An Adaptation Approach To Translation Of English-originated Loanwords

As a result of language contacts, lexical borrowing and absorbing, loanwords function as a carrier of exotic culture and an important source of enriching the vocabulary of native language. In the history of Chinese language, there occurred three peaks of lexical borrowing resulting from pour-in of a large number of new concepts and new things. Loanwords constitute an important part of Chinese lexicon and English-originated loanwords (EOL) make up the largest proportion of loanwords in Chinese.Both domestic and foreign research of loanwords mainly deals with the etymon, standardization and translation methods of loanwords or a cultural approach to loanwords. Few scholars make a diachronic and synchronic study of EOL from the aspects of social contexts, cultural psychology and linguistic conventions. It is of great necessity to research on the features and discipline of EOL and its translation at different social stages, which chronically varies greatly.This thesis makes a tentative study of the translation of EOL from the perspective of Adaptation Theory, aiming to discuss how the social settings, cultural psychology and linguistic conventions of the recipient language influence the translation (or invention) of EOL.According to Adaptation Theory, language use is a course of making continuous linguistic choices. Speakers can make linguistic choice because language is endowed with variability, negotiability and adaptability. Linguistic phenomena can be well interpreted from four angles:namely, the contextual correlates of adaptability, the structural objects of adaptability, the dynamics of adaptability, and the salience of the adaptation process.The translation of EOL is also a process of continuous linguistic choice, which is actually a dynamic process of adapting to cultural context and linguistic structure of Chinese. In this process, the translator consciously or subconsciously interprets western culture with Chinese culture in an adaptation to Chinese context. As English and Chinese belong to different language system, translators are supposed to take flexible translation skills to make phonetic adaptation, lexical adaptation and semantic adaptation to the Chinese language in order to enhance the acceptability and inevitability of English-originated loanwords.It is the author’s hope that it should shed a light on further research on modern loanwords and better our understanding of the relationship between society, culture and language.