Chinese-style expressions in translation

During the process of translation, translators tend to incorporate some language characteristics of their native language to some extent, which is a difficult issue to avoid. In language classes, I have also heard many French classmates habitually placing adjectives after nouns when translating from French to English. However, the issues that arise in Western languages during translation are often related to grammar, while translation between Western languages and Chinese involves many differences in expression habits. One of the most obvious differences is that Chinese values complexity as beauty, while Western languages value conciseness. In traditional Chinese characters, a single character holds a certain meaning, so even a short sentence can carry rich implications. With the advent of simplified Chinese characters, words composed of two characters became more common, making sentences longer. Additionally, Chinese has a unique feature that other languages lack, which is reduplication. Expressions like "寻寻觅觅" (searching) and "冷冷清清" (cold and desolate) create a unique sense of beauty in Chinese. Conversely, the straightforward and logical nature of Westerners complements their concise language, where shorter sentences possess more power. Especially in French, redundancy is avoided: if similar words appear in a paragraph, it is preferable to replace them with synonyms; pronouns should be used to refer back to previously mentioned nouns. This illustrates the French pursuit of clarity and succinctness.

Therefore, when translating from Chinese to French, unnecessary redundancy often occurs. One common situation is redundancy with scope words. For example, in the sentence "Un problème sérieux sur le travail de projet," ("A serious problem regarding project work"), "travail" is a scope word that is completely unnecessary in this context. Its presence or absence does not affect the meaning of the sentence, as "projet" itself already encompasses the meaning of "travail." If both are present, it leads to repetitive meaning. However, not all scope words should be omitted. In the sentence "Il a doté sa maison avec des travaux d’art." ("He endowed his house with works of art."), "travaux" is also a scope word, but omitting it would significantly alter the sentence's meaning and disrupt its fluency. Moreover, "art" does not encompass the meaning of "travaux," so their simultaneous appearance does not result in redundant meaning.

So, is there redundancy in the following sentence?

"Nous avons parlé des affaires concernant la construction d’un pétrolier géant."

In my opinion, there is indeed redundancy in this sentence, specifically with "les affaires." Here, the construction of a giant oil tanker is an event in itself and does not need to be explicitly highlighted by "les affaires." By removing this part, the sentence becomes: "Nous avons parlé de la construction d’un pétrolier géant." ("We talked about the construction of a giant oil tanker.") The meaning of the sentence remains unchanged, but it becomes more concise and clear, making it easier for native French speakers to understand.

◀️：Class Transposition in Russian-to-Chinese Translation

▶️：Discussion on the Key Points and Deficiencies of "A Guide to Chinese-Style English"