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Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 1

The Specificity of Translator's Notes


Textometrial !nalysis o" the #ootnotes in #u $ei%s Translation o" Jean-Christophe by &omain &olland
'un ()!*+ l%,S)T+ -aris .+ miaojun/miaojun0net
!ndr1 S!$,(+ )$-2!+ -aris .+ salem/msh3paris0"r
Abstract4 )n our 5or6 on the style o" the translator+ 5e "ous on the visually most obvious aspets o" the translator%s
interventions in the translation proess4 the notes added by the translator0 7e base our 5or6 on the #renh3Chinese
parallel orpus that 5e developed ontaining &omain &olland%s omplete 5or6 Jean-Christophe and its Chinese
translation0 7e an "ind+ ount+ display and lassi"y semi3automatially the abundane o" translator%s notes in #u
$ei%s translation using textometrial methods and so"t5are+ allo5ing "or rapid statistial measures on the suborpus
o" translator%s notes and the visuali8ation o" the distribution o" di""erent 6inds o" "ootnotes in the text0
The omputation o" the spei"iity o" the voabulary used in #u $ei%s notes reveals that+ ontrary to the ommon idea
that the translator%s note is predominantly a medium to overome problems o" un3translatability+ he uses the notes to
introdue his Chinese readers to 7estern ulture0 (oreover+ his notes reveal his vie5 on history and+ more
generally+ on man6ind as a 5hole0 )n this 5ay+ 5e an examine his ideas on the relationship bet5een the author+ the
reader+ and himsel" as a translator0 The results+ based on 9uantitative measures that allo5 "or reproduible results not
relying on personal aestheti interpretations+ on"irm the speial status o" #u $ei%s 5or6 among Chinese translations0
Keywords: textometrial+ translation studies+ parallel orpus+ translator%s note+ #u $ei+ &omain &olland
*ur 5or6 "ouses on an important "igure o" #rano3Chinese literary translation4 #u $ei :+
1;08 31;<<=0 Than6s to him+ the Chinese readers got a9uainted 5ith and today still have
aess to 7estern+ mainly #renh+ literature0 The translations o" #u $ei are regarded as genuine
literary masterpiees+ and his style o" translation 5as so remar6able that Chinese readers all it
the >#u $ei style>0
7hen reading #u $ei%s translation o" Jean-Christophe+ one is easily impressed by the
abundane o" pre"aes and "ootnotes
1
0 7hat is the lin6 bet5een his style o" translation and the
1 This artile only addresses the "ootnotes+ leaving an analysis o" his pre"aes to "uture researh0
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 2
notes? )n "at+ the translator%s note is an important issue in translation studies+ beause it is lin6ed
5ith many problems 5hen 5e disuss the translator%s legitimate plae+ his visibility and the
problem o" translatability0
Until no5+ many sholars and researhers in translation studies have engaged in studies
and re"letions on the subjet o" the translator%s note0 )n the artile De l'rudition l'chec : la
note du traducteur+ 'a9ueline @enry :2000= has systematially examined many sides o" this
subjet4 $inguisti+ typographi+ historial+ and "untional aspets o" translator%s notes0 #rom
stylisti and literary angles+ Christelle Aahier3-orte :200B= has provided her interesting studies
on the notes in the ,astern stories The Thousand and One Nights and The Thousand and One
Days0 Aut it is a pity to note that these existing studies are o"ten limited to itations o" notes
sattered in the 5or6s+ and there are "e5 studies using omputational orpus based methods+
despite the inreased importane o" this issue in translation studies ever sine their "irst
introdution by (ona ba6er in 1;;.
2
0 7e should also mention the artile by 'enni"er Carney
:200B= 5hih deals 5ith taboo subjets in translation by examining translators% notes in a big
orpus4 )talian translations o" !nglo3!merian "ition "rom 1;DB to 200B0 @o5ever+ her 5or6
still uses traditional methods0
)n our present artile+ 5e "ous on an empirial researh on the "ootnotes in #u $ei%s
translation+ inspeting in detail 5hat the translator puts into the "ootnotes0 To do this+ our 5or6s
relies on textometrial methods :also alled ElexiometrialF methods=+ i0e0 a division o" the text
into units and an analysis o" juxtapositions and o3ourrenes to apture the meaning o" the
text
.
0 The orpus o" the present 5or6 is the soure text and #u $ei%s translation o" Jean-
2 Aa6er+ (0 :1;;.= GCorpus $inguistis and Translation Studies4 )mpliations and !ppliationsH+ in Aa6er+ et al0
:eds0= Text and Technology+ p02..32B00 !msterdamI-hiladelphia4 'ohn Aenjamins0
. C"0 $ebart $0 and Salem !0 :1;;D= Statistique textuelle -aris4 Junod0
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China .
Christophe by &omain &olland
D
0 The si8e o" the 5hole orpus is about 102 million 5ords0
Aesides the ontent o" the "ootnotes+ it is important to study their 9uantity+ their loations+
and their "untion0 The present 5or6 5ill address these issues one a"ter the other 4 Thus is our
"irst setion o" this paper0 The setion 2 5ill analy8e the reason "or 5hih #u $ei 5rote the
"ootnote+ and 5e 5ill deal 5ith this 9uestion in light o" the theory o" translation studies and
speially in the examen o" #u $ei%s personal experiene in the soial ontext0
A. The results of the experiments
!"ter the preliminary treatment o" our parallel orpus :leaning+ alignment+ et=
B
+ 5e launh our
experiment using the program !exico"
#
0
D &omain &olland :18<<31;DD= reeived the Kobel -ri8e in $iterature in 1;1B+ mainly "or his novel in 10 volumes
Jean-Christophe0 The novel appeared "or the "irst time se9uentially in the Cahiers de la $uin%aine bet5een
#ebruary 1;0D and *tober 1;120 The eletroni version o" the 5hole 5or6 is available at the 5ebsite
http4II5550eboo6sgratuits0omIeboo6s0php0 The "irst omplete publiation o" Jean-Christophe in Chinese+
published bet5een 1;.L and 1;D1+ 5as translated by #u $ei using the original version o" 1;2< "rom the editor o"
