Exploring the Extension of Meaning in Russian-to-Chinese Translation

This article continues to explore translation issues in Russian-to-Chinese translation, focusing on the extension of meaning in words.

The tutorial points out that corresponding words in Russian and Chinese sometimes differ in terms of their range of meanings, collocational abilities, rhetorical characteristics, and usage habits. To accurately convey the original intent and make the translation conform to Chinese expression habits, it is sometimes necessary to extend the meaning of the original word or phrase based on the context.

Extension refers to "deriving new meanings from the original meaning." For example, the word "鉴" originally means "a mirror," but its extended meaning is "something that can serve as a warning or lesson." In the process of Russian-to-Chinese translation, methods such as transference, specification, or abstraction are often used to extend the meaning of words.

For instance, the sentence "Пришла весна. Все вокруг начало кричать о жизни" can be translated as "Spring has come, and everything around started calling out for life." Upon careful consideration, it can be observed that the phrase "周围的一切开始呼唤生命" does not align with Chinese expression habits. Additionally, the relationship between spring and all things should signify that the arrival of spring revitalizes and restores life and vitality to all things. Therefore, when translating, it is appropriate to extend the meaning of "кричать о жизни" (calling out for life) and use another word to convey the message, such as "Spring has come, and everything around becomes lively."

Another example is "Помещики отняли у крестьян отцовское и дедовское достояние," which translates to "The landlords took away the property left by fathers and grandfathers from the peasants." In this sentence, "крестьяне" (peasants) does not refer to specific individuals but rather denotes the peasant class as a group. Similarly, "отцовское и дедовское достояние" (property left by fathers and grandfathers) represents an abstract concept, referring to "ancestral wealth." Therefore, in this example, an abstract method is needed to translate "property left by fathers and grandfathers" as "ancestral wealth."

The sentence "В нашем быту еще много такого, что мы должны изгнать, истребить" requires a method of specification for handling. This sentence translates to "In our daily lives, there are still many things that need to be banned and eradicated." The predicate in this sentence is "изгнать, истребить" (ban, eradicate), while "такого" (things) is a pronoun that can refer to different objects, representing a word with abstract meaning that changes according to the context. Based on contextual inference, what needs banning and eradicating should be the "phenomena" in daily life, not just "things."

Practice Excerpts:

1. Подумай, какой жизнью мы живем? Тебе скор сорок лет—разве ты жила?

Translated to "Think about the kind of life we live? You're almost forty - have you lived?" Based on the context, since "you" are nearly forty years old, the question at the end should be about whether you have had good days, not just if you have lived. Therefore, I believe the meaning of "жить" should be extended to "have you experienced any good days?"

2. Настало наводнение. Трехмесячный труд крестьянина погиб.

Translated as "A flood caused the three months of a peasant's hard work to perish." Here, "труд" is an abstract noun representing labor results. "погиб" is the verb for "perish." In this context, since the subject is the "peasant's hard work," to conform to Chinese expression habits, the verb should be extended to "wasted."

3. Он вбил столб в родную землю.

Translated as "He drove a stake into his homeland's land." The original meaning is "he stayed in the homeland to develop." Therefore, the phrase "driving a stake" should be translated to "taking root."

4. Он с детства нюхал идеи от коммунистической партии.

Translated as "From childhood, he smelled the ideas of the communist party." In Chinese, it is common to say "influenced by ideas," so the verb "нюхать" (to smell) should be transformed

翻译的是信息，而不是句子

Christmas Address: 

In vielen Häusern herrscht jetzt fröhlicher Trubel; in anderen geht es eher besinnlichzu. 

Translation: 此时此刻，千家万户洋溢着喜庆的气氛；有的家庭热闹非凡，有的家庭稍显平淡。

English Translation: When translating, I only understood the literal meaning of "besinnlich" without carefully grasping its exact meaning in the original German sentence. I mistakenly interpreted the implicit information in the sentence as negative, leading to an error in understanding the latter half of the sentence. Such a degree of mistranslation can have serious consequences. The use of "热闹非凡" (extraordinarily lively) was also not precise enough and somewhat exaggerated the original meaning.

