Thematic progression is not only an important part of text linguistics, but also can be applied to translation studies. This paper analyzes the embodiment of several common modes of progression in English scientific texts, and probes into some applications of thematic progression theory in English-Chinese scientific translation.
Keywords Text Linguistics Theme Promotes Sci-tech Translation
I. Introduction
The concepts of theme (T) and rheme (R) were first put forward by the Czech linguist Mathesius. 1939 in the perspective of functional sentences, he pointed out that theme is the first part of a sentence, which is generally used to express known information in a specific situation, and rheme is the last part of a sentence, which is mostly used to express new information in a sentence (quoted from Liu Shicong, Yu Dong, 2007: 62). Hu Zhuanglin thinks that there are three basic modes of thematic progression: 1)TI=T2, and the superordinate of the first sentence continues to be the theme of the second sentence; 2) R 1=T2, a certain content of the theme of the previous sentence develops into the theme of the second sentence; 3)T 1+R 1=T2。 Although English and Chinese belong to different language families and have many differences in syntactic structure, there are similarities in the information structure of theme and rheme. In English-Chinese translation, the conscious application of thematic progression theory not only helps to grasp the information structure of the original text, but also helps to keep the translated sentences natural and smooth and the information content clear. This is particularly important in scientific and technological translation, which focuses on information translation. Based on Professor Hu Zhuanglin's trichotomy, this paper intends to make a brief analysis of the embodiment and translation of three common thematic progression patterns in scientific texts, with a view to helping English-Chinese scientific translation.
Second, parallel type.
In this model, all sentences take the theme (T) of the first sentence as the main theme, and the same theme is revealed and expounded from different angles with different rhemes (R). In short, this is what Mr. Hu Zhuanglin called T 1=T2. If represented by t and r, its pattern is as follows: t1-r1; t 1-R2； t 1-R3； T1-1-R4 ... t1-kloc-0/-rn is a common pattern in the style of science and technology. Look at the following example:
(1) Short waves with frequencies higher than 30 MHz always pass through the atmosphere. These are very high frequency (VHF) waves from 30 to 300 MHz; In the ultra-high frequency (UHF) band used to transmit TV signals, from 300 to 3000 MHz; And ultra-high frequency (SHF) or microwave band of 3000 to 30000 MHz. (Wang Ce, 1985: 12 1)
Short waves with frequencies higher than 30 trillion tend to pass through the ionosphere. The frequency is between 30 and 300 MHz; Ultra-high frequency (UHF) band with frequency from 300 MHz to 3000 MHz, which is used to transmit TV signals; And ultra-high frequency (SHF) band (or microwave) with frequency range from 3000 to 30000 MHz. (Kings, 1985: 124)
The above example is a typical parallel main propulsion structure. The known information of two sentences is "short wave with frequency higher than 30 MHz", and the next sentence is discussed with different rhemes from the perspective of composition. The translation copied the grammatical pattern of the original text, but ignored the thematic progression relationship between sentences, so that two new themes of "frequency" and "band" appeared in the second sentence, which made the sentence fragmented and chaotic. Instead, read:
Short waves with frequencies higher than 30 MHz tend to pass through the ionosphere. These waves include the very high frequency (YuF) band whose frequency string is between 30 and 300 MHz; Ultra-high frequency band with frequency between 300 and 3000 MHz, used for transmitting TV signals; And ultra-high frequency (SHF) bands or microwaves with frequencies between 3000 and 30000 MHz.
Third, the continuation type
This mode of progression is also called gradual progression, that is, the rheme of the previous sentence or a part of the rheme becomes the theme of the latter sentence.
The relationship between t and r can be expressed as:
t 1-r 1； T2(r 1)-R2； ..... TN (Rn- 1) one by one Rn
This mode is particularly common in scientific and technological texts. Because science mostly reveals the laws of nature in an objective and empirical way, it requires clear logic and close connection between sentences. Paragraphs are generally developed from general to special, and the principle of information distribution is often that known information comes first and new information comes last. The new information mentioned in the previous sentence is the known information that needs to be deepened in the next step, and new information is introduced when deepening. So interlocking and repeated, the discussion is deepened and improved step by step. Knowing this is very helpful for translating long English sentences (especially attributive clauses). Look at the following example:
(2) transparent glass capillary