第13卷 第4期Vol 113 No 14北京印刷学院学报
Journal of Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication 2005年12月Dec 12005
收稿日期:2005205208
政治演讲语言的特点分析与翻译方法
———介于书面与口语之间的语言形式
魏 芳
(北京印刷学院大学英语部，北京102600)
Abstract :In the paper ,through an analysis of language structure ,rhetoric features of speeches and sufficient trans 2lation examples ,the writer aims to summarize the most sig 2nificant features of political speech and f urther explore the process ,guiding principles and difficulties in its transla 2tion.Due to the difference in occasions ,audiences and pur 2pos ,there will be subtle difference in diction ,and trans 2lation is expected to embody this difference.
K ey w ords :political speeches ;language structure ;rhetoric
features ;translation theory ;f unctional equiva 2lent ;
中图分类号:H059 文献标识码:A 文章编号:100428626(2006)0420075204
As a special form of public speaking ,speeches are widely ud by people of different identities all over the world ,ranging f rom statesmen ,economists ,and profes 2sors to sales persons ,students or every common person when they want to prent or publicize their ideas ,and con 2vince people for a certain purpo.The writer categorizes speeches into the mi 2written ,mi 2oral form according to the following reason :the speeches are prepared before hand ,especially formal ones for the leaders.Most Chine political speeches take features of the written form ,stand 2ardized in grammar and expressions.However ,speeches are ultimately to be heard and understood by audience on a certain occasion.Accordingly ,the speaker will take into consideration the features of oral form and some public speaking techniques.
An analysis of rhetoric features of speeches and its translation will be the focus of this paper.In general ,spee 2ches share some common features.However ,due to the difference in occasions ,audiences and purpos ,there will be subtle difference in diction ,and translation is expected to embody this difference.
1 Analysis of speech structure
As a special kind of public speaking ,speech is defined as "a talk ,especially a formal one about a particular sub 2ject ,given to a group of people".The structure of most speeches can be summarized in six parts.
The first part :greetings
The cond part :prentation of a problem ,defining the problem
The third part :argumentation ,opposing views ,or re 2f usation
The forth part :conclusion ,the speakers ’views The fifth part :appeal to action The last part :closing remarks
Of cour ,not every speech falls into such a pattern ;some do not include all the parts.The first part ,greet 2ings ,is usually quite personal with welcoming remarks.Here is one example.
Mr.Premier and all of your distinguished guests this evening.
On behalf of all of your American guests ,I wish to thank you for the incomparable hospitality for which the Chine people are justly famous throughout the world.I particularly want to pay tribute ,not only to tho who pre 2pared the magnificent dinner ,but also to tho who have provided the splendid music.Never have I heard American music played better in a foreign land.[1]
———Speech of former U.S.President Richard Nixon
in China ,1972
2 Features of speech
2.1
Bound to audience and occasions
A successf ul speech is prepared according to a particu 2
lar occasion ,the age ,gender ,and educational background
of the audiences.The diction,way of expression,contents and tempo in delivering the speech are all b
ound to the po2 tential audiences.All the above2mentioned factors may vary according to the varied group s of audiences.For some spe2 cial audiences with inferiority complex,such as the handi2 capped people,the speaker has to smartly manage the lan2 guage and the tone.
2.2 Rhetoric features of speech
2.2.1 The u of quotations,proverbs,idioms,maxims or classic literatures
As audience plays such an important role in speeches, many speakers like to quote proverbs,idioms,maxims or classic literatures in his speech to attract their attention. When delivering a speech to foreigners,the u of cultural quintesnce in the target language culture is an effective way to call the audience’s attention in a very polite manner and most importantly,to make the audience feel clo and amicable to the speaker who shares something valuable with them.On many occasions,when addressing to foreign au2 dience,political leaders like to quote f rom the target lan2 guage to aro the audiences’interests,here are some exam2 ples taken from speeches of political leaders on different oc2 casions.
Chairman Mao has written,"So many deeds cry out to be done,and always urgently;the world rolls on,time press.Ten thousand years are too long,ize the day, ize the hour!"
雾霾 英语
毛主席写过:“多少事，从来急；天地转，光阴追。一万年太久，只争朝夕。”[2]
———Speech by the former U.S.President Richard Nixon,1972
And as a saying f rom The Book of Changes goes,"I f two people are of the same mind,their sharpness can cut through metal".(二人同心，可以断金。)[2]
———Speech by the former U.S President Ronald Regan,1984
From the examples and their translations,we can e the translator is expected to know the literatures very well,and also he/she can learn the corresponding transla2 tion f rom the speeches offered by foreigners.
2.2.2 The u of the first person pronoun I and WE
The u of the first person pronoun"we"is to shorten the distance between the speaker and the audience,regard2 less of their disparity in age,social status and professions etc.It may include both the speaker and the listener into the same arena,and thus make the audience feel clo to the speaker and his points.An effective word ud in the greeting part is"fellow".A speaker may address his peer as"my fellow students"or"my fellow colleagues"and the U.S.president refers to the U.S.citize
ns as"my fellow Americans".
