Abstract: A prominent literary feature of the novel The Great Gatsby is the elaboration of a large number of complicated long sentences. How to reproduce its semantics in the process of translation challenges the translator's translation ability. This paper aims to compare Gao He and Wu Ningkun's translations and explore the translation strategies adopted by the two translators in translating long sentences.
Keywords: The Great Gatsby; English long sentences; translate
I. Introduction
Due to the differences in vocabulary and sentence patterns between English and Chinese, researchers have always attached importance to the study of translation strategies for English sentences, especially long sentences containing multiple phrases and clauses. Many scholars have put forward some translation techniques, such as sequential method, reverse method, synthesis method, sequential inversion method, sentence-splitting and order-changing method, layout equivalence method and so on. Lin Kenan, a scholar, believes that it is one-sided to consider only factors such as word order in isolation, because the influence of semantics and context cannot be ignored. Therefore, we should first study the original author's intention word for word, and then consider how to choose words and make sentences and how to give full play to the advantages of the translation. It can be seen that Lin believes that the intentionality of the original author should attract enough attention from researchers.
Second, a comparative study of the two versions
Fitzgerald's complex long sentences have always been famous for their complete and exquisite structure, vivid description, strong sense of rhythm and profound meaning. This feature is particularly prominent in his masterpiece The Great Gatsby. The purpose of this paper is to compare the translations of Gao and Wu Ningkun, and to explore the translation strategies adopted by the two translators in translating long sentences, as well as the efforts made by the two translators in studying the original author's intention word by word, then considering the choice of words and sentences, and how to give full play to the advantages of the translation.
In this way, in college, I was unfairly regarded as a politician, because I heard about the secret sadness of those barbaric and unknown people. Most secrets are unsolicited-when I realize that an intimate revelation is shaking on the horizon through some unmistakable signs, I often pretend to sleep, concentrate or be hostile and frivolous; Because young people's private revelations, or at least the terms they express, are usually plagiarized and defiled by obvious repression.
G: ... In this way, I was unfortunately regarded as a small politician in college, because some reckless and unfamiliar guys among my classmates came to me to complain privately. In fact, I don't want to know their privacy-every time I see something wrong, I feel that someone wants to treat me as a confidant and can't wait to tell me their thoughts. Often pretending to sleep, or busy making excuses, or deliberately making fun of others without showing sympathy; Because according to my experience, the content that young people confide in you as a confidant is often the same. The bad thing is that they are dishonest and rarely tell the whole story.
Witch: ... Because of this, I was unjustly accused of being a petty politician when I was in college, because I heard the secret sadness of some dissolute and unknown people. I haven't found most of my confidences-I often pretend to sleep, or I'm absent-minded, or I put on an unfriendly and frivolous posture. Every time I see another confession on the horizon according to some unmistakable signs; Because young people's self-confidence, or at least the words they use to express their self-confidence, are usually copied and often obviously hidden.
The above two sentences are Nick's description of his own personality characteristics and anecdotes during his college study. Structurally, both sentences are complex sentences. The first sentence is relatively simple, containing only an object clause and an adverbial clause of reason; The second sentence is relatively complicated, including adverbial clause of time, object clause and attributive clause, which are guided by three relative words "when", "that" and "which" respectively. From the semantic point of view, the logical relationship between the parts is complicated. In addition, "an intimate revelation quivers on the horizon" in the original text constitutes a metaphor.
The translation skills of Wu Shi and Gao Shi are also different. In Wu's translation, the sentence patterns and metaphors of the original text are preserved, copied and unchanged; At the same time, the translation of the short sentence "I'm sorry to hear the secrets of some dissolute and unknown people" strictly reproduces the modifying relationship of the original text, and four words "De" are used in a short sentence, which is endlessly suspected of "De" (2002: 192), which is not only awkward to read, but also difficult to understand. In a high translation, the adverbial clause of time is placed before the whole main sentence, which not only conforms to the characteristics that Chinese adverbial clauses are generally located at the beginning of the sentence, but also clearly shows the logical relationship of the original text. In addition,