The Usages Of "De" In English-Chinese Translation

One of the features of the Chinese language is conciseness, which manifests itself in lexical, syntactic and logical levels. To make translations conform to the norm of the target language, Chinese translations should be concise. However, lengthy and rigid translations are common in English-Chinese translation practice. Part of those translations results from misusing the Chinese word "de"(6tJ). This paper is centered on the improper usages of "de" in English to Chinese translation in an effort to put forward suggestions on how to use this word. The effect of "de" should not be underestimated. Used properly, it makes a Chinese sentence clear and concise; if not, it clutters one. In order to find out how this word should be used, the methods of quantitative studies and case studies are adopted. Data are collected and analyzed to reveal the usages of "de" in Chinese writings. The usages covered in this paper are mainly that the number of "de" in each clause should be limited, with the maximum being two in a clause; "de" can be used as a substitute for words that are repeated or for words whose meanings are implicit so as to make Chinese sentences concise; and unnecessary nominalization in Chinese translations should be avoided lest translations become obscure and unreadable. The significance of this research lies in two aspects. By controlling the usages of "de", translators are forced to choose more appropriate words and sentence patterns, and accordingly they can avoid formulized translation. This term means one fixedly converts an English word or sentence to a seemingly counterpart in Chinese while neglecting other alternatives. As a result, formulized translation makes a Chinese sentence rigid and obscure. Another aspect concerning the significance of this study is that the concept of elegance is advocated as an attitude on the part of translators.