The Use of Reference Tools in Translation
(Lecture
Outline)
Ke Ping
1 The Importance of Reference
Tools to Translating
(a) General-purpose
Dictionaries
(b) General-purpose Encyclopedias
(c) Glossaries, Specialized Encyclopedias, Companions, Guides,
Handbooks, etc.
3 How to Use Reference Tools to Solve Problems
in Translating
2000年中国教育部领导制定的《高等学校英语专业英语教学大纲》对六级英语的要求：
学生“能熟练地使用各种英英词典以及大型百科全书（如Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Americana），独立解决语言问题和部分知识方面的疑难问题。”
对八级英语的要求：
学生“能独立使用各类工具书和参考书，并有效地通过计算机网络查阅资料，获取知识，独立从事某些简单课题的研究。”
The candidate’s performance is judged
under two rubrics: how the source language text is decoded
(comprehension of the source text), and how it is encoded (translation
into target language).
Decoding
(i) accuracy
of translation, that is, the correct transfer of information from the source text
to the target text and evidence of complete comprehension;
(ii) common sense in the transfer of the
understood text.
Under the rubric of Decoding, points relating to accuracy and common sense will be dealt with.
Accuracy: This
is the sine qua non of any translation. If a candidate’s script
contains just one serious translation error or omission, giving false
information to the reader, it has not reached the minimum professional standard
and the candidate cannot be awarded a Pass.
Some
causes of lapses in accuracy which could cause a candidate to fail are:
- inability to grasp the meaning of a whole
sentence or paragraph and therefore resorting to literal translations, or
- guessing at the meaning of words instead of
consulting a dictionary, or
- problems of comprehension thereby
mistranslating individual words, concepts or technical terms, or
- omitting sections of the translation.
To minimise
the chances of inaccurate translations, candidates need to make effective use
of monolingual and bilingual dictionaries, and this includes counter-checking
meanings in other dictionaries as well as understanding the text itself.
Examiners frequently comment that candidates do not apply sufficient care when
consulting dictionaries and that more than one should be used — the first to select
the missing word and at least one other to verify that the correct alternative
has been selected from the range of possibilities given. Dictionaries should
however, not be quoted as if they were authoritative or even definitive, as
opposed to being tentative, approximate and provisional. In other words,
although dictionaries play an important role, they must be an aid to the
process of translating and not a substitute for thinking.
Many candidates rely more on the capacity of dictionaries to provide contextually appropriate translations, than on their own personal resourcefulness. Candidates need to learn to stand back from their translations (having firmly closed their dictionaries) and to ask themselves whether what they have written conveys what they want it to since complying with the letter does not always convey the intended meaning.
(
Murray, Sir James Augustus Henry. (Ed.) 1989. A
New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (popularly known as The
Oxford English Dictionary). 2nd edn. 20 vols.
Gove, Philip Babcock. 1961. Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language. (popularly known as W3) (Unabridged). [W3]
Dillard, Annie. (Ed.). 1993. The New
Shorter
The
Random House Dictionary of the English Language. (Unabridged). 2nd
edn. 1987. [RH2]
The
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 3rd edn. 1992. [AH3]
Microsoft Encarta World English Dictionary. (Print/CD) (Included in Microsoft Reference Library)
Lu, Gusun 陆谷孙 主编. 1993.《英汉大词典》. 缩印本. 上海：上海译文. xv+2308pp. [YHD]
《金山词霸》 [Ciba]
Webster's
艾迪生·维斯理·朗文出版公司词典部编. 2002. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (English-Chinese)《朗文当代高级英语词典（英英·英汉双解）》缩印本. 朱原等译 徐式谷，杨枕旦定稿 陆国强，周治淮等审定. 北京：商务印书馆；London: Addison Wesley Longman China Limited. [English edn. (2nd edn.) ©Longman Group UK Limited 1987; Original English-Chinese edn. © Longman Asia Limited 1997; This English-Chinese edn. © Addison Wesley Longman China Limited 1998, © 商务印书馆.] F35+1916+B63+FG36pp. [LDCE2]
John
Sinclair. 2001 Collins Cobuild 3rd Edition (CD-ROM)
(Collins Cobuild 3rd Edition English Dictionary for Advanced
Learners. Athelstan
Pubns.) [CCED3]
《新英汉词典》(世纪版). 2000. 上海：上海译文. xiv+1701pp. [XYH]
Wu, Guanghua吴光华 主编. 1997.《汉英词典》. 上海：上海交大出版社. 2154pp. [HY]
中国社会科学院语言研究所词典编辑室
编.
1996.《现代汉语词典》(修订本). 北京：商务印书馆. 1722pp.
商务印书馆词书研究中心 编. 2000.《古今汉语词典》. 北京：商务印书馆. iv+2042pp. [GJHY]
《汉语大词典》and《辞海》
Lu, Guoqiang 陆国强 主编. 2000.《新世纪英语新词语双解词典》. 上海：上海外语教育. viii+1308pp.