2.2.3 Short ntences more effective than longer ones
The famous writer and translator Lin Yutang once hu2 morously remarked,"speech is just like women’s shirts,the shorter,the better".A short,yet effective,convincing speech is the best.And the u of effective short ntences may help.A long,boring speech will make the audience feel tedious and lo interest in listening.Moreover,short ntences are easy to catch and follow,easy to understand. Among the famous western orators,the16th U.S.Presi2 dent Abraham Lincon became the pioneer in using plain English in his speech with short and conci language,and his"G ettysburg Address"rves as the milestone in histo2 ry.
2.2.4 Effective u of parallelism,comparison,repeti2 tion to achieve an impressive effect
Such rhetoric features as parallelism,comparison and repetition are widely ud in speeches in order to achieve an impressive effect on the audiences.Here are some examples taken from the speeches by American leaders.
1)To the world,what is impressive is how much has changed in the20years since Deng Xiaoping start
ed the re2 form2the quintupling of economy,the recovery of Hong K ong and Macao,the success of the new development zone,the opening to world trade,the television t in every living room,the computer in every houhold,the ri in the expectation of life to Western levels,the greater f ree2 dom of employment and speech.
———Speech by President Clinton in Beijing,1998
2)The young Chine expect the favorable trends to continue with the continuation of China’s economic reform; they think the China of20years ahead will be as much bet2 ter than the China of today as the China of today is much better than that of20years ago.
———Speech by President Clinton in Beijing,1998
3)Here in this ancient capital,China ems very young to me tonight,blesd with both a proud history and the promi From this place,trade routes extended through Asia to Europe and Af rica.And to this place,great thinkers came,spreading philosophy and new ideas that have contributed to the greatness of China.
———Speech by President Clinton in Xi’an,1998brand new
Example one is an effective u of parallel phras, short and uniformed in structure.Example two and three are good u of comparison and contrast with short n2 tences,having a very beautif ul effect in expression.Another
67北京印刷学院学报2005年
tabootypical example is Martin L uther King’s"I Have A Dream",which though in English,have similar effect with Liang Qichao’s speech.
3 T ranslation of political speech Translation of political speeches is no easier than that of the written political documents.As the writer categori2 zes the political speech into the mi2written,mi2oral form,besides some common features shared with the writ2 ten ones,while translating political speeches,translators will take into consideration of the audiences,make sure most of them understand what have been said in a very lim2 ited time.
3.1 T ranslation process and requirements
As for the process in C2E political translation,the writer will focus her attention on the most important pha2 s:comprehension and expression.
The first and foremost step:comprehension.As it is universally recognized that comprehension is the prerequi2 site and foundation of translation,without which transla2 tion is impossible.Comprehensive and accurate comprehen2 sion of the source language guarantees a turnout of high quality.Inaccurate or incomplete comprehension may lead to misunderstanding or offer mistaken expressions.In po2 litical translation,becau the language is cloly connected with rious political matters,a minor mistake may cau a big disaster;this cannot be truer when handling diplomacy and foreign affairs that might affect our nation’s image.
Besides posssing excellent language proficiency and a wide range of knowledge,a translator of political language is required to be patriotic,politically conscious,and nsi2 tive to major political matters.He or she is not only a me2 diator between two languages and cultures,but also a dip2 lomat with political discernment.The qualifications are a must in ensuring an accurate understanding of the source language with strong Chine characteristics.
Expression is the ultimate purpo and product of comprehension and translation.G ood expression is an over2 all reflection of the translator’s proficiency in language as well as in other respects.Besides being politically con2 scious,a translator has to be considerate in putting him2 lf/herlf in shoes of the readers and listeners while translating Chine political terms,for some of
the terms, familiar to the Chine people,may puzzle foreigners when they share no cultural and historical background with us. Most of the terms are time2bounded.For example：解放前 before1949
解放以来 since1949,since the founding of the Peo2ple’s Republic of China
十一届三中全会以来 the Third Plenum of the11th CPC Central Committee(in December1978)
新时期 new historical period since(the beginning of reform and opening up in)1978
十年浩劫 a decade of turmoil f rom1966to1976
The complement of the specific year in translation is very necessary and facilitated to foreign readers.Another problem worth the translators’attention is the choice of words,especially in political translations.An English say2 ing goes like this,"Words do not have meanings;people have meanings for words".[3]"People"in this ntence re2 fers to both the speakers and the listeners.Words ud in translation may reflect the translator’s position,viewpoints and ntiments.Words in political translations often repre2 nt the stand and viewpoint of the nation.Therefore,the translator has to be very caref ul in choosing the appropriate words.
美容美肤方法
For example：统一思想:to reach connsus;to ek unity in thinking;to achieve common understanding[4]允许一部分人先富起来:We encourage some people to get rich first.[5]
I f we translate统一思想into"to unify thinking",and 允许一部分人先富起来into"we allow some people to get rich first",then,there will be misunderstandings that Chi2 na has no f reedom in thinking and life.
