a shade of subjectivity that the translator(s) dealt with
(yao) as a modal auxiliary verb. Some examples are given below:
(1) ST :
;
This year
need concentrate on nine tasks this year
TT : We need to concentrate on the following nine tasks this year.
(2) ST :
is
this year macroeconomic regulation s major task First need
Second need Third need Fourth need also need Fifth need
Sixth need Seventh need In particular need Eighth need Ninth need
TT: One major task for macroeconomic regulation this year is, we must .Second, we
must Third, we need and should also Fifth, we need... Sixth, we must
Seventh, we need In particular, we need Eighth, we must Ninth, we will
From the examples above, even though one translation of (yao) is will,
it realises inclination of proposal, but does not indicate primary future tense.
This table shows that the translator in this government report treats (yao)
as a modal verb not a main verb or a tense marker. To translate the modal verb
(yao), the translator adopts six different expressions to construct the authors
intention in English translation:
(3) ST : ,
In this government report, all the structures of (yao) sentences are fairly
70 Wei Wang and Liang Xia
similar, expressing the subjects willingness which is the basic meaning of yao
to perform an action (Alleton 1994). Repetition makes a function of emphasis
in the speech and the speakers commitment as well. It also indicates that the
author/speaker holds power over the reader/listener. From these examples (1),
(2), (3) and (4), we can see that modality is expressed in the translation in
various ways in yao sentences. They are will, must, need, should, have
to and a metaphor of modality it is imperative. Of all the 94 (yao) in the
ST, 45 (yao) were translated as will and should which in one way causes
variation of translating the same word from Chinese to English, and in another,
more importantly, makes the tone not as extreme as must, need and have
to. It indicates that the translators have mediated and modified the translation
in accordance with their interpretation of the text and perhaps in consideration
of the acceptance of the target audience and the norm of the target language.
This study also found that in the English translation of the government
report, the translator adopts modal finites to represent various degrees of
obligation and inclination. The following table shows all the finite verbal
operators in the target text based on a summary of the distribution of modal
operators with different values (see Halliday and Matthiessen 2004: 116). The
number of modal operators in the target language (479) is far greater than those
in the source text (124).
Table 2. Modality in target text
Low
Positive
Negative
Median
High
can
could
would
should
is to
will
need
must
have to
14
336
36
69
should
not
can not
(5) ST :
aim at etc economic development unstable unbalanced
unsustainable problems
TT : to address problems such as which could cause economic development to
become unstable, unbalanced and unsustainable.
(6) ST :
4.5%
ten million urban register unemployment controlled around 4.5%.
In these examples (5), (6), (7) and (8), the original texts are statements in
which no modality is negotiated. However, in the translated version, a kind of
modality is added or negotiated through a finite modal operator such as could,
should, need and must which expresses obligation in a different value.
Could and should make the opinion negotiable which is not too extreme
or absolute. Must and need explicitly embody the authors firm standpoint
which intensifies the governments determination without any compromise.
Such negotiation of modality might be very much associated with the
translators ideology and interpretation of the meanings intended in the original
text.
There are some places where no modality is negotiated, and other places
where no different levels of modality in the source text are implied such as
(yao) sentences in example (1), (2), (3) and (4), where the translator adds
modality with a different value. In other words, we cannot see the semantic
differences of obligation or inclination in the source text; however, there are very
obvious shifts of modalities in the target text. It indicates that the mediation
and modification of the translation might be due to the consideration of the
acceptance of the target audience and the norm of the target language.
The author/speakers personal stance as well as the particular social
relationship and social attitude evident in the source text strongly reflect the
top-down approach in rhetorical practice. In the source text, the relationship
between the author/speaker and the reader/listener, which are Premier of
the State Council and members of Chinese Peoples Political Consultative
Conference respectively, is characterised by orders and instructions. The formal
level and the top-down approach in rhetorical practice also clearly feed into
the interpersonal functional components by enhancing the texts unassailable
authority. In the target text, the relationship becomes between translators
and the international community. The authors stance is changed so that the
translation loses the originals order and absoluteness. Instead a new note of
description and negotiation is introduced onto the text through elaboration
of the author/speakers attitude. Most of the originals absolute judgments are
transferred into less extreme and less authoritarian ones.
4.3. The representation of the regime
successfully hold
a series of major multilateral diplomatic
TT : We carried out a series of major multilateral diplomatic activities.
activities.
In this example, it can be seen that the translator supplements this sentence
with a subject by adding the logical subject we as the responsible actor of the
event inferred from the context.
2. Subjects supplemented by deploying some nominal group of the sentence as a
subject
(10) ST :
Source text
Non-subject sentence
Total
Target text
Number of
instances
Percentage (%)
Solution 1
677
92.4
Solution 2
56
7.6
733
100
From Table 3, we can see that, of all the 733 subject omission clauses
in this government work report, 92.4% of them added the logical subject
inferred from the context, which in all cases was we. This method is far more
frequently adopted than solution two which means some nominal group of the
sentence is deployed as a subject.