$ibrairie *llendor""0 Jean-Christophe 5as edited many times in varying versions and un"ortunately+ 5e don%t have
aess to the version that #u $ei based his translation on0 7e note that our #renh orpus la6s the pre"aes o" the
"irst edition o" &omain &olland "or Colume 1 and Colume D that #u $ei translated0 *ur Chinese eletroni version is
based on the version "rom the 5ebsite http4II5550yi"an0netIyiheInovelsI"oreignIyh6lsd"I6lsd"0html+ but 5e have
orreted the "la5s in this eletroni version aording to the paper edition by the !nhui $iterature -ublishing
@ouse "rom 1;;8 :=+ 5hih in turn is based on #u $ei%s omplete re3translation olleted in 1;BL by
the -eoples $iterature -ublishing @ouse :=0
B #or the Chinese part o" the orpus+ 5e used the automati 5ord segmentation "rom the &CTC!'S :)nstitute o"
Computing Tehnology+ Chinese $exial !nalysis System=0 This program is under development sine 2002 and
available on the 5ebsite4 http4II5550nlp0org0nIprojetIprojet0php?projMidN<0 Then+ 5e made use o" 'lignator
program to reali8e a semi3automati alignment o" the #renh and the Chinese texts0 This program is designed by
Oim 2erdes available on eli8ia0netIalignatorIalignator0gi0 )n order to "ailitate the omparison o" the #renh and
Chinese texts+ among some other pretreatments+ 5e hanged all apital letters to lo5erase in the #renh text+ and
the Chinese puntuation signs to their ,uropean "orms in the Chinese text+ and so on0 #or "urther in"ormation about
the pretreatment+ please on"er to the artiles Comparaison textomtrique de traductions franco-chinoises :(iao et
Salem+ 2008= and Donner accs l'oeuvre de Fu Lei :(iao et 2erdes+ 2008= at the site http4IImiaojun0net0 7e use
the abbreviation E&&F to re"er to the original #renh text+ and >#$> "or the Chinese translation o" #u $ei0 Kote also
that 5e have not inluded the pre"aes in our present experiene0 They 5ill be the subjet o" "urther researh0
< The !exico" textometrial program is produed by the university researh team SP$,J3C$!2T :Systmes
Linguistiques nonciation et Discours - Centre Lexicomtrie et d'Analyse Automatique des Textes=+ "ounded in
1;;L0 This so"t5are 5as originally developed by !ndr1 Salem0 See the 5ebsite4 http4II5550avi0univ3
paris.0"rI)lpgaIilpgaItalIlexio777Ilexio.0htm "or "urther details0
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China D
1. The number of footnotes in the translation
#irst o" all+ 5e intend to give the exat number o" the "ootnotes in #u $ei%s translation0 )t seems
not very di""iult to ount the "ootnotes+ at least "or a small boo6 5hen the "ootnotes are not too
"re9uent+ "or example+ @enry :@enry 20004 2.2= "ound 2. translator%s notes in the #renh
translation "or the ,nglish boo6 o" Javid $odge S(all )orld :1;8B=+ translated by (auritius and
Pvonne Couturier :1;;1=0 Aut it is umbersome to searh+ reord+ and ount all the "ootnotes
sattered in Jean-Christophe+ a boo6 ontaining 10 volumes and 1801 imprint pages
L
0
The eletroni version o" the orpus and !exico" allo5 us to overome the ounting
problem0 The tool *or( +roups :tags=+ allo5s us to ombine ourrenes o" di""erent graphis
into one group0 )n order to "ind the "ootnotes+ 5e reate the group onsisting o" the symbols used
"or "ootnotes in the translation+ i0e0 + + +
8

*igure , : *or( group o- -ootnotes in *u !ei's translation
7e don%t ta6e into aount the number used "or the "ootnote as they only di""erentiate bet5een
L This ounting re"ers to the edition by the !nhui $iterature -ublishing @ouse 1;;8 :=0
8 There is no page in the #u $ei%s translation 5hih has more than D "ootnotes0
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China B
"ootnotes on a single page0 Kote also that the "re9ueny ount sho5n in *igure , ounts the
atual symbols and sine the same symbol appears in the position to annotate and in the
beginning o" the orresponding "ootnote+ eah "ootnote is ounted t5ie0 So+ the atual number
o" notes is hal" o" the "re9ueny sho5n in *igure , 7e might thin6 that the "re9ueny should be
an even number+ but the "ootnote mar6er has an odd "re9ueny :B.L=0 This is due to the "at
that at one oasion+ #u $ei re"ers inside a "ootnote to another "ootnote labeled 0
Ay omputing :B.< Q1.8 QD2 Q8= I 2 N .<2+ 5e obtain the preise number o" "ootnotes that
#u $ei used "or the translation o" Jean-Christophe4 .<2+ orresponding to about one note per "ive
pages0
)n order to ta6le the lexiometrial analysis o" "ootnotes+ 5e ollet+ by see6ing the
"ootnote mar6ers+ and opy3pasting+ all the "ootnotes in one "ile+ alled EnoteF0 Then+ 5e
ompare it 5ith the text body 5ithout the "ootnotes0 )n the "ollo5ing+ 5e present the basi
properties o" these "iles4
Ta.le , : +eneral properties o- -ootnotes in *u !ei's translation
-art *urrenes #orms @apax #max #orm
Kote 10.B; .2DD 20;1 D<D
Texte BL212L 1;0BB <182 DLDBD
Ta.le , sho5s that the "ootnotes ontains 10.B; 5ords+ inluding .2DD di""erent "orms and 20;1
hapaxes0 7ith the total number o" .<2 "ootnotes+ 5e an see that one "ootnote inludes an
average o" 280< 5ords0
)t is important to point that among the "ootnotes in #u $ei%s translation+ there are also the
original "ootnotes+ translated by #u $ei into Chinese0 Aut "or these notes+ #u $ei put > >
:yuan%hu/ original note= a"ter eah "ootnote to emphasi8e that it 5as the author 5ho 5rote it0
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China <
This mar6 allo5s us to obtain easily the in"ormation about &omain &olland%s "ootnotes using the
same method as be"ore4 7e "ind that the original has 12 notes 5ith 1DB 5ords+ 82 di""erent
"orms+ and B; hapaxes0
Thus+ 5e disovered that the notes o" the translator+ exluding the author%s original notes+ :10.B;
1DB= I BL212LN 0001L8+ oupy approximately 108R o" the translation0
2. Where are the footnotes?
!"ter this general 9uantitative analysis 5e 5ill turn to the position o" the "ootnotes in the 10
volumes o" the translation0 @o5 are they distributed? 7hat 5ords in the text have imposed
"ootnotes?
