Over the past years, there has been a blank in the research of criteria of EST translation. When it comes to the standards of translation, the one that faithfulness expressiveness, and elegance advocated by Yan Fu will first occur in people’s minds.
By faithfulness it means that the information in the source language conforms to the target language, by expressiveness refers to expression smoothly and clearly, and by elegance, it indicates that the translation is supposed to be graceful both in form and contents. According to Yan Fu, “It would rather retain faithfulness than lose elegance”. However, according to modern points of view, it is partial and unconvincing.
From the aspect of the features and applications of EST, the standards of translation differ slightly from those of literary translation. For the time being, the widely accepted standards of EST translation are accuracy and normalization, smoothness and ease to understand, conciseness and clearness. The following paper attempts to present the three criteria respectively.
A. Accuracy and Normalization:
Accuracy in EST translation means that the information in the source language is expressed exactly and staunchly in the target language. Meanwhile, normalization refers to the version that should be in accordance with the normative expression of professional language in given scientific technology or given professional field. The errors even inaccuracies in EST translation will be a block to the scientific study, academic exchange as well as the development of the production. Therefore, we need to pay more attention to the accuracy and normalization of EST translation.
B. Smooth and Easy to Understand:
What is called smooth and easy to understand is that the language in translated texts conforms to the syntactic structure and conventional expression in the target language so as to make it easy to understand. In other words, the version needs to be featured with smooth and clearness, fluency in text, rational structure as well as clear logic. Do not translate the sentences rigidly, causing difficulty for readers to digest.
C. Conciseness and Clearness:
Conciseness and clearness, as another distinctive characteristic of EST sentences, are one of the basic requirements in EST translation. It refers to that the version should be short, and as refined as possible, avoiding lengthy and tedious words.
The translation of English for science and technology is quite a challenge for learners of English.
However, if one can grasp some translation methods and practice a lot, he should be confident that he can be a qualified EST translator.
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