Translation of Subject Ellipsis in Tang Poetry
Weiying Chen · Journal of Zhejiang University(Humanities and Social Sciences) · 2006
Subject ellipsis(also known as ″null subject″) is a common phenomenon cross-linguistically.But English is probably least known as a language in which subject ellipsis in finite clauses may occur.In fact,English is known to be a highly grammar-oriented language with respect to impermissibility of subject ellipsis in finite clauses and extensive use of dummy subject to keep the subject position filled.That is to say,subject ellipsis is not commonly seen in English.But subject ellipsis in Chinese is the most common phenomenon,whether in spoken or written discourses.The differences between English and Chinese ellipsis can only be explained by the specific context of culture.Because the cultures are different,there will be differences in elliptical expressions in terms of structure,meaning,function or uses.If we say English is a highly grammatically-oriented language,then Chinese a semantically-oriented one.Based on the study of the translation of subject ellipsis in the Chinese Tang Poetry,the differences between English and Chinese cultures can be identified.The difference between ellipsis in English and Chinese not only derives from the differences in the two vastly distinct languages,but mainly from the culture that supports and constructs these languages.A cultural perspective is adopted in the article with a view to further understanding the different characteristics of both languages and both nations in terms of their ways of thinking.Chinese culture is more emotional,sensitive and intuitive while Western culture is more intellectual,rational and theoretical.If we compare their orientations of the use of language,we see that the Western mode is largely ″direct,explicit,verbal″,relying heavily on logical and rational perception,thinking,and articulation.The manner of expression or style often seems unnecessarily complicated and abstract.In the East,the primary source of interpersonal understanding is the unwritten and often unspoken norms,values and ritualized mannerisms relevant to a particular interpersonal context.Thus,the Chinese mode of communication is indirect and implicit in which a lot is supposed and implicitly said,or vaguely said.Westerners tend to insist on making very explicit arrangements and use language in an instrumental way.Western culture and its way of thinking tend to be analytic,i.e.taking things in isolation from each other.Consequently,their language,English,for instance,would tend to be more elaborate with regard to the meanings of speakers and hearers.In contrast,Chinese philosophy and culture as a whole tends to be synthetic or hoslistic,i.e.taking things in relation to one another.As a result,in their ways of speaking,they tend to be economical,hence elliptic and vague in their use of language,since the cultural pattern of thinking will have already'filled up the gaps' as it were.In the study of the translation of subject ellipsis in Chinese classical poetry (especially poems of the Tang Dynasty),it is found that most of the elliptic and vague expressions have been translated and transformed into complete,definite and explicit ones.The great pity is that the essence and artistic conception of the original poems are to the greatest extent sacrificed and become tasteless. In the original poems,the poet himself is lost from the lines.He simply arranges all the things,situations,symbols and images into a relationship of harmony,leaving readers great space to feel,think and recreate.In the translated versions,translators use such different pronouns as ″I″,″my″,″you″,″she″,etc.to refill the gap,thus producing more dramatic,prosaic,intrusive effects on the readers' mind.It is assumed that the poet's state of mind cannot remain intact in the process of transcoding from one language to another.Though it is commonly believed that translation is to a large extent dependent on the cultural sensitivity,it is proved in this article that translation may well reflect the differences in a culture in a deeper sense.