0, Distri.ution o- -ootnotes
To ans5er the 9uestions mentioned above + 5e are launhing+ in a "irst step+ the researh on
the "ootnote distribution in the translation+ 5ith the use o" the "orm groups :+ + + = and
statistis alulation :-C$C=
;
in !exico"0
Ta.le 0 : *ootnotes distri.ution per 1olu(e in *u !ei's translation
Formes/SR
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

38 20 -4 8 -14 89 136 +17 28 66 34 -4 50 68

2 -3 2 -3 0 36 +4 50 +13 2 -3 12 6 -3 8 -3 20

0 2 0 18 +5 18 +7 0 2 0 0 2

0 2 0 4 2 0 0 0 0
TOTAL
40 26 8 147 206 30 80 40 58 90
; -C$C :Principales caractristiques lexicomtrique du corpus et de la partition= re"ers to the main lexiometrial
"eatures o" the orpus and the partition0 The "untion -C$C o" !exico" allo5s a 9ui6 visual omparison o" the
parts aording to their most important textometrial harateristis0 See $amalle+ C0 et al0 :200.= Outils de
statistique textuelle !exico"0 -aris4 Universit de la Sorbonne nouvelle3 -aris .0 p02<32L0
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China L
The number on the top o" the table indiates the volume number0 Under eah volume number+
there are t5o olumns o" numbers+ the le"t one sho5s the "re9ueny o" eah "orm :the "ootnote
mar6er= and the right is eah "orm%s spei"iity
10
0 The last line sho5s the total "re9ueny o" the
"ootnote mar6er in eah volume0
)t is easy to notie that the volume B :entitled !a -oire sur la place= ontains the highest
number o" "ootnotes+ 5ith 20<I2 N1.< appearanes0 !nd the volume . :entitled 'dolescence=
possesses the least "ootnotes+ 5ith only D "ootnotes in the volume0 So+ Ta.le 0 indiates that the
distribution o" "ootnotes is not e9ual among the volumes0 Thus results an be illustrated by a
"igure0
#igure 2 4 Spei"iity o" "ootnote per volume in #u $ei%s translation
*igure 0 s6ethes the spei"iity o" "ootnotes in eah volume0 The highest pillar upturned sho5s
volume B has the largest number o" "ootnotes+ 5ith the spei"iity o" about Q.1
11
0 (ean5hile+ the
10 The analysis o" the spei"i serves to illustrate the "re9ueny o" eah unit text in all parts o" the body0 @ere+ this
"eature allo5s us to examine the distribution o" "ootnotes related to the length o" eah tome0
11 The spei"iity o" the "ootnotes in the volume is di""erent to the aumulation o" eah "ootnote ma6er%s spei"iity
in the volume0
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 8
lo5est pillar do5n5ard announes that the lest "ootnotes is in the volume .4 its spei"iity is 3
210
7e an "urther re"ine the graph by ta6ing into aount not only the volumes but the smaller
hapters o" the novel0 This is an easy thing to do in !exico"0
*igure " : 2elati1e -ootnote -requency per chapter in *u !ei's translation
*igure " sho5s in greater detail the "re9ueny o" "ootnotes in the 5hole 5or6 separated by
hapters0 Kote that some hapters have no "ootnotes at all+ "or example the seond hapter o"
volume 2 :022+ entitled Otto= and the third o" volume . :0..+ entitled 'da=0 The highest number
o" "ootnotes is enountered in the "irst part o" Colume B :0B1+ entitled !a -oire sur la place=0
7e annot go into "urther details in the analysis o" *igure "+ but 5e 5ould li6e to emphasi8e that
the une9ual distribution learly points to some spei"i needs at spei"i points in the translation0
@o5ever+ a purely lexiometrial analysis 5ill not easily reveal these needs+ one has to get ba6
to the text and analyse the 5ords in detail0
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China ;
00 Cocordance o- -ootnotes
)n a seond step+ 5e investigate to 5hih 5ords #u $ei has added "ootnotes0 !t this point+
5e 5ill brie"ly present ho5 !exico" gives diret aess to the parts o" text that are annotated
5ith its inluded onordane o" the "orm groups :+ + + =0
*igure 3 : *ootnote concordance in *u !ei's translation 4extract5
#or this experiment+ 5e hoose the EvolumeF as the unit group+ so+ the "ootnote onordane
results are listed and grouped by volume0 !s the si8e o" the edition page is limited+ 5e sho5
above only the beginning o" the onordane o" the "ootnote mar6er in the "irst volume0 )t is also
possible to spei"y the unit in 5hih the results are presented0 #inally+ 5e an spei"y the si8e o"
the display 5indo5 in number o" ourrenes :here 5e hoose to present B0 5ords in the
ontext=0 Kote also that the system sho5s the total number o" ourrenes o" the searh term in
the urrent volume0 )n the volume 1+ there are D0 ourrenes o" "ootnote mar6er0 This means 20
"ootnotes in this area the result orresponds to the number that 5e obtained in Ta.le 0 above0
$et us see the "irst line o" the result ontaining the "ootnote mar6 + it is "or >>
:gaosiren+ Corse=0 Then+ the next line indiates+ a"ter the mar6er + the ontent o" the "ootnote
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 10
"or the 5ord >>
12
:gaosiren+ Corse= in the preedent line 4 S000T :here
re"ers to Kapoleon=0 Thus+ by examining the intervals lines :the "irst line indiates the 5ords
annotated+ and the line a"ter sho5s its ontent=+ 5e an study+ in a systemati 5ay+ not only the
annotated 5ords in the text+ but also the ontents o" the "ootnote0
)n this 5ay+ the program gives easy aess to all the "ootnotes in a big orpus0
3. What do the notes say?
$et%s no5 atta6 the ontent o" the "ootnotes in #u $ei%s translation o" Jean-Christophe0 )t is
important to point out ho5 the use o" the so"t5are is di""erent "rom a traditional analysis based
on are"ul reading by the person doing the translation studies4 ! ommon reading 5ill be subjet
to hane and to prejudie+ as in the limit o" some onrete itations "rom the text+ it is very
di""iult "or the researhers to grasp the 5hole onept o" the issue they deal 5ith0 (oreover+ the
onstraints o" di""erent understanding levels o" the researhers add the di""iulty and deviation0
)n "at+ just li6e Aerenson and $a8ars"eld pointed out+ a typial text o" interultural
ommuniation re9uires a tehni9ue "or an objetive desription o" the systemati and
9uantitative ontent in the ommuniation
1.
0 7e believe that it 5ill be reasonable to address the
translation problem 5ith t5o methods4 one is a 9uantitative approah on the language units in the
translation text+ the other is a 9ualitative approah on the analysis in the textual and soial
ontext0
)n a "irst step+ 5e use the spei"i 5ords o" !exico" to ath the ontent o" "ootnotes through
12 Ko5 5e use E F :6exi7iadao ren="or the ECorseF0 There are di""erenes bet5een the plae names in the
#u $ei%s translation and the plae names used no50
1. Aerenson+ A0 and $a8ars"eld+ -0#0 :1;8D= The 'nalysis o- co((unications content Chiago and Ke5 Por64
University o" Chiago and Columbia University0
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 11
statistial data and mathematial alulations0 )n the next step+ 5e 5ant to ma6e use o" the
automati and simultaneous visuali8ation provided by the tool 'lignoscope
,3
to analyse the
"ootnotes in the ontext0
Through the examination o" the 9uestion 5hat the "ootnotes provide ompared to the
original ontent+ 5e thin6 5e ould reveal the translator%s intention+ and disset the role played
by the "ootnote in the translation0