Even for the same matter,due to cultural and ideolog2 ical disparity in different countries and stands,there will be different versions for the same report.Take"1997年中国政府对香港恢复行使主权"as an example,plea e the following versions.郑州雅思
1)“This is an area that view the takeover as an end of the Opium War ”
———International Herald Tribune,J une23,1997
2)the return of Hong K ong to the motherland
3)resume the exerci of sovereignty over Hong K ong
Foreign press often u"takeover",as in example one,which is not very f riendly,while Chine press’
ver2 sion indicates a metaphor,as if Hong K ong is a child long lost her mother and finally returned to the arms of her mother,f ull of ntiments.Example3is neutral in diction and emotion.If a translator carelessly us"handover",he is on the side of the British government.Such mistake should be avoided.
3.2 G uiding principles in the translation of political spee2 ches
As a special form of political language,the political speech has its own rhetoric features which are hard tolocate
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takeaction第4期 魏芳：政治演讲语言的特点分析与翻译方法
translate to achieve the same effect as it is in the source lan2 guage becau the contents of political speeches are"au2 thoritative".
In A Textbook of Translation,Peter Newmark offered three f unctions of language,expressive,informative and vocative,on which he built his translation theory and pro2 cedures."The core of the expressive f unction is the mind of the speaker,the writer,the originator of th
e utterance.He us the utterance to express his feelings irrespective of any respon".He believes that the characteristic"expressive" text2types include:rious imaginative literature,authori2 tative statements and autobiography,essays,personal cor2 respondence.Political speeches and documents are typical authoritative statements.In the expressive f unction,the core is the writer or the speaker,their status is sacred,and therefore,it is an author2oriented translation.
The central problem of translating has always been whether to translate literally or f reely.The four contradic2 tions are the spirit or the letter;the n or the words; the message or the form;the matter or the manner.New2 mark offered three new obrvations to rve as his theoret2 ical foundation:the purpo of the translation,the nature of the readership and the type of text.With the matters all in mind,he put his theory in a flattened V diagram as the follows.In his theory,Newmark pointed out that 2 mantic translation is ud for"expressive"texts and com2 municative for"informative"and"vocative"texts.For the source language emphasis,authoritative political speeches, according this diagram,the method adopted is mantic translation.
A f requent method adopted in political translation is the u of equivalents or near equivalents in the target lan2 guage.In the1960s,professor Eugene A Nida ever pro2 pod"f unctional equivalence"in translation,which is one of the most prevailing translation theories.In his repre2 ntative work:Towar
d a Science of Translating,Nida propos his concept of translation,which is concentrated on his famous definition.He defines translation as reprodu2 cing in the receptor language,both in meaning and style, the clost natural equivalent of the source2language mes2 sage.[6]
googletranslate
Achieving"equivalence"is the supreme goal in transla2 tion,and thanks to the similarities between human socie2 ties,there are equivalent expressions in the target lan2 guage,then there will be no translation difficulties stand in the way and the translation is perfect.For examples：新世纪即将来临之际-as the new century approaches on the verge of the new centurysmds
at the dawn of the new century
at the threshold of the new century
as the new century is just round the corner
下不为例-a special one2time ca
减员增效-downsizing for efficiency or cut payroll to increa efficiency[7]
Newmark believes that"equivalent effect"is the desir2 able result,rather than the aim of any translatio
n."The more cultural(the more local,the more remote in time and space)a text,the less is equivalent effect even conceivable unless the reader is imaginative,nsitive and steeped in the SL culture)".[8]
Though people all over the world share some common feelings and thus make possible a universal appeal.Howev2 er,the hardest part is to create"an echo respon in trans2 lation".This is also true with the translation of Chine political speeches.Since the language is political in nature, the dominant factor that should be taken into consideration is faithf ulness rather than anything el.When there is no possibility to find an"equivalent"in the target language, the translator is required to employ all kinds of translation techniques to transfer clearly the very meaning in the source language,paraphrasing,explaining are all available means to u,covering in the broad n of translation and a2 chieve a kind of"f unctional equivalence"in translating.All the translators strive to do is to faithfully express the politi2 cal significance of the speeches,and meanwhile take into considerations of all the purpos and features of speeches.
R eferences:
[1][2] 郭晓伟.世界著名政治家英语经典演说辞[M].北京：中
国对外经济贸易出版社,2000.
[3][4][5] 徐亚楠，李建英，外事翻译-口译和笔译技巧[M].北
京：世界知识出版社,1998.
[6] Nida,Eugene.Toward a Science of Translatin[M].Leiden:
Brill,1964.
[7] 王弄笙.英汉翻译中的Chinglish[J].中国翻译,2000,(2):31
～35.
pearl是什么意思[8] Newmark,Peter.A Text book of Translation[M].Hong
K ong:Prentice Hall International Ltd,1988.
87北京印刷学院学报2005年
