Basic Techniques and Methods for Translating Long English Sentences into Chinese

English tends to use long sentences to express complex concepts, while Chinese often utilizes multiple short sentences for clear and hierarchical narration. Therefore, when translating from English to Chinese, special attention should be paid to the differences between the two languages, breaking down long English sentences into shorter ones in Chinese. During the translation process of long English sentences, the following methods can be summarized.

Firstly, when the narrative hierarchy of long English sentences aligns with Chinese, they can be translated into Chinese in the order as expressed in the English original text to maintain a similar sequence between the translation and the original text. Secondly, in cases where the order of expression in long English sentences differs from the typical Chinese expression habits, or even is completely opposite, the translation must start from the end of the original text. In Chinese, attributive clauses and adverbial clauses are often placed before the modified words; whereas in English, many modifiers are frequently placed after the modified words, thus requiring a reversal of the sentence structure during translation. The inversion method is commonly used in English to Chinese translations, rearranging long English sentences according to the typical Chinese expression patterns to ensure logical coherence in the translated Chinese text.

Another method is known as the inclusion method, more commonly applied in English to Chinese translations. In this method, when translating long English sentences into Chinese, postpositional elements in English are placed before the central word in Chinese, creating front-positioned inclusion of modifying elements in the Chinese sentence. However, the modifying elements should not be overly long to prevent awkwardness or complications in sentence structure.

Sometimes, the relationship between the subject or main clause and modifiers in long English sentences may not be closely related. In such cases, following the Chinese preference for shorter sentences, subclauses or phrases in long sentences can be converted into separate sentences for clearer narration. To maintain coherence in meaning, it may be necessary to add words appropriately, essentially breaking down the entire long English sentence into several independent sentences while maintaining a coherent sequence.

The reorganization method involves restructuring sentences during English to Chinese translation to ensure smoothness and alignment with traditional Chinese narrative logic. After understanding the structure of long English sentences and the intended meaning, the original language sequence and form are disregarded, and the sentences are reorganized accordingly.

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