The subject carries the semantic burden by being responsible for the
functioning of the clause as an interactive event (Halliday and Matthiessen
2004: 117). Even though a translator has the freedom to select any
construction in the target language to provide an appropriate rendition of the
meaning of the sentence in the source language (Li and Thompson 1981: 89),
translated versions using the two solutions are slightly different. Compared with
solution two, solution one as the dominant expression goes with a personal style
in which the authors/speakers perspective is more involved and personalised.
76 Wei Wang and Liang Xia
. [We
must continue to liberate our thinking. Liberating our thinking and following a
realistic and pragmatic approach is the Party's ideological line. We must proceed
from reality in everything we do, eliminate superstition, break the shackles of
outdated ideas, respect the people's pioneering spirit, boldly explore new ways,
take concrete action, be creative, and keep up with the times to ensure that the
cause of socialist modernization retains its great vitality.]
5. Conclusion
The sample study illustrated how the discoursal/rhetorical features in Chinese
political discourse have been translated and explored the ideological and cultural
factors that mediated and manipulated the translation and translating practice.
It might be concluded from the study that the ideology of the translators in this
translation commission is very much in line with that of the Partys and the goal
of maintaining the tone and style in rendering the government report is well
achieved. The translators ideology plays an indispensable role in the translation
both as process and as product. Reproducing the message of the original text
accurately and objectively is crucial during the translation process. Thus, the
translators subjectivity is severely constrained.
On the other hand, the translator must also fully and explicitly state the
information implicit in the source text in accordance with the principle and
usage of the target language. In order to be communicatively effective, it can
be found that, in this government report, translators modify the text at the
level of intention so that the recipients of translated messages can be addressed
as primary readers wherever appropriate. One of the senior translators who
participated in translating this piece of government report also mentioned
that they studied some American official reports as a reference and analysed
their rhetorical expression, however, due to significant writing and speaking
differences between East and West, it is fairly limited to be used for reference.
He also believes that various values of modality in the translated text result
from different interpretation due to the translators personal understanding (P.
Wang, personal communication, September 27, 2008).
78 Wei Wang and Liang Xia
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Authors address
Wei Wang, Ph.D.
School of Languages and Cultures,
The University of Sydney
NSW 2006, Australia
wei.wang@sydney.edu.au
Liang Xia, Mr.
School of Languages and Cultures,
The University of Sydney
NSW 2006, Australia
lxia7238@uni.sydney.edu.au
About the author
Wei Wang is Lecturer in Translation Studies at the University of Sydney. His primary research interest is in the
area of comparative discourse studies, especially from a genre-based view. His Ph.D. is from the University of
Sydney on a contrastive genre study of newspaper commentaries on 9/11 in China and Australia. He is the
author of Genre across Languages and Cultures (VDM, 2007). He also publishes in Discourse Studies, Journal of
English for Academic Purposes, Australian Review of Applied Linguistics and University of Sydney Papers in
TESOL. His research also includes translation studies, Chinese linguistics and second language acquisition.
Liang Xia is a Ph.D. student in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney, Australia.
His research interests include translation studies, discourse analysis, systemic theory and functional grammar.
Appendix
()
200835
Excerpts from
No. Examples
1. :
2.
One major task for macroeconomic regulation this year is to prevent the overall price level
from rising rapidly. To fulfill this task, we must take powerful measures to increase effective
supply while curbing excessive demand. First, we must expand production, especially the
production of the basic necessities of life such as grain, vegetable oil and meat as well as
4.8%
The major considerations in setting the target for keeping the CPI this year at around
4.8% are as follows: last years price increases are still exerting a fairly strong influence
and quite a few factors are creating inflationary pressure, making it difficult to bring price
increases under control. At the same time, we have to take into consideration the ability of
individuals, enterprises and all sectors of society to tolerate price increases and try our best
to avoid sharp price increases.
4
It is imperative that the people feel confident about the safety of food and other consumer
5
Over the past few years, we tightened controls on the supplies of land and credit, raised
market access requirements, adjusted financial and monetary policies as needed, improved
industrial policies and the land policy, adjusted the economic structure, shored up weak
links and effectively regulated economic operation to address problems such as overheated
growth in fixed asset investment, excessive supplies of money and credit, excessively large
trade surplus, and weakness in agriculture, the foundation of the economy, which could
cause economic development to become unstable, unbalanced and unsustainable.
6
8%4.8%
10004.5%
We have set the following targets for economic and social development in 2008: on
the basis of improving the economic structure, productivity, energy efficiency and
environmental protection, the GDP should grow by about 8%, and the rise in the CPI
should be held at around 4.8%.
7
We will work hard to increase revenue and reduce expenditures, tighten tax collection
and management in accordance with the law, improve management of non-tax revenue,
and control regular expenditures. We need to reform the management of government
investment to improve the performance of investments.
8
We will increase support for weak links and key areas in economic and social development
and give more support to the central and western regions. We must tighten control over the
amount of land used for development projects, especially for industrial purposes, and hold
the total amount of land used this year to last years level.
9
10
Vigorous efforts were made to increase the incomes of urban and rural residents, especially
low-income persons. The minimum wage was increased. The problem of arrears in the
wages of rural migrant workers in urban areas was basically resolved. The standards for
financial aid to key entitled groups were increased four times, and plans were implemented
to resolve the practical problems of demobilized military personnel.