Ich wünsche Ihnen dagenau das Weihnachtsfest, das Sie am liebsten mögen.

Translation: 又到了大家最喜欢的圣诞节，在这里，我祝愿电视机前的你们圣诞快乐！

When translating this sentence, I did consider the meaning of "da" in the sentence, which roughly translates to "that." Because I noticed that this was a television speech, I translated it as "in front of the television set" based on my personal subjective understanding. However, I did not fully consider the audience range for the Christmas address. The translation issue in this sentence is mainly caused by a biased and subjective understanding.

In Deutschland ging es in der Politik stürmisch zu.

Translation: 德国经受了政坛上的动荡不安。

English Translation: While translating, I researched the German context of this Christmas address and deliberated several times on the translation of "stürmisch." I noticed that Chinese news materials used the term "动荡不安" (turbulent) when reporting on the political situation in Germany in 2006, so I ultimately chose that word. Later, when I saw my teacher's translation as "风云变幻" (changing winds and clouds), I realized it was indeed a better choice than "动荡不安." From an information transfer perspective, I believe there is not much issue with using "动荡不安," but after seeing "风云变幻," I understood that the meaning of "动荡不安" leans more towards the negative side. "动荡不安" conveys a sense of chaos and unease, while "风云变幻" is more neutral and objectively positive. Therefore, considering the textual characteristics of this Christmas address, "动荡不安" cannot be considered an adequate expression in terms of conveying effect, and "风云变幻" would be preferable.

Bei meinen Besuchen im Land begegne ich jedenfalls immer wieder Menschen, die versuchen, gemeinsam etwas für ihre Anliegen in der Heimat zu bewirken, und sie lassen sich dabei von unterschiedlichen politischen Überzeugungen überhaupt nicht stören.

Translation：我在国内参观考察的期间总会遇到一些人，他们都一面关心我们的祖国、试图为祖国做些什么，一面却不会为不同的政治信念所动摇。

Translation for reference：我在国内考察的过程中，总是能遇到这样的民众，他们超越了彼此政治信仰上的差异，从自己家乡的利益出发，期待同心协力做些改变。

When translating, I only focused one-sidedly on the translation of information without accurately grasping the structure of the text. The purpose and underlying main message reflected in this paragraph were not effectively conveyed, and the organization of the paragraph was not clear and logical enough. Considering this is a speech address, the translated text did not exhibit a good speaking effect. The translation of the structure was somewhat too stiff and lacked flexibility.

Dann können wir erleben: Veränderungen lassen sich gemeinsam gestalten, und die Dinge fügen sich. 

Translation：我们就能够共同面对新变化的出现，一切也都将迎刃而解。

Translation for reference：这样我们才能见证到，变化能够齐心铸就，事物彼此紧密相连。

When translating, there was a misunderstanding of the meaning of "fügen" in the original German sentence, leading to a deviation in understanding. I chose to carefully consider the meaning of the sentence and adopt a compromise translation approach, but the result was not ideal. The handling of the translation for "Veränderungen gestalten" was also not done well; I resorted to adding additional translation, which may not have been necessary.

Im kommenden Jahr wollen wir Fußball-Weltmeisterwerden.

Translation：接下来的一年里，我们即将在德国举办世界杯足球赛。

Translation for reference：明年，我们要冲击世界杯足球冠军。

It was only upon seeing the reference translation that I realized I had not noticed the original text was 'Weltmeister,' leading to a misunderstanding of the information in the original text, which is an error that should not have occurred.

Wir haben die Dresdner Frauenkirche wieder, weil Bürger in aller Weltsich das so in den Kopf gesetzt hatten. 

Translation：多亏了世界各地尽心尽力的民众们，我们再次拥有了德累斯顿圣母大教堂。

Translation for reference：由于各界人士的关心，我们又重新拥有了德累斯顿圣母教堂。

Having a too simplistic understanding of the meaning of 'Welt' and an inaccurate understanding of the meaning of 'Bürger,' with too many mistranslated parts in the second half of the sentence.