)n order to do this+ 5e proeed in three steps4 1= listing the spei"i voabulary in the
"ootnotes ompared to the ontent o" the textU 2= ontextuali8ation o" "ootnotes in the
simultaneous visuali8ation o" soure3target textsU .= distintion o" the types o" the "ootnotes0
", Speci-ic 8ords in the -ootnotes
7e use again !exico" to get the lists o" positive and negative spei"i voabulary in the "ootnotes
ompared to those in the translation text0 )n order to "ailitate the reading o" people 5ho do not
6no5 ChineseI#renh+ 5e put ,nglish e9uivalents next to the ChineseI#renh 5ord0
Ta.le " : !ists o- speci-ic and anti-speci-ic 8ords in the -ootnotes (extract)
Specific words in the footnotes Anti-specific words in the footnotes
Forms/SR Note Text Forms/SR Note Text
Be, mean, consider 328 1079 's, of 464 47454
269 0 She, her 1 8078
140 261 He, him 13 17654
140 261 Particle 3 7565
's, be 113 469 Particle 8 13593
France 106 502 Not, no 27 42 9348 42
Century 105 65 ! Be 48 35 10502 35
" Both, all 61 3 # They, them 2 31 4312 31
69 0 $%&' Christophe 6 30 4830 30
( this, the 65 105 ) Marker of disposal sentence 3 26 3747 26
* namely 44 17 + Arrive, to 4 18 2920 18
1D The program has been designed by Kim Gerdes, see the website : http://miaojun.net/alignoscope/
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 12
, namely 36 10 - Very 1 18 2382 18
./ 19 34 2 0 You 6 18 3150 18
1 To , at 76 +49 361 -49 2 All, both 9 16 3281 16
separator between names 78 +48 425 -48 3 The, this 2 16 2247 16
(4 Here 26 +47 0 56 Self 5 15 2591 15
78 Contemporary 27 +44 4 -44 9 Want, must 4 14 2357 14
:; Opera 36 +44 35 -44 < Must 5 14 2496 14
= Refer, indicate 41 +42 72 -42 > Already, at once 6 13 2445 13
? To, until 33 +40 33 -40 @A What 1 13 1743 13
B According to, use, with 66 +40 363 -40 C Want, would like 3 13 1978 13
D time, period 49 +40 157 -40 E At, be doing 68 13 7987 13

21 +38 0 F Inside, in 1 13 1751 13
G name 27 +35 22 -35 H I, me 15 13 3507 13
I And 27 +33 29 -33 J And, with 1 12 1532 12
K Be, so 20 +33 29 -33 L Say, talk 15 11 3254 12
M So, thus 24 +33 15 -33 N Can, could 2 11 1689 11
O And, with 89 +32 993 -32 P And, with 7 11 2279 11
QR Jesus 24 +32 17 -32 S Go 5 11 1996 11
TU Myth, fairly tale 22 +31 12 -31 V Come 9 10 2311 10
W Its, his, her 35 +31 100 -31 X Because 1 10 1339 10
Y Namely 22 +31 11 -31 Z[ A (an) 13 10 2712 10
\ German 54 +27 28 -27 ] Make 2 10 1469 10
^_ Greece 23 +27 28 -27 ` Also, too, even 3 10 1629 10
Ta.le " gives us some idea o" 5hat the "ootnotes tal6 about0 7e mention here only some
important in"ormation provided by this table0 #irst+ loo6 at the most "re9uent 5ord >> :8ei+ beI
meanIonsider+ .28 times= in the "irst ro5 o" the table+ 5hih immediately expose the abundane
o" the designation meaning in the "ootnotes0 ! 9ui6 overvie5 on the "ollo5ing 5ords in the list
sho5s that the 5ords li6eK :nai+ be=+* :7i+ namely=+ , :xi+ namely=+ Y :ji+ also= ontaining
on"irmatory meanings+ are also very numerous in the "ootnotes0 )t is interesting to note that the
modern Chinese 5ord "or the on"irmation >!> :shi+ be= appears muh more o"ten in the text
than in the "ootnotes :10B02 vs0 D8=0 Considering that > > :8ei/be= andK :nai/ be= are the
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 1.
traditional Chinese 5ords to desribe >be>+ it reveals that "or the on"irmation+ #u $ei adopted
the modern Chinese 5ords in the translation text+ 5hile he hose to use traditional Chinese in the
"ootnotes0 7e thin6 that #u $ei did it in order to avoid too many 5ords in the "ootnotes+ sine
traditional Chinese allo5ed a onise style0
)t omes as no surprise that the "ootnote mar6ers themselves also obtain high sores in the
list4 !s they appear only in the note side+ it is natural to obtain the high spei"iity0
(oreover+ the high spei"iity o" the Chinese puntuation mar6s >> bet5een the "ootnote
and the text displays learly that there are many itations o" boo6 and artile titles in the
"ootnotes0 Contrary to the #renh EhevronF 9uotes E F+ the Chinese puntuation >> are
reserved "or the names o" boo6s+ artiles+ pitures+ songs 000 This is a lear indiation that the
"ootnotes in #u $ei%s translation provide rih ultural in"ormation0
#urther do5n the list+ another puntuation at the 1Bth ran6 o" the table attrats our attention4
>V>0 This symbol is in "at a orretion o" the original >W> 5hih is the separator bet5een the
Chinese phoneti transription o" "oreigner%s "amily names and "irst names0 2iven that this
puntuation is only "ound in Chinese+ 5e have hanged it to >V> during our pretreatment o" the
orpus in order to ma6e Chinese and #renh orpus more omparable0 7e an onlude that the
"ootnotes ontain a lot o" in"ormation about the "oreign persons0 Aut+ the main persons o" the
novel our only rarely in the "ootnote0 #or example+ >Christophe > :$%&'= appears only <
times in the "ootnotes+ ma6ing it even appear in the anti3spei"i table0 Aesides+ the personal
pronouns
1B
3 indiating the relationship bet5een people+ > > :ta+ she=+ > > :ta+ he=+ >#>
:ta(en/ they=+ > 56> :%i7i+ sel"=+ > 0>:ni+ you=+ > H>:8o+ )= are also used only rarely in the
1B !bout the employment o" the personal pronouns in the parallel orpus Jean-Christophe+ see 'un (iao%s artile4
Fu Lei en chiffre : Les pronoms personnels dans la traduction de Jean-Christophe at http4II5550miaojun0net
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 1D
"ootnotes0 This an be explained by the "at that "ootnotes are sel"3ontained texts that annot use
many pronouns re"erring to some previously de"ined entity+ and "ootnotes deliver 6no5ledge
5hih is not entered around the text%s story0
(oreover+ 5e "ind another list o" 5ords in the highly spei"i list4 Kames o" ountries li6e
>> :-aguo+ #rane=+ >\> :deguo+ 2ermany=+ and >^_> :xila+ 2reee=+ are listed in the
table 5ith the respetive "re9uenies o" 10<+ BD+ and 2.0 These nouns are also used in
ombination 5ith the genitive partile >> :deI %s= to "orm the orresponding adjetives #renh+
2erman+ and 2ree6 et0 !s the novel ta6es plae in #rane and in 2ermany+ 5e believe that #u
$ei added in"ormation about these 7estern ountries 3 a 5orld "ar a5ay and strange "or Chinese
readers0 7hy 2reee? (aybe #u $ei explains a lot o" things about 2ree6 ulture0
$et%s brie"ly mention some other interesting 5ords in this table4 The 5ords > > :shi7i+
entury=+ >D> :shi+ time+ period= and >78> :7indai+ ontemporary= remind us that history is an
important element in the "ootnotes0 7ith B1 ourrenes+ >:;> :ge7u+ opera= is doubtlessly a
topi disussed extensively and >QR> :yesu+ 'esus= and >TU>:shenhua+ myth+ "airy tale= sho5
#u $ei%s e""ort to introdue religion and 7estern mythology to China0
#rom this analysis+ 5e an dra5 some onlusions4 Than6s to the textometrial methods+
5e sa5 that the "ootnotes in #u $ei%s translation are harateri8ed by a strong supply o"
in"ormation on the ultures+ "oreign personages+ ustoms+ and history0 )n this 5ay+ the soial
ontexts o" 7estern ountries 3 a 5orld 5here the novel ta6es plae 3 un"olds to the Chinese
readers0 @o5ever+ this is just our dedution "rom the observations o" statistial results 5hih 5e
5ill have to on"irm by providing onrete examples later0
