The Philosophical Analysis Of Adjustment Of Thinking Modes In Translation Between Chinese And English

In what way the translation between Chinese and English can be made in a concise form,that is,how the word selection can be managed to deliver the original meaning of text?This is one of the main problems that many China's English learners are tangled up,In the principle of Xin(faithfulness),Da(expressiveness)and Ya(elegance)proposed by Yan Fu,"Da" plays the pivotal role and indicates that the original meanings,information,spirits,styles so on and so forth should be adequately and intelligibly expressed.The problems of inaccurate,inappropriate and less-fluent expressions in translating Chinese into English often happen to China's English learners,especially the beginners who also fail to reach the accurate meaning with precise Chinese interpretation in translating English into Chinese.These problems are triggered by many factors,of which the least perceivable one is that language learners are not aware of the differences between Chinese thinking modes and English thinking modes.And,the differences between Chinese thinking modes and English thinking modes represent different structures and characteristics of Chinese native speakers' and English native speakers' thinking activities respectively.Basically,this influences the quality and results of translation between Chinese and English,and many China's English learners are not aware of this issue.Thus,the translation between Chinese and English normally rests on the literal switch without the integral concern of thinking background,meaning judgment value tendency as well as cultural pattern of sentences determined by thinking modes.This is relevant to the deep and pressing problems of philosophical ontology,epistemology,methodology,axiology so on and so forth,and needs to be explored from the philosophical perspective.To solve the problems in translation between Chinese and English mentioned above,language learners should be equipped with an effective adjustment system of thinking modes in their mind.Specifically,in translating Chinese into English,they are able to think and express by virtue of English thinking modes in a conscious way.And in translating English to Chinese,English thinking modes can be switched to Chinese thinking modes.It means that English learners need to be acquainted with two kinds of thinking modes so as to master the differences between Chinese thinking modes and English thinking modes as well as their switch system,and further they are capable of adjusting their thinking modes in translation between Chinese and English consciously.This has not been given full attention in language teaching and learning.Obviously,the investigation into how to adjust thinking modes in translation between Chinese and English from the philosophical perspective is believed to make contributions to the improvement of translation between Chinese and English as well as the effectiveness of inter-cultural communication.The research into the adjustment of thinking modes in translation between Chinese and English from a philosophical perspective generates a series of questions,including "what is the characteristics of Chinese thinking and English thinking respectively?","what philosophical issues are generated by the differences between thinking modes in translation between Chinese and English?",and "how to eliminate these effects by virtue of adjusting thinking modes?" To find out the answers,the theories and methods of comparison between Chinese philosophy and Western philosophy,as well as the hermeneutic theories and methods will be employed along with the achievements in the fields of cognitive philosophy and cognitive science.Directed at the specific questions in translation practice between Chinese and English,this thesis aims to connect abstract philosophical analysis with practical needs in social life.In terms of philosophical consideration of differences of thinking modes in translation between Chinese and English,this thesis employs the theories and methods of comparison between Chinese philosophy and Western philosophy,proposing that the differences between Chinese thinking modes and English thinking modes mainly present five philosophical categories.Specifically,their ontological difference is seen from the comparison between"relation-priority" and "substance-priority".The comparison between "Quxiang" and"abstract" presents the difference in cognitive subject.The difference between cognitive routes is shown by "intuition-orientation" and "logic-orientation"."Tacit comprehension-focus" and "construction-focus" distinguishes Chinese thinking modes from English thinking modes in the form of knowledge."Flexibility-focus" of Chinese thinking and "regularity-focus" of English thinking reflect their distinctions in methodology.These five perspectives reveal an internal logical link from ontology to epistemology which is followed by methodology.The differences between Chinese thinking modes and English thinking modes exist objectively.There is every likelihood that their differences could be neglected because of language transfer,understanding barrier and horizontal evolution and other factors in translation practice between Chinese and English.In this case,the thinking modes of mother language penetrate into the understanding and expressing in the target language in a spontaneous way.This further triggers the conflicts between two kinds of thinking modes.This thesis employs hermeneutic perspectives and methods to look back upon the root causes of conflicts of thinking modes in translation between Chinese and English.The process of interpreting the target language witnesses the fact that meanings per se are equipped with the nature of openness to all the possible understandings.If the fore-structure is void of some thinking background and conceptual system of the target language,the integrity and independence of the target language will lose the battle with the misinterpretation from the thinking modes of mother language,which is much likely to cause the misunderstanding the target language.Thus,the translation between Chinese and English require the fusion of horizon of different thinking modes.This further needs to find some innate shortcomings of English learns,so that the effective strategies can be suggested to solve the specific problems in translation between Chinese and EnglishOn the basis of the practical problems of China's English learner in English learning,this thesis is directed at the conflicts triggered by the differences of thinking modes in translation between Chinese and English,proposing their shortcomings of thinking modes in translation between Chinese and English,that is,"less prominent subjectivity","lack of metaphorical capability","lack of exemplifying capability","lack of constructing capability" and"under-exploration of'being' concept".This is followed by the discussion of historical origin,cultural traditions and cognitive characteristics that result in these shortcomings.Additionally,the tunnel of thinking mode adjustment can be built in a conscious way,that is,to find the corresponding relationship between Chinese thinking structure and that of English based on the analysis of differences between Chinese thinking modes and English thinking modes.Specifically,according to the requirements of different language contexts,"logic inquire","logic inversion","phenomenological reduction" and other routes of thinking switch can be employed to prompt the adjustment of thinking modes and further eliminate the conflicts caused by the differences of thinking modes in translation between Chinese and English with the improvement of translation capabilities and proficiency between Chinese and English.This thesis makes contributions to solving some practical problems in English teaching and cultural communication.Specifically,it is suggested that English teaching revolution change from language skill training alone to the improvement of language proficiency by adjusting thinking modes.This requires to optimize students' knowledge structure,and deepen their understanding of philosophy,comparative culture as well as cognitive science.In the field of foreign cultural communication,translation professionals should fully understand the adjustment system of thinking modes that works behind Chinese and English in order to make concise and fluent inter-cultural communication into a reality.This thesis is expected to be helpful for "tell China stories well",and allow traditional Chinese cultures and contemporary ideological and cultural accomplishments to spread wider and deeper.