The primary purpose of this volume is to provide a theoretical orientation and practical help to translators dealing with the numerous difficulties involved in translating from English into Chinese and from Chinese into English. In addition, this material can be useful to personsconcerned with the broader implications of interlingual communication, since the underlying basis for the principles and procedures is essentially sociosemiotic in that the concept of dynamicequivalence in translating focuses on the meaning for receptors.
The pinyin system is followed in this book in the transliteration of Chinese words, but for the convenience of people not familiar with the system, usually a hyphen is placed between syllables (e.g., pin-yin).
The first author wishes to express his special thanks to the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia for making possible his research and study in the United States. He is also indebted to Drexel University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University formaking academic facilities available to him.
He is also grateful to the Warden and Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford University, for the Visiting Fellowship they offered him just at the time when this work was being completed. It gave him an opportunity to discuss the problems involved with many scholars in England, particularly Sir William Empson, Mr. Rom Harre, Dr. David Hawkes and Professor Rodney Needham, who read the typescript and made valuable suggestions for improvement. Likewise, he is deeply indebted to Professor and Mrs. Hans H. Frankel of Yale University for reading and commenting on the typescript as well as offering him their generous hospitality in their house while he was working on it.
A special word of appreciation is due those colleagues and friends who read and commented on various parts of the work before the final, co-authored stage, without whose kind encouragement it might never have reached it.
A word of thanks is also due Dr. Louis Dorn and Mrs. Leila Wright who have provided so much valuable help in the editing and typing of the manuscript.
Jin Di
Tianjin, China
Eugene A. Nida
Greenwich, Ct., USA