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 1B
"0 Contextuali%ation o- -ootnotes
@ere+ 5e use the tool 'lignoscope 5hih displays simultaneously the soure and target texts+ in
order to srutini8e the ontents o" "ootnotes in their ontext0 )n the *igure 3 above+ 5e sa5 that
!exico" an 9ui6ly "ind the 5ords annotated in the text and the ontent o" "ootnotes+ but no5
5e 5ould li6e to aede diretly to the re"erenes o" the original ontext0
Ay paying attention to the importane o" >re3ontextuali8ation> o" eah note in the target
text+ Carney :Carney 200B4 D;3B0= proposed to identi"y the elements o" maro3struture o" eah
note and assess their rhetori strategy sine >a omparative analysis o" the target text segment
signaled by the note and the orresponding segment in the soure text 5ill enable us to identi"y
the problemati issue0>
#ollo5ing this idea+ 5e are launhing an experiment on all "ootnotes + + + using
'lignoscope0
*igure 9 : Si(ultaneous 1isuali%ation o- -ootnotes in source - target texts o- Jean-Christophe 4extract5
!ording to the in"ormation bar in the middle o" *igure 9+ 5e an see there are a total o" L0B8
blo6s throughout the parallel orpus0 Sine the omplete parallel :5ith the pre"aes= is inserted
in the online program 'lignoscope+ the result about the "ootnote is slightly in"luened4 there are D
"ootnotes o" in the pre"aes0 Aut 5e 5ill not deal 5ith them in this present artile0 So+ there
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 1<
are 2;B3DN2;1 blo6s 5ho orrespond to our 9uest "or "ootnotes0 7e should bear in mind that
the s9uare in *igure 9 represents the paragraph unit o" segmentation0 !nd these paragraphs o"
the original and the translation are semi3automatially lined out and mar6ed by a mar6er :e0g0 X=0
This treatment is reali8ed by the so"t5are 'lignator0
Thus+ 5e 6no5 that #u $ei inserted "ootnotes in 2;1 paragraphs0 !s some paragraph blo6s
ontain several "ootnotes at the same time+ the number here is di""erent "rom the result in *igure
,0 )n the "ollo5ing disussion+ 5e 5ill sho5 ho5 the simultaneous visuali8ation an help us to
ahieve the >re3ontextuali8ation> "or the "ootnote0
@overing over the dar6 green s9uare displays a popup :Ko0111=
1<
5ith the t5o
orresponding paragraphs+ on the le"t is the original text+ and at its right side is its Chinese
orresponding translation0 )t is easy to see that #u $ei 5rote a "ootnote "or >
:daonusi shan(ai=0 Ay re"erring to the soure ontext at the le"t+ 5e 6no5 that the "ootnote is
annotating the Taunus (ountains0 7e e9ually see the "ootnote itsel"4 >abcd\ef
cd> :the Taunus (ountains are a mountain range in northern 2ermany=0 !lthough this
"ootnote is simple+ 5ith only L Chinese 5ords :segmented by the )CTC!$S program=+ it
provides a brie" geographi in"ormation "or Chinese readers0
)n "at+ by a simple glane at the original ontext+ 5e an see &omain &olland desribed the
poor state o" the road Christophe too64 he used a omparison bet5een the relie" o" a rut and
geography0 )n order to strengthen the e""et o" the desription "or the relie"+ &olland 5rote E
peu prs du mme ordre que le massif TaunusF :roughly o" the same 6ind as the Taunus
mountain range0= Aeause #rane and 2ermany share a ommon "rontier+ a lot o" #renh readers
1< This is the number o" the aligned paragraph in the omplete parallel orpus0
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 1L
6no5 the Taunus range0 Aut this geographial 6no5ledge is not obvious to Chinese readers 5ho
live "ar "rom ,urope0 !dding this "ootnote translates that #u $ei 5ants to trans"er the
geographial in"ormation to his Chinese readers 5ith the hope that they an understand the
original better
1L
0
)n order to detail our examination "or the "ootnotes+ 5e give another example o" the "ootnote
in 'lignoscope0
*igure # : Si(ultaneous 1isuali%ation o- -ootnotes in soure 3 target texts o" 'ean3Christophe
7e see that <; paragraphs in the translation o" #u $ei have the "ootnote mar6er 0 $oo6 "irst on
the Chinese side+ #u $ei put a "ootnote a"ter >g!"#$%4> :*n the over+
there 5as 5ritten in nie 2othi sript =4 !"#&'()#"g*+,-./0g123
45$67#g89"#:;'(!#0 :The 2othi sript+ 5ith a popular name o" "loral
sript reated during the 1.th entury0 The anient press 5or6 adopted largely this 6ind o" sript0
Until no5+ the 2erman sript is alled also 2othi sript0= Then+ 5e return to the original
1L Un"ortunately+ the in"ormation #u $ei provides is not entirely right0 )ndeed+ the Taunus is a mountain range in
@essen+ and it is bounded by the river valleys o" &hine+ (ain and $ahn+ 5hih are near the ities o" #ran6"urt and
7iesbaden0 @ene+ the Taunus is not a mountain hain in northern 2ermany+ but rather in the south35est o" the
ountry0
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 18
ontext+ 5here 5e "ind the Chinese "ootnote is added to the >2othi> in the phrase >sur le
couverture tait crit, en gothique admirableF :on the over 5as 5ritten in admirable 2othi
sript=0
Signi"iantly di""erent "rom sript in Chinese haraters+ the $atin sript is based upon
alphabets0 !s "or 2othi sript+ it is a 6ind o" sript mainly reserved used "or printing0 !5are that
this in"ormation 5ould be le"t unnotied or not understood by most o" Chinese readers+ #u $ei
added this "ootnote to "ill this ultural gap0
!t the level o" translation tehni9ue+ there is a double interest in analy8ing these "ootnotes
in their ontext0 #irst+ it is about a translation tehni9ue4 ho5 to translate the term >2othi sript>
into Chinese? )n "at+ the 2othi style in the arhiteture is o"ten translated into E hi
j F :geteshi+ 2othi style=0 !ording to the translation text+ #u $ei 6ept the phoneti
transription >hi>
18
:gete+ 2othi= in Chinese+ then added >kl> :%iti+ 5riting= or >l>:ti+
sript= to strengthen that it is an at o" 5riting0 Seondly+ it onerns the hoie o" the 5ords0 )n
the "ootnote+ #u $ei 5rote that 2othi sript has another popular name > mlk> :huati8i+
translated 5ord by 5ord4 "loral sript=0 )n "at+ the 2othi sript is also alled >bla6 letter>
1;
in
,nglish0 )n Chinese language+ >mlk> :hua%iti+ "loral sript= and >nlk> :hei%iti+ bla6 letter=
are both used "or the 2othi sript0 Aut #u $ei hose to use the "irst instead o" the seond term0
7e do not 6no5 i" it is #u $ei 5ho translated "or the "irst time the 2othi sript into Chinese >m
lk> + but "rom this small example+ 5e an assume that #u $ei thought >mlk> :"loral sript=
ould highlight the ornamental "eature o" this 5riting0
18 Ko5 5e use E F <! =gete= "or E2otiF0
1; See the 5ebsite 4 http4II"r05i6ipedia0orgI5i6iIRC.R8;ritureMgothi9ue
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 1;
! little "urther on+ 5e meet one again a desription about the 2othi sript in the original
:paragraph .2B=+ but this time the author did not diretly use the 5ord Egothi9ueF :2othi sript=4
>c'est le cahier tait crit la main, de la grosse criture du vieux, qui stait spcialement
appliqu. les en-ttes taient orns de boucles et de paraphes" :This musi sore 5as
hand5ritten+ in the gross sript o" the old man+ 5ho had speially applied himsel"0 The title 5as
deorated 5ith loops and ornaments0 = !t this time+ #u $ei translated it as >op!qrg`!
