Language
10 June 2022
Sharing five English translation methods of SCI papers

  As an indispensable part of SCI thesis translation, some authors will translate their own papers if they are good at it. After all, they are the people who know their own papers best. Next, I'd like to share five ways to translate SCI papers into English.

  1. addition and subtraction: it refers to adding some words, short sentences or sentences to the translation according to the different ways of thinking, language habits and expression between English and Chinese, so as to more accurately express the meaning contained in the original text. This method is mostly used in Chinese translation. In addition, when translating from Chinese to English, attention should be paid to adding some words implied in the original but not explicitly stated, and some general and explanatory words to ensure the integrity of the meaning of the translation. In a word, through additional translation, one is to ensure the integrity of the grammatical structure of the translation, and the other is to ensure the clarity of the meaning of the translation. A translation method corresponding to the subtraction method is to delete words that do not conform to the thinking habits, language habits and expressions of the target language, so as to avoid the redundancy of the translation. The example sentence of the addition translation method can be reversed.

  2. split syntax and merge: These are two corresponding translation methods. Split syntax is to split a long and complex sentence into several shorter and simpler sentences, which is usually used in English-Chinese translation; The combination method is to combine several short sentences into one long sentence, which is generally used in Chinese-English translation.

  3. forward translation method and reverse translation method: these two methods are usually used for Chinese-English translation and occasionally for English-Chinese translation. The so-called correct translation refers to translating sentences into English according to the same word order or expression as Chinese. The so-called reverse translation refers to translating sentences into English according to the word order or expression opposite to Chinese.

  4. inversion: in Chinese, attributive modifiers and adverbial modifiers often precede the modified ones; In English, many modifiers are often placed after the modifier, so the word order of the original text is often reversed in translation. Inversion is usually used in English-Chinese translation, that is, long English sentences are exchanged back and forth according to the Chinese customary expression, and are inverted according to the meaning group or all. The principle is to make the arrangement of Chinese translated sentences conform to the general logical order of modern Chinese logical narration. Sometimes inversion is also used in Chinese-English translation. At this moment, through the miracle of modern means of communication, more people see and hear us than on any other such occasion in the whole history of the world.

  5. conversion method: it refers to the conversion of parts of speech, sentence patterns and voice in the original sentence in order to make the translation conform to the expression, methods and habits of the target language. Specifically, in the aspect of part of speech, nouns are converted into pronouns, adjectives and verbs; Convert verbs into nouns, adjectives, adverbs and prepositions; Convert adjectives into adverbs and phrases. In terms of sentence components, the subject is changed into adverbial, attributive, object and predicative; Change the predicate into a subject, attribute, and predicative; Turn attributives into adverbials and subjects; Change the object into a subject. In the aspect of sentence pattern, we turn coordinate sentences into compound sentences, compound sentences into coordinate sentences, and adverbial clauses into attributive clauses. In voice, we can change the active voice into the passive voice.