Information Structure and Translation between Chinese and English

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??????????

• ?????? ???

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????????????????????????????????
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1.1 ????(?????)1.1.1 ??????????????,?1.
?????????(e.g. arrive, arrival, to arrive,
arrivingbeauty, beautiful, beautify inform,
informative, information)2. ??????????,??????????
????????????
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e.g.(1) ???????. (son, sons?)(2) Johns
book(3) A Dad, I missed you. B Missed or
miss? A Both.
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(4) A You cant arrest me. Im
Norfolk. B You were Norfolk.
--Queen Ilizabeth
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???(5) ??, ???????, ?????????, ??????.(6)
????,??????????, ????????(7) ????????,??????????.
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(5a) gave a loud bray(6a) got used to the
donkeys braying (cf. brays)(7a) not
only brayed loudly
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(9)????????(9a) Then they danced.(9b) Then they
began to dance.(9c) Then the dance began.(9d)
Then dancing began.
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1.1.2 ?????1) ??????? ???????????,???????.
cf. 1a) smiled and splashed back 1b)
splashed back smilingly 1c) laughed and
splashed back 1d) splashed back laughingly

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2) ?????????,???????????????????? In this
competitive world, it is urgent to set up an
international distribution and after-service
network.
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3) ?????????????????.That is what we have
learned from decades of development.4)???????????
?????,?????????????,?????Socialist China should
show the world through its actions that it
opposed to hegemonism and power politics and will
never seek hegemony.
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5) 1979?10????,??????????,???????,???????? Ref.
In October, 1979 I went to England. There I came
to see conditions quite new to me comparing them
with those in my own country I could not help
feeling disheartened
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2. Connotation and denotation. E.g. 1) ??,?
2) Shall I compare thee to a summers day?
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????????,????,??,????,???,???,??,????,????????
?????????,????,????,????
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D. ??(??)????(esp. when put in sentences). E.g.
A) ?????????22??(??,??,etc..) 1) She is
twenty-five and beautiful. 2) But you couldnt
tell me what it smells like in the Sistine
Chapel. Youve never stood there and looked up at
that beautiful ceiling. (Good Will Hunting)
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3) ????/????/????/????,etc.4) ??????,????????????
????On a day of gentle breeze and bright sun,
the Tower dominates an indistinct view of
??On a fine day, you can even see in the
distance, though not very clearly.
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5) Puritans, a sizeable percentage of the
earliest settlers in Massachusetts, were a pious,
self-disciplined people, but they... ?? ? ? ?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?, ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? , ? ? ? ?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ????? --???????????
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6) In the doorway lay at least twelve umbrellas
of various colors and sizes. ???????????????????.