stuvwxiytzr{ |}2tmlk{" :The musi sore 5as 5ritten by
handU it 5as the old man 5ho 5rote it 5ith speial appliation in his big sript0 The titles all use
the "loral sript=0 ! simple omparison sho5s that #u $ei did not translate 5ord by 5ord >loops
and ornaments> in Chinese+ but a "ree translation 5ith >"loral sript> the ample in"ormation is
loated at the "ootnote o" paragraph Ko0 .2<0
*" ourse+ i" 5e srutini8e the ontent o" this "ootnote+ 5e 5ill "ind that in one point+ the
"ootnote is not very exat0 The 2othi sript beame popular rather than arise in 1.th entury
,urope0 Surely+ this mista6e does not have a serious impat on the general meaning o" the
"ootnote%s ontent0 )n any ase+ this example illustrates that the "ootnotes provide external
6no5ledge to "ailitate the Chinese reading o" the original text+ and at the same time+ the
in"ormation in the "ootnote beame a part o" the text o" translation0
So+ 5ith the examination in detail o" the "ootnote in the ontext+ 5e an evaluate the 9uality
o" the "ootnote0 #urthermore+ in the examples ited above+ 5e notied that the 5ord > > :8ei+
beImeanIonsider= has appeared three times+ and >\> :deguo+ 2ermany= one0 This on"irms
that the in"ormation obtained in the ta.le " about the spei"i voabularies o" the "ootnote is
orret0
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 20
The so"t5are 'lignoscope an also export the searh results o" all "ootnotes a use"ul
"eature "or doing an intensive revie5 o" all the "ootnotes in their ontext0
*igure : : The i(portation o- -ootnotes research results in Jean-Christophe corpus 4extract5
!ll o" the above sho5 that the textometrial so"t5are greatly "ailitates translation studies4 *n
the one hand+ it allo5s us to penetrate the paragraph 5here #u $ei gave the "ootnote+ thus+ 5e
study are"ully the ontents o" the "ootnote in its ontextU and on the other hand+ the
simultaneous visuali8ation ma6es it possible to "ind the original 5ord annotated+ and by
srutini8ing soure3target3texts+ 5e an analy8e the translator%s motivation0
"" The types o- -ootnotes
#rom the observation o" "ootnotes in #u $ei%s translation+ 5e attempt a summary on "ootnotes%
ontent in order to better examine the issue o" adding "ootnotes0 7e should remind here that our
synthesis is made by the analysis o" the annotated 5ords and by the simultaneous visuali8ation0
There are about seven types o" "ootnotes0
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 21
Subjects of
footnotes
Examples
Places
10 The geography o" a plaeU
20 The geography in religion :The Aibe=U
.0 The harateristi o" a plaeU
D0 The style o" onstrution o" one plae or a
buildingU
B0 The name o" a plae0
Bloc 2978 $%&' ~ V
K c g g v g )
Z {
K g cd g g 1
K c 1 {
(The Sinai is an !rabi -eninsula+ and it is also the name o" the
mountain0 !ording to the Aible+ the Sinai is the plae 5here (oses
reeived 2od%s ommand0)
Persons 1.The name, status and profession of somebody;
2.The story or anecdote of somebody;
3. Somebody's ideas, or the ideas of one school.
bloc 4438 1! - { v
x g B P J M {
O " . D -
g - {
( -i8arre and Cortes 5ere t5o Spanish explorers o" the 1<th entury+ the
"irst one on9uered -eru+ and the seond (exio=
Translation
techniques
and linguistic
knowledge
10 ,xplain the di""iulty o" translation and the method
o" translationU
20 !dd the soure o" 5ords+ phrases and 9uotationsU
.0)n"orm the "igurative meaning and the original
meaningU
D0 ,xplain the harateristi o" soure languageU
B0 )n"orm the ontent o" the original textU
Bloc 484 C 9 g [ \
g < 9 {
! bourgeois g E g
, = {
( >?@A is the Chinese phoneti translation o" the #renh 5ord
.ourgeois :apitalist lass=+ in this boo6+ this 5ord re"ers rather to the
middle lass and the iti8en lass0)
Social
customs
1. The social customs (in terms of religion, law,
publishing, social phenomenon, education system,
military system, clothing, daily life ...)
2. The explanations for nations and peoples;
3. The cultural context;
4. The associations in the society;
Bloc 2293 i ! Z g
g E t 3
g $%&' ; Z ) { $%
&' V E g
D Z ) !
{
(7estern ustom 4 during a 9uarrel+ giving a visiting ard to another one
means to launh a duel0=
works of art I. music
The musical instruments;
The terms of music;
The posts and the title in the field of music;
The names of a piece of work, its content, its author,
its styles (characteristics);
The rules or custom in the field of music;
II. Painting
Explain the name of painting, its author, its date, and
its characteristics;
III. Play
Explain the play (or opera), its content, its characters,
the date of the staging, and its director;
The types of plays;
IV. Status artistic
The status of the author of some works and his style;
V. Mythical stories
The mythical stories and characters, explain their
significance;
VI. Religious stories
Stories and religious figures in the Bible;
VII. Literary works
The content of the work, its author, its style, and its
social affects, etc.
Bloc 3138 Z g $%&' ! F
V !" # g $ % ;
% &' ( ) v g *+ , g o I - o
t {
(Under the "orm o" viola+ but a little larger+ the guitar has six strings+
and is o"ten used "or dane musi and popular musi0=
Translator's
comments
1. On the content of the original;
2. On the citation;
Bloc 3559 E F + .. Z[ / g .0 [ 2 1 < 2
g W Z[ ! 34 ; W5 2 ! 67 o g 8 V 9
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 22
3. On the historical context in the original;
4. On the author or the others personages;
5. On the works of art.
: oN g { { {
; + <= >? " G <= @ * .. A B C [
g A B .0 [ g <= M D DEFG H I BJ * + @
/ { K L W @ * ..Z g + .0 [ <= 2 M g
M N O {
(!ording to all biographial boo6s o" Aah+ Aah had t5enty hildren
:inluding L o" his "irst 5i"e+ and 1. o" his seond 5i"e=0 7hen he died
:1LB0=+ there 5ere ; hildren alive0 The author said that Aah had 21
hildren+ and 1. died be"ore him0 7e don%t 6no5 on 5hih in"ormation
the author based his statement0)
Historical
elements
1. Reminder of historical events;
2. The historical contexts of the work;
Bloc 2516 P H# E Q RS { P
= Z/TTH UVW XY {
(It re"ers to ,ight3-o5er !llied #ores 5ho invaded China in 1;000=
Suh lassi"iation is not exhaustive+ and as a lot o" ontents in the "ootnotes onern many
"ields+ it is very di""iult to ma6e an exat distintion0 Then+ 5e an not ite all the typial
examples in the translation0 Aut it should be observed that the "ootnotes in #u $ei%s translation
touh a lot o" soial+ ultural+ historial+ and linguisti domains0 @o5ever+ the most remar6able
type o" the "ootnote is the ommentary "rom #u $ei0 This is beause #u $ei provided not only the
orrelative in"ormation but also his personal opinions on the ontent o" the text+ the author+ and
on the historial events0 ,ven in the in"ormative "ootnotes about the plae+ the 5or6s o" art+ #u
$ei no5 and then added his personal interpretations0
@ereby+ through the "ootnote+ 5e an see that as a literature translator+ #u $ei did not
blindly "ollo5 the author but he did his best so that his readers 5ould get a better understanding
o" the essene o" the original+ and he used his personal aestheti to omment all4 the oeuvre+ the
author+ and the soial a""airs+ et0 )n brie"+ #u $ei ats li6e a thin6er 5ho sans the esprit o" the
original through the sur"ae o" the 5ords0
B. Analysis from the aspect of translation studies
)" there are no notes in the text+ the translation 5ould seem purer and more >transparent>+ at least
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 2.
