Role of Information Grounding in Literary Translation for Discourse Structuring: A Study of Three English Translations of a Chinese Prose “Zuiwengting Ji”

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2015.12.013

Abstract

Abstract: Any discourse, a conglomeration of different sentences, features background information as well as foreground information both at the clause level and at the discourse level. The information which knits the thread of a discourse and which moves the discourse forward is called foreground information and the information which does not immediately and crucially contribute to the speaker’s goal, but which merely assists, amplifies, or comments on it is background information. Information grounding theory holds that an acceptable discourse results from the modulation of both foreground information and background information. The present paper, by taking three translations of the first paragraph of the Chinese literary discourse “Zuiwengting Ji” as an instance and through extracting and back-translating into Chinese their respective foreground information, aims to make readers fully aware of the important role that foreground information plays in achieving global coherence in discourse structuring.

CLC Number:

H315.9

LI Ming. Role of Information Grounding in Literary Translation for Discourse Structuring: A Study of Three English Translations of a Chinese Prose “Zuiwengting Ji”[J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2015, 15(12): 60-64.

References

Carreiras, M., N. Carriedo, M. A. Alonso & A. Fernández. 1997. The role of verb tense and verb aspect in the foregrounding of information during reading [J]. Memory and Cognition 25: 438-46.
Cotrozzi, S. 2010. Expect the Unexpected—Aspects of Pragmatic Foregrounding in Old Testament Narratives [M]. New York: T & T Clark International.
Givón, T. 1987. Beyond foreground and background [A]. In R. S. Tomlin (ed.). Coherence and Grounding in Discourse [C]. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 109-306.
Góller, A. 1971. Gedanken zu Weinrichs Tempuslehre [J]. Praxis des neusprachlichen Unterrichts 18: 375-88.
Hopper, P. J. & S. A. Thompson. 1980. Transitivity in grammar and discourse [J]. Language 56(1): 251-99.
Kalmár, I. 1982. Transitivity in a Czech folk tale [J]. Syntax and Semantics (15): 241-59.
Keenan, E. 1985. Passive in the world’s languages [A]. In T. Shopen (ed.). Language Typology and Syntactic Description: Clause Structure [C]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 243-81.
Langacker, R. W. 1990. Settings, participants, and grammatical relations [A]. In S. Tsohatzidis (ed.). Meaning and Prototypes: Studies on Linguistic Categorization [C]. London: Routledge. 213-38.
Langacker, R. W. 1991. Foundations of Cognitive Grammar (vol. 2) [M]. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Lopes, J. M. 1995. Foregrounded Description in Prose Fiction [M]. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Tomlin, R. S. (ed.). 1987. Coherence and Grounding in Discourse [M]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Trask, R. L. 1992. A Dictionary of Grammatical Terms in Linguistics [M]. London: Routledge.
Unger, C. 2002. Global coherence, narrative structure, and expectations of relevance [R]. Paper for the Conference “Relevance Theory and Literature,” University of Huddersfield, UK.
van Kuppevelt, J. 1995. Main structure and side structure in discourse [J]. Linguistics 33: 809-33.
Weinrich, H. 1971. Tempus: Besprochene und erzählte Welt [M]. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.
欧内斯特·海明威.2010.老人与海(余光中译)[M].南京:译林出版社.
司显柱.1999.论英汉民族思维模式、语言结构及其翻译[J].外语学刊(2):78-86.
司显柱.2002.语篇翻译再探讨[J].江西财经大学学报(3):71-74.
杨自俭.2000.对译学建设中几个问题的新认识[J].中国翻译(5):4-7.

[1]	Shihong DU, Yu WANG. Reflections upon Reductionism and Holism in Eco-translatology [J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2021, 451(1): 86-96.
[2]	ZHAN Jun. The Framework and the Componential Elements of of Business English Descipline [J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2020, 450(6): 7-18.
[3]	CHEN Xinren. A Note on the Internationalization of Research Outputs by Scholars in the Field of Foreign Studies [J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2020, 450(6): 5-6.
[4]	ZHANG Siyong. Translation Process Research from Interdisciplinary Perspectives: A Survey and Some Reflections [J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2020, 449(5): 91-100.
[5]	SHANG Wenbo. A Corpus based Study on the Explicitation of Logical Relations in Translated Academic Texts——A Case Study of the Translation of Handbook of Social Justice in Education [J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2020, 449(5): 110-120.
[6]	ZHU Xiaoying. On Huang Yuanshen’sAesthetic Ideas of Translation [J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2020, 449(5): 23-33.
[7]	ZHU Bo. On Translation for Strategic Communication——A Case Study of "China Keywords Project" [J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2020, 446(2): 111-118.
[8]	LI Chao, WANG Shouhong. Translation as a Way of Interpretation [J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2020, 446(2): 119-128.
[9]	GONG Gang, ZHAO Jiao. The “Corresponding Translation” Theory: The Ideal State of Literary Translation [J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2020, 445(1): 102-110.
[10]	PENG Wenqing, WANG Jinbo. Inheritance or Plagiarism: A Case Study of Cheung Yik-man's Partial Translation of San Guo Yan Yi [J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2019, 19(06): 98-110.
[11]	FENG Quangong, GU Tao. On Translation Landscape in Tourist Areas: Exemplified by the West Lake Scenic Area in Hangzhou [J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2019, 19(06): 83-97.
[12]	Sakai Hirobumi. Scattered Recollections of the Japanese Translation of September's Fable and Others [J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2019, 19(05): 85-95.
[13]	CHU Dongwei. Art for Art's Sake: On Translating Zhang Wei's Fiction [J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2019, 19(05): 96-105.
[14]	ZHOU Yuanhang. An Approach to Style Criticism of Literary Translation: A Case Study of Goldblatt's Translation of the Republic of Wine [J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2019, 19(05): 106-117.
[15]	DENG Lingyun, YU Huan. A Comparative Study and Its Implications of Translation Quality Requirements in China and Foreign Countries [J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2019, 19(04): 115-123.