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
candidates 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 candidates 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.
(INSTITUTE OF
LINGUISTS EDUCATIONAL TRUST DIPLOMA IN TRANSLATION: Handbook and Advice to
Candidates; Retrieved Dec 28, 2002 from http://www.iol.org.uk/qualifications/Iol-DipTrans-Handbook.rtf)
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edn. 1987; 2nd edn. 1992.] [OED2]
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 Oxford
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The Random House Dictionary of the
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The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 3rd edn. 1992. [AH3]
Microsoft Encarta World English
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(Print/CD) (Included in Microsoft Reference Library)
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《金山词霸》 [Ciba]
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American English. 3rd college edn. [WNW3]
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
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John Sinclair. 2001 Collins Cobuild 3rd
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《汉语大词典》and《辞海》
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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)
Babylon (www.babylon.com)
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 China) (www.britannica.com/)
[On a subscription basis; 60/yr]
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.