at the appearane0 Aeause the "ootnote addition notes produe a visual e""et to the translation4
The extension o" the page and its layout o" the printed page hanges0 *ur results above sho5 that
the "ootnotes add 1021D 5ords to the resulting translation0
@enry :@enry 20004 2.B= points that adding notes is in "at a translational notion 5hih is
lin6ed 5ith the spae Ealready said and unsaidF in the text+ preisely+ it lies 5ithin the hoie o"
the impliit and+ most importantly+ the expliit or not0 Aut the issue is oming "rom the
inompleteness o" 6no5ledge :$ederer+ 1;8D=+ due to the une9ual possession o" 6no5ledge
bet5een individuals+ or in other 5ords+ there is the la6 o" ElexiultureF in some readers
:!ntoine+ 1;;8=0 )n the present orpus+ most o" the #u $ei%s "ootnotes are in"ormative and
explanatory0 They provide the 6no5ledge o" 7estern ulture and o" 7estern musi in partiular4
! 5orld almost ompletely un6no5n to the Chinese0 Aesides+ many "ootnotes tell the stories o"
myths and religions+ 5hih reates a ourse on ulture "or Chinese readers+ and this in"ormation
an inrease enormously the understanding o" the readers "or the meaning o" itations in the
original texts and its underlying ultural onepts0 Conse9uently+ these "ootnotes ompensate "or
the ultural loss0
@o5ever+ our researh sho5s that the addition o" "ootnotes in #u $ei%s translation o" Jean-
Christophe is not limited to the introdution o" the 7estern 5orld 6no5ledgeU it moreover o""ers
a 5ay "or the translator to aomplish his ambition to introdue ne5 and good ideas to the
readers0 This mani"ests #u $ei %s responsibility a responsibility not only "rom a translator and
but also as a thin6er0
)n one o" #u $ei%s letters :the B #ebruary+ 1;<1= to his son #ou Ts%ong :Z=
20
+ #u 5rites4
20 #ou Ts%ong is an international "amous pianist0 @e studied the piano in many "oreign ontraries0 Juring 1;BD
31;<<+ #u $ei and #ou Ts%ong exhanged a lot o" letters+ and these private letters are olleted and published in *u
!ei's ;o(e !etters 45/ by the San $ian -ress : 0V=/ the "ist version 5as in 1;81
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 2D
E!s you mention o"ten the @ellenism in the art+ ) transribed espeially the "ourth hapter >$a
supture en 2re> o" @0 Taine%s <hilosophie de l'art+ and translated it into Chinese 5ith more
than <0+000 5ords+ then stapled the translation together into a boo60 !lthough the original boo6
has its ,nglish version+ there are "e5 notes on the myths+ the histori evens+ and the anedotes+
5hih are in "at numerous in the original boo60 ) don%t thin6 you an read it ompletely0 So+ )
put many notes besides my translation+ hoping they 5ill be use"ul "or you0F
21
7ithout
explanation+ it is obvious to note "rom this extrat+ that #u $ei added the notes in order to
"ailitate the understanding o" his son "or the original0 *" ourse+ in this ase+ #u $ei did the
translation o" E$a sulpture en 2reF 5ith the primary intention to help his son in his studies on
*idental art0 Aut "rom this example+ 5e an trae that #u $ei did his translation in "avor o" his
readers% understanding "or the original text+ and his son 5as the "ist reader o" his translation0
)n the term o" legality or limit o" using the translator%s notes+ @enry :@enry 20004 2.;=
thin6s that it is a problem o" the boundary bet5een sholarship and "ailure+ and it raises the
problem o" Emoral ontratF bet5een the translator and author0 Aeause the abuse o" the notes
and the note badly used reveal the inability o" the translator0 Aut ontrary to @enry%s 5orry
:@enry 20004 2.8= that adding notes 5ill ut the linearity o" reading+ 5e pre"er the opinion o" 20
2enette :2enette 1;8L4 2;L= 4 >S000T the optional reading :o" the notes= there"ore involves only
some readers4 those 5ho are interested in any additional or digressive onsideration0 )t is
preisely the seondary importane o" those onsiderations that justi"ies their rejetion into a
"ootnote0>
22
0 -laed at the margin o" the text+ the note in the ategory o" paratext does not hinder
21 #u (in :ed0= 20080 *u !ei's ;o(e !etters 41ersion o- selection and annotation5/ Tianjin4 !ademy o" Soial and
Sienes -ress :[N\]^ = 0 EX0__(I`ab^_cTd@ellenismg ief
`g]hijk^_lmnop5kqrsZtuv+wqxWTUyzxy{M
|qI}~q0VZMHo"~q0atF: p0 1B8=
22 2enette+ 20 :1;8L= Seuils -aris4 ditions du Seuil0 Y SZT de lecture facultative elles ne sadressent par
consquent qu certains lecteurs : ceux quintressera telle ou telle considration complmentaire ou digressive
dont le caractre accessoire justifie prcisment le rejet en note [ :p02;L=
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 2B
the normal reading+ as it is the reader 5ho has the hoie to read or not to read those notes
:Aahier3-orte 200B=0 7e are in agreement 5ith the "at that too many "ootnotes destroy the
>lean "ae> o" the original text+ and they ould eventually bore the reader0 Aut 6eeping in mind
that eah "ootnote ontains about 28 5ords and #u $ei uses the traditional Chinese haraters+ 5e
see that #u $ei has the goal to simpli"y as muh as possible his "ootnotes0
(oreover+ 5e thin6 that the addition o" "ootnotes is just "or the purpose o" ensuring the
linearity o" the ontent o" the original text0 Aeause the other 5ays :see @enry 20004 2.B32.<=+
i0e0 the addition o" the e9uivalene in an interpolated lause+ bet5een ommas or parentheses+ are
more li6ely to a""et the "luidity or >9i> :B+ spirit= 3 borro5ing the Chinese term 3 o" the original
text0 !ny5ay+ 5e thin6 5e should examine the note problem 5ith the translator%s intention in the
soial ontext0
)n "at+ 5hen #u $ei returned to China in 1;.1+ a"ter "our years o" studies in #rane+ China
5as su""ering "rom terrible 5ars0 &eali8ing that >la6 o" moral strength+ the Chinese today are
living day by day as i" asleep+ or they have little to do+ as i" they 5ere in an amorphous state>
2.
