A Study Of Similar Words And Constructions In The Spanish And English Languages And The Implications For Multilingual Translation By Chinese Translators

Speakers of Spanish and English languages,when engaged in translation work with both languages,will feel both convenience and inconvenience.This is because in both languages there are a number of morphologically similar words and some of them are false friends,and because there are many similar constructions and elements.This thesis deals with similar words and constructions in both languages,and elaborates on the implications of the similarity on multilingual translation among Spanish,English and Chinese.Finally yet importantly,this thesis intends to put forward suggestions for training multilingual translators and interpreters.This thesis adopts Eugene Nida's formal equivalence and functional equivalence,and reveals that similar words can be divided in three groups:verbs,nouns and adjectives with totally equivalent definitions,those with partially equivalent definitions and those with totally no equivalent definitions.For the multilingual translation among Spanish,English and Chinese,formal equivalence can be used in the first group and no negative influence will arise.However,formal equivalence is generally not accepted in the second and the third group while functional equivalence should be considered more.Otherwise,negative influence will arise.As for the three typical similar constructions that include reflective verbs,passive construction and present perfect,this thesis discovers that in order to avoid negative influence,the optimal translation strategy is to adopt functional equivalence.The thesis argues that in order to train multilingual translators and interpreters,colleges and universities ought to intensify their research beyond linguistic subjects,and employ more genuinely bilingual talents,allowing them to teach and research with a more professional view.Furthermore,colleges and universities should learn from each other.