Die Überlebenden und die Hinterbliebenen sind dankbar für die Hilfsbereitschaft, die sie erfahren haben. Und wir sollten denen dankbar sein, die am heutigen Abend nicht im Kreise ihrer Lieben feiern, weil sie für ihre Mitmenschen da sind

Translation：死者的家属们和幸存下来的人们非常感激于他们所收到的帮助与救助。我们也应该对那些，为帮助其他人而无法在今夜与他们所爱的人一同欢度节日的人们，心怀感激。

Translation for reference：正如那些灾难中的幸存者对他们所获得的救助心存感激一样，我们也要对那些今夜无法与亲人团聚的人们心存感恩。

The handling of the sentence structure is not satisfactory, with too much information piled together, making it overly verbose. There hasn't been a logical separation of the sentence structure or a connection between the preceding and following sentences.

Jens Weißflog, der Skispringer, hat einmal gesagt

Translation：跳高运动员

Translation for reference：滑雪运动员

Serious mistranslation.

Aber jetzt lassen Sie uns erstmal Weihnachten feiern. Finden Sie Zeit und Muße - für sich und andere.

Translation：但是此刻，让我们先欢度圣诞节吧，请大家为自己，也为他人而忙里偷闲一下。

Translation for reference：此时此刻，请大家先把时间留给自己和家人，让我们庆祝圣诞、尽情狂欢。

The phrase 'busy but finding time' is too colloquial, not suitable for written expression, and does not align with the original meaning of the German sentence. There are discrepancies in both understanding and language conversion.

Frohe und gesegnete Weihnachten, wo immer Sie sind!

Translation：祝你们拥有一个快乐幸福的圣诞节，一如既往。

Translation for reference：无论你们身处何地，祝福大家，圣诞快乐！

There was a misunderstanding of 'wo immer,' and the incorrect understanding led to the mistranslation.

Graduation Adress

Was wäre eine Abschlussrede ohne ein einziges lateinisches Zitat. Nicht umsonst habe ich mich mit dieser überaus interessanten, verwesenden Sprache 4 Jahre lang gequält!

Translation：一个不引用拉丁语的演讲结束语会是什么样的？拉丁语是一门很有趣的语言，也是一门逐渐衰落的语言，四年来我也算没有白受拉丁语的折磨。

Translation for reference：不过，毕业演讲里连一句拉丁语名言也没有算什么玩意儿。那我不就被这有趣过了头的、老得掉了牙的拉丁文白白折磨了四年！

The translation is too literal and lacks emotion. The emotional understanding of the original German sentence is not accurate enough, and the Chinese translation does not convey the emotional information implied in the German original. The relationship between the preceding and following sentences is not demonstrated through the structure, and the logical connection between the sentences is also not expressed adequately.

Man untestellt mir nun hoffentlich nicht, dass ich durch diese profunde Demonstration meiner lateinischen Kenntnisse etwa noch im Nachhinein meine aktenkundig nachgewiesene überragend schwache Note in Latein habe ad absurdum führen wollen.

Translation：但愿你们不要因此而认为，我是想通过展现出渊博的拉丁语知识来证明我以前的拉丁语考试成绩很好，实际上我以前的拉丁语考试成绩是很不理想的。

Translation for reference：现在，我希望大家不要以为，我如此意味深长地展示我的拉丁文知识，是想让你们过后从档案里翻出我的拉丁文分数，证明他们给我如此明显的低分是多么荒唐。

The method of adding translation to the last sentence was used, but in retrospect, the handling is not very good. It deviates from the original meaning of the entire paragraph and lacks accurate understanding of the original text. The division of the large section of content is not precise enough, requiring a clearer treatment of the structure of the paragraph sentences. The meaning of 'ad absurdum führen' was also mistranslated.

Ich glaube aber auch, dass ihr all diesen Ernstdes Lebens und die Schwierigkeiten, die auf euch zukommen, nicht zu fürchten braucht. 

