A Report On The Translation Of A Grammar Of Chinese Language

Robert Morison is the first Protestant that came to China for missionary work. His masterpiece A Grammar of the Chinese Language is the crown jewel in the history of western students of the Chinese language. The first book on Chinese grammar ever written in English, it was intended to provide practical assistance to the student of Chinese. A Chinese grammar book based on the system of English grammar is its most striking feature. As such, the book is of great historical significance and of great practical value for studies on language history. The present paper is the writer’s translation of a part of the book and a comparative study of the writer’s translation and her supervisor’s revision. In other words, this is a report on the translation practice and reflections of the writer. The present report starts with the description of the objective, manner and process of the writer’s translation practice, then gives a literature review of earlier researches on the grammar book, provides the writer’s introduction to the author Robert Morison, the contents of his book as well as its main features, and finally offers a detailed comparison of the writer’s translation and her supervisor’s revision. The last part naturally brings home with concrete examples such translation techniques as amplification, omission, Chinese four-character structure, the employment of polysemy and "的" and the transformation of voice. Micro discussions then lead to a macro reflection of the writer’s translation practice. The present report concludes with a summary of its limitations and puts forward suggestions for future efforts. The present report can well be regarded as a theoretical reflection of the writer’s translation practice and hopefully has paved the way for the final completion and publication of the grammar book in Chinese.