+
he deided to translate three 5or6s o" &omain &olland4 !i-e o- Tolstoi+ !i-e o- =ichelangelo+ and
!i-e o- >eetho1en0 The goal he set 5ith his translation 5as to enourage people li6e him in the
middle o" the 5ar su""ering o" the time0
7hen #u $ei translated Jean-Christophe+ he exposed diretly his admiration "or this 5or6 at
the pre"ae o" the translation
2D
4 >Jean-Christophe is not a novel+ 3 5e should say4 it is not just a
novel+ it is a glorious human epi0 S000T ) hope that the readers an open this treasure 5ith the
2. #u $ei0 :200<= Collection o- *u !ei's 8or6s ? @olu(e o- !etters Aeijing4 Contemporary 7old -ress+ EcT
q1cTq*1KtF: p0D<2=
2D #u $ei0 :1;;8= Collection o- *u !ei's translations0 @e"ei4 !nhui $iterature -ublishing @ouse+ E$%&
'!ZfLqL!ZfLq..Zfvzt{{{ BzV
3f<F=p0B=
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 2<
devotional mood>0
)n the beginning+ #u $ei loved &omain &olland%s 5or6s just by his personal pre"erene4 @e
"elt enouraged by the main haraters o" the novel0 Aut "rom the moment he deided to translate
&olland%s 5or6s+ 5e might be tempted to say that it 5as rather a sense o" soial responsibility
5hih pushed him to ahieve the translation0 Unsatis"ied 5ith his personal development+ #u $ei
5anted his "ello5 Chinese iti8ens to 5a6e up and to improve0 )t is under the irumstanes o"
the time that #u $ei has hosen the 5or6s o" &omain &olland to translate0
!nthony -ym noted the importane o" the responsibility o" the translator0 @e laimed+ in his
boo6 <our une thique du traducteur
2B
U that the sense o" responsibility is the basi ethial
9uestion0 )n the paragraphs above+ it%s very lear that in the ase o" #u $ei+ beause o" this
responsibility+ #u $ei 5rote a lot o" "ootnotes to "ailitate the ommuniation bet5een the
original :via his translation= and his readers0 This re"lets #u $ei%s attitude to5ard the triangle o"
the author+ the reader and the translator0
#urthermore+ 5e should mention some anedotes about #u $ei in order to investigate his
intention to add the notes into his translation0 The "irst job that #u $ei got a"ter his studies in
#rane 5as as a teaher o" @istory o" !rt and o" #renh in the )nstitute o" the #ine !rts in
Shanghai0 @e edited 5ith the diretor o" the institute $iu @aisu := also his "riend+ the
'l.u( o- the international -a(ous painting : =+ and the !lbum 5as published by
Zhonghua Aoo6 Campany : -= in 1;.10 #or his lass needs+ he translated also -aul
2sell%s <ropos de 2odin sur lAart et les artistes "or his students Aesides+ there is another
interesting thing4 on the ba6 o" #u $ei%s visiting ard 5as 5ritten in #renh Eriti9ue d%artF :art
2B !nthony+ -0 :1;;L= Pour une thique du traducteur !rra: !rtois -resses Universit, Presses de lUniversit
dH*tta5a0
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 2L
riti=0 Suh things o" #u $ei 5ere many+ and these things made us thin6 that there is surely some
relation bet5een #u $ei%s omment notes in the translation and his pro"essional insight0 #rom the
art riti%s angle+ #u $ei put his personal aestheti interpretation on the ontent o" the original
text+ but at the bottom o" the page 5here his intervention does not destroy the integrality o" the
original text0
)n a 5ord+ there are t5o big reasons "or #u $ei to ma6e "ootnotes4 The "irst one is to redue
the ultural loss sometimes engendered during the proess o" translation0 The seond reason 5as
to reate a plat"orm 5here he ould ommuniate 5ith his readers0
C. Conclusion
7e have sho5n ho5 the textometrial method an be used in translation studies0 !nd this
tehni9ue allo5s us to highlight the inherent harateristis o" the text0 The most important
aspet o" the method may be its produtivity+ sine 5e an apply the exat same methodology to
others texts0 *" ourse+ the appliation o" this methodology and :in partiular= the interpretation
o" the results re9uire more re"letion and veri"iation in "uture researh0
#rom our examination 5e learned that #u $ei shared his 6no5ledge and personal opinions
5ith his readers in the "ootnotes he added0 @e 5as not a translator 5ho "ollo5ed behind the
original author 5ord by 5ord+ but he 5as someone 5ho trans"erd+ as muh as possible+ the
ontent and the spirit o" the text in the light o" a literary riti0 Thus+ at the level o" the tehni9ue+
his translation seems very "ree but in "at it is very lose to the essene o" the original0 This
seems li6ely to be one o" the harateristis o" his translation style0 )ndeed+ the 9uestion on 5hat
is #u $ei%s style is a too big 9uestion to ans5er here and it ertainly needs "urther studies o" many
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 28
years+ but this 9uestion an serve as the indiator 5hih leads us to ponder on the phenomena o"
translation in a 5hole in order to "ind use"ul ideas "or the pratie o" translation0
These days+ as the exhange bet5een ountries is developing rapidly :transport+ )nternet+
media+000=+ the understanding o" other ultures 5ill be easier and easier0 (aybe+ the translator%s
in"ormative note 5ill be employed less and less+ but it is still too early to say that in the "uture
there 5ill be less notes in the translation+ beause+ 5ith the independent onsiousness o" the
translator+ ommentary notes may also inrease0 )t is just our hypothesis+ 5hih a5aits its
on"irmation "rom systemati lexiometrial examinations o" translations in the "uture0
References :
!nthony+ -0 :1;;L= Pour une thique du traducteur !rra: !rtois -resses Universit+ -resses de
lUniversit dH*tta5a0
Aa6er+ (0 :1;;.= GCorpus $inguistis and Translation Studies4 )mpliations and !ppliationsH+ in
Aa6er+ et al0:eds0= Text and Technology+ p02..32B00 !msterdamI-hiladelphia4 'ohn Aenjamins0
Aahier3-orte+ C0 :200B= G$es notes dans les premiers ontes orientaux H+ Feries 24 ;131080U&$4
http4II"eeries0revues0orgIdoument10<0html0
#u $ei0 :1;;8= Collection o- *u !ei's translations0 @e"ei4 !nhui $iterature -ublishing @ouse0
#u (in :ed0= 20080 *u !ei's ;o(e !etters 41ersion o- selection and annotation5/ Tianjin4
!ademy o" Soial and Sienes -ress0
2enette+ 20 :1;8L= Seuils -aris4 1ditions du Seuil0
Using Corpora in Contrastive and Translation Studies September 2008 Zhejiang University China 2;
@enry '0 :2000= GDe l'rudition l'chec 4 la note du traduteurH0 =eta \$C4 22832D00 U&$4
5550erudit0orgIrevueImetaI2000IvDBIn2I00.0B;ar0pd"
$ederer+ (0 :1;8D= G)mpliite ou expliiteH+ in Interprter pour traduire $ederer+ (0 and
Seles6ovith+ J0 -aris4 Jidier rudition0
$ebart+ $0 and Salem+ !0 :1;;D= Statistique textuelle -aris4 Junod0
$amalle+ C0 et al0 :200.= Outils de statistique textuelle !exico"0 -aris4 Universit de la Sorbonne
nouvelle3 -aris .0
Carney+ '0 :200B= %Taboo and the translator 4 ! survey o" translators% notes in )talian translations
o" !nglo3!merian "ition+ 1;DB3200B0% Tarragona4 Ne8 2esearch in Translation and
&nterpreting Studies 4 DL3BL0 U&$4au isg0urv0esIlibraryIpapersICarneyTaboo0pd"

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