Translation：我也认为，你们无需担心你们即将面临的，这种认真对待人生和工作的态度

Translation for reference：但我也相信，面对即将到来的严峻生活和困难，我们不需要恐惧。

There was a misunderstanding of 'Ernst,' and 'Schwierigkeiten' was omitted in the translation.

Ich denke, es ist also nicht falsch, den Lehrern und die Lehrerinnen in eurem Namen zu danken für das, was sie euch in den teils harten, teils leichten Tagen der Schulzeit an Wissen vermittelt haben, und natürlich auch für die Mühe, die sie sich zumindest meistens mit euch gegeben haben.

Translation：我想在这里代表大家向我们的老师们表达感谢，感谢他们，不论寒冬酷暑，不论风雨交加，都在教学事业上辛勤耕耘；感谢他们，诲人不倦，竭尽心力，将大部分的时间都奉献给了我们。

Translation for reference：所以，我想，以你们的名义来对老师表示感谢是正确的，感谢他们在过去时而轻松愉快，时而痛苦难捱的教学时光里传授给我们知识，而且当然还要感谢他们那绝大部分是滴洒在我们身上的汗水。

There was too much emphasis on the expression in Chinese during the translation, without considering the context, neglecting the fidelity to the original German text. Many expressions were exaggerated beyond the original meaning and were unnecessary. There were significant alterations to the original meaning during translation, with the subjective addition of a lot of unnecessary information.

Bambi: 

Ein Ast der Eiche stand hochüber den anderen Zweigen und langte weit hinaus zur Wiese. An seinem äußersten Ende saßen zwei Blätter zusammen.

Translation：在这棵大橡树上，有着比其他树枝都要高的一根树枝，它远远地向草地延伸过去，而在这截树枝的最外端，有两片叶子紧挨在一起。

Translation for reference：一根枝条从枝杈上冒出伸向草地，上面仅有的两片树叶在枝尖上惺惺相惜。

The translation is too rigid and direct, making the sentences verbose and lengthy. They are not concise or smooth enough and do not conform to Chinese expression habits.

Sogleich antwortete die Elster: >>Schakerakschak...glauben Sie etwa, ich schlafe noch ? <<

Translation：喜鹊也跟着应声：“Schakerakschak……你们不会以为我还在睡觉吧?”

Translation for reference：喜鹊被吵醒了，不满地喊道：“嘿！嘿！知道不知道 我还在睡觉？”

There was an error in understanding the emotional nuance of 'glauben Sie etwa.' The context was not considered, resulting in a failure to grasp the accurate meaning and emotional expression of the original German sentence.

Bambi rührte sich nicht. Er hoffte, der Prinz werde ganz herauskommen, und Bambi überlegte, ob er es wagen dürfe, ihn anzureden.

Translation：班比站着不动，希望他会从树枝中走出来，同时心想自己应不应该冒险上前打声招呼。

Translation for reference：斑比停下脚步，站着不动，等待那只公鹿完全从灌木丛中走出来。同时他考虑要不要勇敢些，主动和对方打招呼。

There was a slight deviation in the understanding of 'wagen.' The term '冒险' (adventure) does not quite fit the context and does not accurately describe Bambi's psychological activities. More careful consideration should be given to the choice of key verbs.

Bambi mag die Eule gerne leiden. 

Translation：斑比痛苦地爱恋着猫头鹰小姐。

Translation for reference：斑比很喜欢猫头鹰。

The misunderstanding of the phrase "leiden mögen" led to a serious mistranslation of information, causing a partial loss of emotional understanding in the subsequent paragraphs and resulting in deviation in content translation.

In conclusion, we should translate not just sentences but the information they convey. Understanding the central point of the original text is crucial, followed by the need to continually improve one's proficiency in expressing ideas in the target language. Additionally, subjective modifications during translation should be avoided, with changes based on objective conditions. While adding appropriate explanations may be necessary, the decision to add or remove information should be carefully considered. The translation of key information and verb choices in sentences should be meticulously considered, opting for expressions that align closely with the original context.

- Huang Xingyu, a translation intern at Global Translation Company.

◀️：Processing Information in Translation

▶️：The Importance of Common Sense in Translation