A Study On Conversion Of Parts Of Speech In English-Chinese Translation

Due to such differences as lexis, syntax between English and Chinese, there are more difficulties in English-Chinese translation. To overcome these obstacles and convey the verve and essence of the original text faithfully, translators need to know the two languages and cultures well. Moreover, translators have to break language limitations and use more flexible translation techniques.As an important translation technique, conversion, which can be commonly used in all parts of speech, always helps to add the target text with smoothness and naturalness. If translators keep all parts of speech the same in the target text when translating English to Chinese, the target text may not convey the intended meaning of the original one. And the target text can also be deeply affected by translationese.Although conversion of parts of speech has no restrictions in the progress of translating English to Chinese, which means translators can shift one part of speech to another freely according to different context, it does have several principles to keep. That is, the target text ought to be faithful, acceptable and tally with the Chinese usage.Translators, when doing English-Chinese translation, should properly use the strategies of shifting parts of speech under the guidance of the above principles. There are several useful rules in conversion, for example, when nouns can be usually changed into verbs, adverbs or adjectives, and when verbs into nouns, prepositions into verbs, adverbs into verbs, etc. After making use of conversion of parts of speech, the target text can make better sense and its quality can be further improved.