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Ref. ???????,???????,????,????.
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7) ??????????????,????????????(???????)The
21million compatriots in Taiwan are all Chinese
and our own flesh and blood.
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2. ??(Sentences)A. Hypotaxis vs. parataxis
(?????)1) When he was walking across the
street, he was knocked down by a car.2)If you
dont go there, I wont go either.3) If Winter
comes, can Spring be far behind?
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4) ????,????.5) ????,????,????,????.5)
Suddenly the bell rang, announcing the arrival of
a visitor. As I had never rejected any guest, I
thought I should this one as well.
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B. Static vs. dynamic (?????)1) ? ? ? ? ? ?
?, ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?, ? ? ? ?? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?,
? ? ? ? ?? ? ? ? ? ?, ? ? ? ?, ? ? ? ?, ? ? ? ?
?, ? ? ? ? ? ? ?? 1a) He became a petty
official in his early twenties. As he was
learned, worked in earnest and made an
outstanding showing in performing his duties, he
had already earned a high reputation by the age
of thirty.
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Revised1b) He became a petty official in his
early twenties. By the age of thirty he had
already earned a high reputation for his profound
knowledge and earnest attitude towards his work
as well as his outstanding performance.
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2) ???????????,????,????,????????.2a) ?A small
plane took off from Kunming, carried us, flew
over the mountains, and sent us to Jinghong.
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Improved2b) A small plane from Kunming flew
over the mountains and sent us to Jinghong.
(back translation)
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3) ???278?, ???????????,??????, ??????? ???????,
????????, ??????,?????? ??
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3a)? In 278BC, Qu Yuan was 62. Beside the Miluo
River, he heard the news that the army of Qin had
broken through the capital of Chu. He was so
heartbroken that he held a stone, jumped into the
river, and killed himself.
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3b) In the year of 278 B.C., when he was 62 and
staying at the side of the Miluo River, Qu Yuan
heard that Qin troops had finally conquered Chus
capital. Overwhelmed with grief and despair, he
drowned himself in the river, with a large stone
in his arms.
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4) Party officials worked long hours on meager
food, in cold caves and by dim lamps.
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4a) ??????????,??????,??????,????????
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C. Substitutive vs. reiterative (?????)etc.
(substitution vs. repetition)1)
?????,??????.1a) He doesnt know French. Neither
do I.2) ???,???? ???????? ???????.????
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3) Shakespeares characters are really alive, so
are some of Jane Austins. 3a) ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?, ?. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??( ? ? ? ? ? ?)
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4) ?????????????,?????????????????????,???????????
??????,?????????????????????????????????????,???
??????????????,??????????,????????????????????????
????????
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4a) The May 4th Movement was an anti-imperialist
as well as an anti-feudal movement. Its
outstanding historical significance is to be seen
in a feature, which its thorough and
uncompromising opposition to imperialism as well
as to feudalism. The May 4th Movement
possessed.The May 4th Movement came into being
at the call of the world revolution, of the
Russian revolution, and of Lenin. It was part of
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5) A man may usually be known by the books he
reads as well as by the company he keeps for
there is a companionship of books as well as of
men and one should always live in the best
company, whether it be of books or of men.
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5a) ??????,???????????,??????????,??????????,?????
???,???????????????,???????.
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D. ????

• ???
• 1) I havent read this book.
• 1a) ???????.
• 1b) ???????.
• 2) ???????.
• 2a) I wont go there if you dont go.
• 2b) If you dont go there, I wont go either.

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3) Because/when/after/beforee.g.3a) I didnt
go there because I was ill.3b) Because I was
ill, I didnt go there.
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4) (??)?????????4a) At the seaside lived a
fisherman.4b) A fisherman lived at the
seaside.4c) There lived a fisherman at the
seaside.(same structure, different meanings)
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E. ?????? 1) In 1979 he visited the US for the
first time, where he met his first wife Jane.1a)
1979???????????????????????Jane.
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2) In 1979 he visited the US for the first time.
There he met his first wife Jane.a)
1979???????????????????????Jane?(note back
translation. A question is there any difference
in the English versions above?)
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3) ????????, ????????????? ?????????????????????
3a) At the foot of the hill was a small hut with
a bamboo fence around it.3b) At the foot of the
hill was a small hut. Around the hut was a bamboo
fence.
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F. Information structure of the sentence
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Grammatical analysis

• Subject predicate, e.g.
• 1a)John loves Mary.
• 1b) Mary loves John.
• 2a) There is a book on the desk.
• 2b) On the desk there is a book.

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Information structure

• Halliday Hasan(197627)
• INFORMATION STRUCTURE...is the ordering of the
  text, independently of its construction in terms
  of sentences, clauses and the like, into units of
  information on the basis of the distinction into
  GIVEN and NEW

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Theme given/initial element/what is talked
aboutTheme new/the rest of the sentence/what
is about the theme
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3a) Mr. Brown is their teacher.3b) Their teacher
is Mr. Brown. (different presuppositions/ans
wer different questions)
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cohesion

