The Use of Reference Sources in Translation

�� 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.

�

(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)

�

2� Some Good Reference Tools

(1)� Local Reference Tools

(a)� General-purpose Dictionaries

Unabridged:

�Murray, Sir James Augustus Henry. (Ed.) 1989. A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (popularly known as The Oxford English Dictionary). 2^nd edn. 20 vols. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [James Lib.] [CD edn.: The Oxford English Dictionary on CD-ROM. 1^stedn. 1987; 2^nd edn. 1992.]� [OED2]

�Gove, Philip Babcock. 1961. Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language. (popularly known as W3) (Unabridged).� [W3]

�

Semi-abridged:

�Dillard, Annie. (Ed.). 1993. The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford Univ. Press, 2 vols.

�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 ??? ??. 1993.???????. ???. ???????. xv+2308pp.� [YHD]

�?????? [Ciba]

�

Collegiate:

�Webster's New World Dictionary of the American English. 3rd college edn.� [WNW3]

�

Learner�s:

�???�???�??????????. 2002. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (English-Chinese)??????????????�?????????. ???? ????????? ??????????. ?????????London: Addison Wesley Longman China Limited. [English edn. (2^nd edn.) �Longman Group UK Limited 1987; Original English-Chinese edn. � Longman Asia Limited 1997; This English-Chinese edn. � Addison Wesley Longman China Limited 1998, � ?????.] F35+1916+B63+FG36pp.� [LDCE2]

�John Sinclair. 2001 Collins Cobuild 3^rd Edition (CD-ROM) (Collins Cobuild 3^rd Edition English Dictionary for Advanced Learners. Athelstan Pubns.)� [CCED3]

�???????(???). 2000. ???????. xiv+1701pp.� [XYH]

�

Chinese-English:

�Wu, Guanghua??? ??. 1997.??????. ??????????. 2154pp.� [HY]

�

Chinese-Chinese:

�????????????????? ?. 1996.????????(???). ????????. 1722pp.

�??????????? ?. 2000.????????. ????????. iv+2042pp.� [GJHY]

???????and????

�

Neologisms:

�Lu, Guoqiang ??? ??. 2000.??????????????. ?????????. viii+1308pp.

�Zhou, Xueyi ???. ??. 2002.??????????. ??????????. xi+861pp.

�

(b)� General-purpose Encyclopedias

�Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia (Deluxe edn.) or Microsoft Encarta Reference Library (CD-ROM)� [MERL]

�Preece, Warren E.. (Gen. Ed.) 1985. New Encyclopaedia Britannica (Britannica 3). 15^th edn of Encyclopaedia Britannica. 32 vols.

�Britannica on CD. Deluxe edn. (CD-ROM)� [BCD2002]

�Encyclopedia Americana. 30 vols.

�?????????? ?. 1980s.?????????[CD-ROM 1.1?. 2000.]� [SCD1.1]

�

(c)� Glossaries, Specialized Encyclopedias, Companions, Guides, Handbooks, etc.

�Collin, Peter. 1998.??????????. ??? ??? ?. [Eng. edn.: Dictionary of Law. Peter Collin Publishing Ltd 1986, 2^nd edn 1992.] ???????????. v+588pp.

�Collin, Peter. 1998.??????????. ??? ??, ??? ??. [Eng. edn.: Dictionary of Business. Peter Collin Publishing Ltd 1985, 2^nd edn 1994.] ???????????. 584pp.

�Collin, Peter. 2000.????????????. ??? ?? ?. [Dictionary of Information Technology. � Peter Collin Publishing Ltd & Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press. 2000.] ??????????. 565+ixpp.

�Collin, Peter. 2000.??????????. ??? ?? ?. ??? ??. [Dictionary of Medicine. � Peter Collin Publishing Ltd & Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press. 2000.] ???????????. 673pp.

�Crim, Keith. (Ed.). 1981. The Interpreter�s Dictionary of the Bible. Nashville: Abingdon. [Sch Lib.]

*English Classics 1000 (CD-ROM). 1998. Shanghai: Fudan University Press.

�Gates, Jean Key. 1983. Guide to the Use of Libraries and Information Sources (5th edn.). NY & London: McGraw-Hill. [Chinese edn.: ?? et al., Trans. 1986.?????????????. ??: ???????. 398pp.]

�Gillie, Christopher. 1977. Longman Companion to English Literature. London: Longman. 885pp.

*Li, Zhongqing (Ed.). 1993. ??? ??.??????. ??: ????. 852pp.

*Lin, Huangtian. 1997. ??? ??.????????. ??: ????. 1327pp..

�Library Classics: collector's edition (CD-ROM). 1995. Pasadena, CA: Century Editions, Ltd.

*???????????. 1997. (Rpt. by ??????? in Nanjing) (Originally published by ?????? in 1979) 963+342+lxx pp.

�Mack, Maynard. (Ed.). 1966. The Continental Edition of World Masterpieces. Enlarged edition. 2 vols. NY: Norton. [Sch Lib.]

*Room, Adrian. 1986. Dictionary of Britain. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. 383pp.

*Shao, Xiantu. 1988. ???? ?.?????????. ??: ???????. 324pp.

*???????????. 1987.??????????. ????????. v+1003.

*Wang, Zuoliang et al. 1983. ???, ???, ???, ??? ??.??????????. ??: ??. 1252pp.

*Xin, Hua?? ?. 1980s???[?????????]??[??]?????????????.

�Zhao, Guozhang et al. 1987. ???? ??.??????????. ??: ???????. 457pp.

�

(2)� On-line Reference Tools

(a)� Integrated tools

�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)

�

(b)� Dictionaries

�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)

�

(c)� Glossaries

�the Glossarist (www.glossarist.com)

�Over 1,900 Glossary Links (www.jump.net/~fdietz/index.htm)

�

(d)� Encyclopedias

�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)

�

3� How to Use Reference Tools to Solve Problems in Translating

�� (1) �Monolingual dictionaries should be given priority over bilingual ones.

�� (2)� Glossaries or specialized dictionaries should be given priority over general ones in translating technical texts.

�� (3)� Unabridged dictionaries are indispensable.

�� (4)� Newer unabridged dictionaries often give clearer definitions than older ones.

�� (5)� L1 to L2 and L2 to L1 dictionaries may often need be used side by side to pinpoint the exact referent of a term.

�� (6)� Both source language and target language encyclopedias are very useful in finding out correct translations of terms, proper names, etc.

�

4� Problems in Reference Tools

�� ?� Incomplete senses of an entry

�� ? �New words or senses not yet accommodated.

�� ?� Wrong or inaccurate definitions.

�� ?� Terminological confusions.

�� ?� 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.

