Abstracts of Papers in This Issue

s of Papers in This Issue

“Filler-Gap Domain” and relativization in Chinese and English(p.1)

XUYulong(Institute of Linguistics, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai 200083, China)

This paper applies Hawkins’ (2004, 2014)theoretical framework of “Filler-Gap Domain” analysis to the examination of relativization in Chinese and English.Preliminary results show that there is an asymmetry in Chinese between the genitive NP within a subject NP (GENSU)and that within a direct object NP (GENDO)in that the [-case] gap strategy is generally allowed in the relativization on the former, but is generally not possible on the latter and in its place a resumptive pronoun is usually required; whereas in English such an asymmetry does not exist.It is suggested that the asymmetry between GENSUand GENDOin Chinese may be caused by the relative ease of reanalyzing GENSUas a topic.

Etymological study onSamshooandCumshaw: An approach forcusing on culture and trade exchange between the East and the West in Canton(p.8)

JINQibin(School of Foreign Languages, Shenzhen Polytechnic, Shenzhen 518055, China)

Etymological study and improvement on China-related entries is an indispensable duty of Chinese scholars.Based on literature of cultural and trade exchanges in Canton and an analysis of features of early pidgin English, the paper examines the etymology of two China-related entries,samshoo(samshu)andcumshaw(cumsha).It is held that they found their way into English by following a certain pattern, i.e.,sauce→三苏/三烧 (samshooorsamshu, an erroneous recording of “sauce”)→samshooandconussuo(from Portuguese)→金沙(cumshaworcumsha, literally sand of gold, an erroneous recording of “conussuo”)→cumshaw/cumsha.Therefore, a pattern for Chinese borrowings in English, “source language (English or Portuguese)→Chinese transcriptions→English (pidgin English)”, is proposed with an aim of offering a new approach for etymological study on China-related entries.

A comparative study of Russian speech stress hierarchical system and Russian intonation pattern system(p.13)

XULaidi(Faculty of Foreign Languages, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China)

In Russian speech, stresses will encounter a variety of changes and form different speech stress variations at various hierarchies.Therefore, it is necessary to review the teaching of Russian stresses from the perspective of speech.This paper first puts forward the theoretical concept on Russian speech stress hierarchical system, then tries to compare it with Russian intonation pattern to reveal the roles of different types of Russian speech stress variations in the Russian intonation pattern, hoping to contribute to the teaching of Russian stress in China.

Minimal recursion: Prospects for optimal merge and minimalist computation under the Bio-linguistic framework(p.19)

NoamCHOMSKY, Translated byMAZhigang(Center for Linguistics and Applied Linguistics， Guangdong University of Foreign Studies， Guangzhou 510420, China)

The most basic property of human language is that in each of its variants, it provides an unbounded array of hierarchically structured expressions that receive interpretations at two interfaces, sensory-motor for externalization and conceptual-intentional for mental processes.A central problem, then, is to determine the nature of the recursive procedures that have this property.General scientific norms direct inquiry to the simplest possible solution—minimal recursion—to deepen explanatory power and expedite the study of language acquisition, and to offer some hope for some eventual insight into evolution of the language capacity.Pursuit of this objective has led to elimination of many unwanted stipulations and also grounding of some fundamental properties of universal grammar.Among other consequences, it provides evidence for an asymmetry of the interfaces, with externalization an ancillary procedure, a conclusion consistent with well-known properties of language and the very limited evidence about evolution.

Is leprosy “Chinese evil”?: Pride and prejudice in Stevenson’s South Pacific tales(p.27)

WANGWeixin(College of Foreign Languages, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, Shanghai 201620, China)

This essay reads Stevenson’s South Pacific tales in relation to Rod Edmond’s theorization of leprosy and empire and Cohn’s culture-of-plague theory.According to Edmond, leprosy had been known as mai Pake (Chinese disease)in Hawaii before, but in Stevenson’s time it was renamed mai ho’okawale (segregation disease).As a supporter of leper segregation policy, Stevenson kept using Chinese Evil for leprosy, which, according to culture-of-plague theory, was in line with the Anglo-American naming of diseases (e.g.Strangers’ Disease for cholera and Jewish Disease for TB)in the nineteenth century.In Stevenson’s South Pacific tales, leprosy is represented as disease of otherness, leper colony is regarded as a paradise and the British merchants are taken as the spokesmen of justice and redemption.His South Pacific tales are tainted with the empire’s pride and prejudice, of which the otherness of disease is a microcosm.

An analysis of feelings in Tang, Song and Yuan poems within the attitude theory(p.34)

XUWentao(Faculty of Foreign Languages, Guangzhou University Sontan College， Guangzhou 511370, China)

Within the framework of the Attitude system in the Appraisal theory and the prosodic structure of evaluative meaning, the essay explores the flow of feelings in the combination of images in Tang, Song and Yuan Poems.The combination of images as the main carrier of feelings has three typical patterns based on the flow of feelings: saturation, intensification and domination in the process of conveying certain feelings.The three types can be further combined to obtain an ordered arrangement of images.The understanding is of guiding significance to the composition and decomposition of Chinese poems.