• Cohesionis the means whereby elements that are
  structurally unrelated to one another are linked
  together, through the dependence of one on the
  other for its interpretation. (Halliday Hasan,
  1976 27)
• (From sentence level to longer stretches of text
  such as paragraphs)

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e.g. 4) John is my friend. He is Marys husband.
5) John has lost his book/tooth.
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acceptability vs grammaticality (text vs.
non-text)

• 6a) Now comes the president here. Its the
  window hes stepping through to wave to the
  crowd. On his victory his opponent congratulates
  him. Gentlemen and ladies. That you are
  confident in me honours me (from Halliday,
  1978134 )

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Improved6b) Now comes the president here. Hes
stepping through the window to wave to the crowd.
He was congratulated on his victory by his
opponent. Gentlemen and ladies. That you are
confident in me honours me
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R1 T1 R2 R3
(constant theme)
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7) Most Americans have great vigor and
enthusiasm. They prefer to discipline
themselves.They pride themselves on their
independence. They are prepared to take the
initiatives.They will take any sort of job
anywhere.They do not care to be looked afterThe
average American changes or her job nine or ten
times during his or her working life.
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2. Focused theme progression (Constant rheme)

• T1T2 R(R1R2R3Rn)T3Tn

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8) The Chinese people is a great people. The
American people is a great people. The French
people is also a great people.
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3. Linear theme progressionT1 ? R1
? T2(R1) ? R2
?
T3(R2) ? R3
?
Tn?Rn
3.
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9) Once upon a time there lived a fisherman at
the seaside. He had a very greedy wife. This old
woman asked the poor old man to catch at least
100 fish a day, otherwise she would not give him
anything to eat.
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10) I met an old friend yesterday. He had a very
beautiful wife who worked in a hospital. This
hospital is the best one in our city.
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11) Credit cards enable their holders to obtain
goods and services on credit. They are issued by
retail stores, banks, credit-card companies to
approved clients. The banks or credit-card
company settles the clients bills, invoicing him
monthly and charging interest on any outstanding
debts. Their profit comes from the high rate of
interest charged. (mixture)
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Rheme-split progression (cf. linear theme
progression). 11) The students were divided
into three groups. The first group. The second
group. And the last group.
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12) The play was very interesting, but I didnt
enjoy it. A young man and a young woman troubled
me. I turned around and looked at them, but they
didnt pay any attention to me.
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A point

• All these patterns of thematic progression in
  English have their counter-parts in Chinese, but

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?????????????

• ??
• ?? ???????, e.g.
• 1) ??????,???????????2) ??????,?????????

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1) He decided to take a walk in the park when he
finished the experiment.(cf. When he, he
decided to)??????,??????????
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????????/????

• 1)??????,?????
• 2)????????

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3) ?????????,?????,?????????????,?????????????
?? (????)
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3a) My husband has bought two film tickets for
us tonight, because youre laid off and have to
cut your expenses.
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4a) He didnt come because he was ill.4b)
Because he was ill he didnt come.5a) I wont go
there if you dont go.5b) If you dont go there,
I wont go either.(Note the different
presuppositions)
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?????? ??
??????????????????????????,???????????????????1558
?,???????????,???????????,????,???????,???????????
??????????,??????????????????,?????????????,??,?
????????,????????????
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??????????????????????????,???????????????????1
558?,???????????,????????? Yu Yuan Garden,
located in the southern part of Shanghai, is a
famous classical garden. The original owner of
the garden, Pan, was once the governor of Sichuan
Province during the Ming Dynasty. Construction of
the garden started in 1558 but went on and off
for lack of money. It did not come to completion
till twenty years later.
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????? The Yu Yuan Garden in the south of
Shanghai is a famous classical garden. It was
originally the private garden of a man named Pan,
who was once the governor of Sichuan Province
during the Ming Dynasty.
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b) In the south of Shanghai there is a famous
classical garden named Yu Yuan Garden. It was.
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????? The construction of the garden started in
1858, but it was not completed until twenty years
later (because it went on and off) for lack of
money.
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Structure of the paragraph

• 1) introduction (of the garden)
• 2) its original nature
• 3) its construction
• 4) change of hands
• 5) its incorporation with the Temple
• 6) its devastation during the Wars and its
  consequences

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• ??,????,???????,?????????????????????,???????
• When the Pans went into a decline, their
  descendants were eager to sell the garden, some
  businessmen bought it at a low price. Later it
  was incorporated into the City God Temple to
  become its West Garden.

