Discussion
Indeterminacy, multivalence and disjointed translation

Jiang Xiaohua
Macao Polytechnic Institute, Macao

One of the most prominent linguistic features of classical Chinese poetry is syntactic indeterminacy, which brings about multivalence, i.e. multiplicity of connotation, and poses a great problem as well as daunting challenge to Chinese-English translators, for English is basically a language with syntactic determinacy. This paper examines two aspects of indeterminacy involved in classical Chinese poetry, arguing that ‘disjointed translation’ is probably the most inspiring way to cope with Chinese syntactic indeterminacy.

Table of contents

We may begin our discussion of indeterminacy by referring to a question, or rather, a puzzle put forward by the famous modern Chinese poet Wen Yiduo (闻一多), also as a translator and translation commentator, while commenting on Shigeyoshi Obata’s (小烟熏良) English translation of Li Bai’s (李白) lines:

Full-text access is restricted to subscribers. Log in to obtain additional credentials. For subscription information see Subscription & Price. Direct PDF access to this article can be purchased through our e-platform.

References

Cluysenaar, Anne
1976 Introduction to literary stylistics. London: Batsford.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Coffman, S. K
1951 Imagism. New York: Grove Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
De Beaugrande, Robert
1978 Factors in a theory of poetic translating. Amsterdam: Van Gorcum.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Empson, William
1930 Seven types of ambiguity. London: Chatto and Windus.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
[ p. 345 ]
Friedrich, Paul
1986 The language parallax: Linguistic relativism and poetic indeterminacy. Austin: University of Texas Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gentzler, Edwin
1993 Contemporary translation theories. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gutt, Ernst August
1991 Translation and relevance. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jenyns, Soame
1940 Selections from the three hundred poems of the Tang Dynasty. London: John Murray.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kenner, Hugh
1971 The Pound Era. Berkeley: University of California Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Miner, Earl
1985 The Japanese tradition in English and American Literature. New York: Hill and Wang.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nida, Eugene
1993 Language, culture, and translating. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nida, Eugene and de Waard, Jan
1986 From one language to another: Functional equivalence in Bible translating. Nelson: Nashville.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Perrine, Lawrence
1963 Sound and sense. London: Longman.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pratt, William
1963 The Imagist poem. New York: Hill and Wang.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Seung, Thomas Kaehao
1982 Semiotics and thematics in hermeneutics. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Steiner, George
1975 After babel. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Xu, Yuanzhong
1992 On Chinese verse in English rhyme. Beijing: Peking University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
丁往道
1989 《英诗入门：佳作百篇赏析》。 上海: 上海译文出版社。Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ding, Wangdao
1989 100 Best English Poems. Shanghai: Shanghai Translation Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
古苍梧
1987 诗人卞之琳谈诗与翻译。收录于《中国编译》编辑部（编）1987, 《诗词翻译的艺术》 （第97至101页）。 北京: 中国对外翻译出版公司。Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gu, Cangwu
1987 “Bian Zhilin on Poetry and Translation”. Editorial Department of Chinese Translators Journal (ed.). The Art of Poetry Translation. Beijing: China Translation and Publishing Corporation.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
胡 壮麟
1994 《语篇的衔接与连贯》. 上海: 上海教育出版社.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hu, Zhuanglin
1994 Cohesion and coherence in Text. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
翁显良
1981 以不切为切。《外国语》 1981年第5期。Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Weng, Xianliang
1981 “Fuzziness for Accuracy”. Journal of Foreign Languages 5.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
袁 行霈
1987 《中国诗歌艺术研究》。 北京: 北京大学出版社。Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yuan, Xingpei
1987 An Approach to The Art of Traditional Chinese Poetry. Beijing: Peking University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
陈振 濂
1989 《空间诗学》。 上海: 三联书店。Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chen, Zhenlian
1989 Spatial poetics. Shanghai: Sanlian Shudian Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
闻一多
1926 英译李太白诗。 收录于《中国编译》编辑部（编）1987, 《诗词翻译的艺术》。 北京: 中国对外翻译出版公司。Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wen, Yidou
1926 “An Approach to English Translations of Li Bai’s Poems”. Editorial Department of Chinese Translators Journal (ed.). 1987. The Art of Poetry Translation. Beijing: China Translation and Publishing Corporation.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
赵 毅衡
1990 《文学符号学》。 北京: 中国文联出版公司。Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zhao, Yiheng
1990 Literary Semiotics. Beijing: China Wenlian Publishing Corporation.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
[ p. 346 ]
 
Authentication
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold-dark jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold-light jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold prag Twitter_Logo_Blue