Zhou, Xueyi 周学艺. 主编. 2002.《英汉美英报刊词典》. 北京：外语教学与研究. xi+861pp.
Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia (Deluxe edn.) or Microsoft Encarta Reference Library (CD-ROM) [MERL]
Preece,
Warren E.. (Gen. Ed.) 1985. New
Encyclopaedia Britannica (Britannica 3). 15th edn of Encyclopaedia Britannica.
32 vols.
Britannica on CD. Deluxe edn.
(CD-ROM) [BCD2002]
Encyclopedia Americana. 30 vols.
中国大百科全书编委会 编. 1980s.《中国大百科全书》[CD-ROM 1.1版. 2000.] [SCD1.1]
Collin, Peter. 1998.《英汉双解法律词典》. 陈庆北 王景仙 译. [
Collin, Peter. 1998.《英汉双解商业词典》. 周丽娟 等译, 陈庆北 审校. [
Collin, Peter. 2000.《英汉双解信息技术词典》. 刘相东 庞萍 译. [Dictionary of Information Technology. © Peter Collin Publishing Ltd & Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press. 2000.] 北京：外语教学与研究. 565+ixpp.
Collin, Peter. 2000.《英汉双解医学词典》. 陈育红 胜利 译. 韩宗炎 审校. [Dictionary of Medicine. © Peter Collin Publishing Ltd & Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press. 2000.] 北京：世界图书出版公司. 673pp.
Crim, Keith. (Ed.). 1981. The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible.
*English Classics 1000 (CD-ROM).
1998.
Gates, Jean Key. 1983. Guide to the Use of Libraries and Information Sources (5th edn.). NY & London: McGraw-Hill. [Chinese edn.: 邵萍 et al., Trans. 1986.《图书馆与情报源利用指南》. 北京: 北京大学出版社. 398pp.]
Gillie, Christopher. 1977. Longman
Companion to English Literature.
*Li, Zhongqing (Ed.). 1993. 李忠清 主编.《西方典故》. 南京: 江苏教育. 852pp.
*Lin, Huangtian. 1997. 林煌天 主编.《中国翻译词典》. 武汉: 湖北教育. 1327pp..
Library
Classics: collector's edition (CD-ROM). 1995.
*《圣经：现代中文译本》. 1997. (Rpt. by 中国基督教协会 in
Mack, Maynard. (Ed.). 1966. The Continental Edition of World Masterpieces. Enlarged edition. 2 vols. NY: Norton. [Sch Lib.]
*Room, Adrian. 1986. Dictionary of
*Shao, Xiantu. 1988. 邵献图等 著.《西文工具书概论》. 北京: 北京大学出版社. 324pp.
*世界姓名译名手册编写组. 1987.《世界姓名译名手册》. 北京：化工出版社. v+1003.
*Wang, Zuoliang et al. 1983. 王佐良, 李赋宁, 周珏良, 刘承沛 主编.《英国文学名篇选注》. 北京: 商务. 1252pp.
*Xin, Hua辛华 编. 1980s《英语[法语、德语、俄语等]姓名[地名]译名手册》北京：商务印书馆.
Zhao, Guozhang et al. 1987. 赵国璋等 编著.《社会科学文献检索》. 北京: 北京大学出版社. 457pp.
The Internet Public Library (www.ipl.org)
Digital Librarian (www.digital-librarian.com)
Subject Websites (www.port.ac.uk)
Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia (http://encarta.msn.com/reference)
Your Dictionary (www.yourdictionary.com)
Free online dictionaries & many other means of reference (www.1000dictionaries.com)
OneLook Dictionary Search
OED
Online (with Advanced Seach
function)
Collection of Web-Dictionaries (www.leo.com)
The LINGUIST List of Dictionaries, etc (www.emich.edu/~linguist/dictionaries.html)
WordReference Free Offline Dictionaries of European Languages (www.wordreference.com)
the Glossarist (www.glossarist.com)
Over 1,900 Glossary Links (www.jump.net/~fdietz/index.htm)
Encyclopaedia Britannica (Search Results for
The Britannica Concise (education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/index.html) [Replaced by the Concise
Columbia Encyclopedia in 2003]
The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia (education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/)
Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia (www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page)
(1) Monolingual dictionaries should be given priority over bilingual ones.
(3) Unabridged dictionaries are indispensable.
(4) Newer unabridged dictionaries often give clearer definitions than older ones.
■ Incomplete senses of an entry
■ New words or senses not yet accommodated.
■ Wrong or inaccurate definitions.
■ Either function or description lacking in the definition of complicated items.
■ Hyponymous & cohyponymous relationships between lexical items lacking due to inadequate cross-reference systems.
■ Senses derived from the root word not listed or not completely listed in separate entries.
■ Entries seemingly “missing” due to inadequate cross-reference systems.
■ Entries and definitions not organically matched in bi-directional bilingual electronic reference tools.
■ No full-text search function in electronic reference tools.
■ Programming glitches in electronic dictionaries.
■ Persistent errors in bilingual dictionaries.