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• Later, it was bought by some businessmen at a low
  price from his desperate descendents when the
  family went into a decline. Some years after that
  it was incorporated into the City God Temple and
  became its West Garden.

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• ???????????,?????????????,??,?????????,???????????
  ?
• During the Opium War and the Taiping Revolution,
  foreign aggressors stationed their troops in the
  garden more than once. As a result, the garden
  experienced repeated devastation in its history
  and lost much of its original grandeur.

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Improved

• During the Opium War and the Taiping Revolution,
  the garden suffered repeated devastation by
  foreign aggressors/troops (stationed there) and,
  consequently, lost much of its original grandeur.

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English translation(??)

• T1 --- R1 (Yu Yuan/ is)
• T2 --- R2 (The original owner/ was)
• T3 --- R3 (Construction of/started)
• T4 --- R4 ( It/ did not come to completion...)
• T5 --- R5 (Whentheir descendents)
• T6 --- R6 (Later/ it was)
• T7 --- R7 (During/foreign aggressors)

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Improved translation(???)

• T1R1 (In the south/thereYuan Garden)
• T2 (R1)R2 (It/private garden)
• T3 (R1)R3 (Its construction/ 20 years later)
• T4 (R3, time adverbial)R4
• T5 (R3, time adverbial)R5
• T6 ( R3, time adverbial)R6

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????,?????????,???????????????1987?,????????
????1982?????????????,?????????????????????,??????
,????40?,???????????????????????????????????????
?
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• ????,?????????,???????????????1987?,???????? ?
• Under the care of the peoples government since
  liberation, Yu Yuan Garden has gone through many
  renovations, with the recent one carried out in
  1987 to restore its eastern part.

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Since 1949, under the care of , Yu Yuan Garden
has gone through many renovations, the most
recent of which was done in 1987 when its eastern
part was restored.
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• ???1982?????????????,??????????????
• The garden, placed under the special protection
  of the State Council since 1982, is one of the
  best gardens in South China.

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• ??
• A) One of the best of its kind in the south of
  China, the garden was placed under special
  protection by the State Council of China in 1982.
• B) The garden , under the special protection of
  the State Council since 1982, is one of the best
  gardens in the south of China.

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• ???????,??????,????40?,??????????????
• With pavilions, halls, chambers, towers, ponds
  and rockeries, it has more than 40 scenic spots.
  At least 10,000 people visit the garden every
  day.

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• ??
• With over 40 scenic spots, including/such as,
  the garden draws over 10,000 visitors every day.

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• ??????????????????????????No wonder people
  say, Those who have come to Shanghai but missed
  Yu Yuan Garden and the City God Temple Bazaar
  cannot claim that they have been to the city.

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??No wonder people say, You cant claim to
have been to Shanghai without visiting Yu Yuan
Garden and the City God Temple Bazaar.
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Structure of the paragraph

• 1. ???????(??????).
• 2. ????????.
• 3. ??????40?.
• 4. (??) ???

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Thematic structure of English(??)

• T1(under the care)R1(renovations)
• T2(the garden)R2 (one of the best)
• T3 (with)R3 (40 scenic spots)
• T4 (at least 10000)R4 (visit the garden)
• T5 (no wonder..)R5 (say)

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Improved

• T1 (since 1949)R1(renovations)
• T2(The garden)R2 (one of the best)
• T3(40 spots) R3(draws 10000 visitors)
• T4(No wonder)R4(people say)

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Thank you!