Translation Issues in Russian-Chinese Translation: Determining Word Meaning, Collocation, and Connotation

This article will use the "Russian-Chinese Translation Course" published by Beijing Foreign Studies University (hereinafter referred to as the "Course") as a reference and combine it with examples found by the author to briefly discuss three vocabulary-related issues in Russian-Chinese translation: how to determine word meaning, word collocation, and the connotation of word meaning.

I. Determining Word Meaning

The Russian language contains a large number of polysemous words, and the specific meaning of these words can only be reflected in a certain context. The semantic range of corresponding words in Chinese and Russian does not completely overlap, so the translation must start from the whole and determine the word meaning based on the context. The "Course" points out that there are usually two situations when determining word meaning based on context: ① The Russian word itself is polysemous; ② The Russian word itself is monosemous but has a general meaning, equivalent to more than one word in Chinese. The first situation is easier to judge. Taking "смелость" as an example, the two basic meanings of "смелость" are "courage, boldness" and "recklessness, improper behavior". These two meanings are vastly different, and the translation must choose based on the specific context. In the Soviet writer Klyuev's "Aleksey Mitrofanovich", it is written, "И я увлекся работой, требующей сметки, смелости и неутомимости". When translating this sentence, one can first skip "смелость" and get the translation "I was engrossed in work that required agility, and perseverance". Since "agility" and "perseverance" both have positive connotations, and given that "I" am passionate about my work, the first meaning of "смелость", which is "courage", should be chosen in this context. The same method applies to "Дамы осуждали смелость её туалета." First, translate the sentence as "The ladies condemned her toilet's .", and from the word "condemned", it is clear that a word with a negative connotation is needed after "costume", so the second meaning is chosen, translating it as "beyond the norm". For the second situation, take "аграрный" as an example. The meaning of "аграрный" itself is "related to land", but in "аграрнаяреформа", "аграрнаястрана", and "аграрнаяполитика", it is translated as "land reform", "agricultural country", and "rural policy", respectively. In summary, when dealing with polysemous words, one should first correctly understand the context and determine the word meaning through dictionary lookups and logical reasoning to translate the text.

II. Word Collocation

The collocation methods of corresponding words in different languages are not the same. Some words can be collocated in Russian but not in Chinese. Correctly handling collocation issues is related to the fluency and correctness of the translation. The "Course" points out that there are four common situations. The first three are "adjective + noun", changing the adjective to adapt to the noun; "verb + noun", changing the verb to adapt to the noun; "adverb + verb", changing the adverb to adapt to the verb. For example, "Они дружат более десяти лет, можно сказать, что они большие друзья" is literally translated as "They have known each other for ten years, it can be said that they are big friends". In the original text, the adjective "большие" (big) is used to modify a strong and good relationship, but in Chinese, "big friends" refers to young people, and a literal translation would distort the original meaning. The correct translation is "good friends". Another example is "решить мое сомнение", which is literally translated as "solve my doubt", but in Chinese, it is common to say "dispel doubts" rather than "solve doubts". The fourth situation is "one word translated into two words". Taking "рост" (growth, increase) as an example, the adjectives that collocate with "рост" in Russian include "численный" (quantitative) and "идейный" (ideological), etc. But when translating "численный и идейный рост", the sentence should be processed into "quantitative increase and ideological improvement". In Chinese, "ideology" is an abstract noun and cannot be measured by quantity, so it is often collocated with "strengthen" or "improve", rather than "increase". Online resources and dictionaries can help solve the problem of word collocation.

III. Connotation of Word Meaning

Words with connotations of praise or criticism can help people express their emotions and attitudes towards things. Accurately expressing the connotation of word meaning in translation helps to convey the author's views, emotions, and thoughts. Incorrect expression can distort the original meaning and even lead to political errors. The "Course" points out that there are usually two situations when dealing with connotations: ① The word in the original text itself has obvious connotations of praise or criticism; ② The word in the original text is neutral. The first situation generally does not pose difficulties. The second situation requires judging the emotional color of neutral words through the context and expressing it in the translation. Taking "восстание" as an example, "В 1917 году началось восстание при руководстве Советской власти" should be translated as "In 1917, the Soviet Union led an uprising in St. Petersburg", and "Корниловское восстание" should be translated as "Kornilov's rebellion". "Восстание" is a neutral word, which can indicate both "uprising" and "rebellion", so the specific context and social background must be considered when translating. The first sentence describes the 1917 Soviet leadership of workers, peasants, and sailors against the provisional government. From the standpoint of a socialist country and from the perspective of the laws of social development, we should call this movement (revolution) an "uprising". Kornilov, on the other hand, represents counter-revolutionary forces. He raised troops to rebel against the Soviet, so it should be translated as "rebellion".

In summary, learning to correctly collocate words, determine word meaning, and the connotation of words is the most basic translation skill that a translator needs to master. Translators need to have sufficient knowledge reserves, a basic understanding of Russia's national conditions, and rely on context, dictionaries, and the internet to solve word translation problems.

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