Dual interpretations: Review of the international academic conference of world literature in Soochow University(p.41)

WUMin(School of Foreign Languages, Suzhou Vocational University, Suzhou 215104, China)

YANHaifeng(School of Foreign Languages, Shandong University of Political Science and Law, Jinan 250014， China)

The third international academic conference of world literature was held in School of Humanity of Soochow University in October 2015.In the meantime,ACourseinWorldLiteratureandWorldLiteratureClassicspublished by Beijing Normal University Press made their debut.It is the first time for Chinese literature as a main composition to be constructed in the world literature history and for the world literature to be interpreted from a subjective perspective of Chinese literature.Prestigious experts and scholars from universities and academic groups at home and abroad such as Tsinghua University and University of New Orleans exchanged their views on the dual interpretations—the Chinization of world literature and the internationalization of Chinese literature.A theoretical framework of Chinese world literature has been constructed from various aspects, which will play an active role in promoting the Chinization of world literature.

An empirical study of the relationship between recursiveness and translation experience & translation units in Chinese-English translating(p.45)

WANGFuxiang&XUQingli(School of Foreign Languages, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, China)

This paper, based upon a quantitative analysis of translation process data such as duration of each of the translation stages, hierarchies and numbers of translation units，and revisions done by the translator, reports on the results of an empirical study using key-logging to elicit data from semi-professional and novice translators with Chinese as their L1 and English L2 to probe the relationship between recursiveness and translation experience & translation units in the Chinese-English translation process.The results show that 1)translation recursiveness has significantly positive correlation with translation experience；and the regression analysis indicates that differences in orientation time can well predict the translation recursiveness; 2)there is no correlation between translation recursiveness and hierarchies and numbers of translation units; but the selection of translation units is related to translation experience, with novice translators resorting more to words and clauses and semi-professionals more to sub-lexical units and sentences.

A localization-based approach to web text translation—A case study of the English websites of China’s “985 Project” universities(p.54)

LILiangbo&LIZhanxi(College of Foreign Studies, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China)

Web texts are far more complicated than the traditional ones due to their hypertextuality, interactivity and multi-modality.To translate these texts is to reconstruct them by following the conventions of the target culture.Taking the translated websites of China’s “985 Project” universities for example, this paper explores the multi-dimensional reconstruction strategies so that enlightenments might be brought to the internationalization of Chinese university websites.

On the awareness of readers in the trans-writing ofRedStarOverChina(p.59)

CHENYong&LIAOHuaying(School of Foreign Languages, East China University of Technology, Nanchang 330013, China)

Edgar Snow is a journalist with a thorough knowledge of both the West and China.His English writing—RedStarOverChina—is invested with many traces of translation in the process of trans-writing.The present paper, based on a survey of language adopted in trans-writing, gives an analysis of two characteristics in his English writing, namely, interpretation of Red culture by Western civilization and strategies of translating expressions with Chinese characteristics.The authors point out that the trans-writing wrapped inRedStarOverChina, as an English interpretation of Chinese culture, is a tactful way of balancing between readability of his works and the purpose of spreading Red culture, which can serve as a model of cross-cultural exchange and Chinese classics translation.

Mind in linguistic forms: An analysis of the Chinese translations ofAsILayDyingfrom the perspective of mind style(p.65)

ZHUTianlong(College of Foreign Languages and Cultures, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China)

Compared with the linguistic forms of poetry, those of fictions receive less attention from translators, resulting in the loss of both literary significance of the source text and readers’ aesthetic experiences.In stylistics, mind style concerns both linguistic forms and individual mind.TakingAsILayDyingas a case study, this paper applies mind style to analyze the Chinese translations of this novel with the focus on linguistic forms and individual mind.In the end, this paper attempts to present some translation skills in light of mind style.

A study of translating culture-loaded words in regional literature(p.74)

ZHUShuran(Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK)

The paper questions the mainstream approach of translating culture-loaded words with foreignization, arguing that Venuti’s binary opposition of domestication and foreignization ignored the multicultural issues inside one language, which may lead to stereotypes or false understandings of a culture, as there are admittedly multiple cultures within one language or within one large cultural setting.It stresses detailed interpretation and even annotation, highlighting the issue of location, specifically the features of regional literature.

On Buddhist scripture translation history inLingnan(p.80)

SHIBingyun(English Department, Neusoft Institute of Guangdong, Foshan 528225, China)

Lingnanplays an important part in China’s Buddhist scripture translation history.Looking back on its development in terms of economic support, political manipulation, regional stability, translators’ aspiration, balance among Buddhist schools and labor division in translating activities, the paper proposes its implications for today’s translation industry.In macro sense, the government should play the role of guidance, support, supervision and coordination in setting up the access mechanism, training qualified translators, supplying the translation industry, formulating guild regulations and popularizing translation theories.In micro sense, translators should work as the practical subject and improve their translation skills and translation ethics.

A new approach to the numeral-classifiers in Chinese—Review ofNumeral-classifiersinChinese:TheSyntax-semanticInterface(p.86)

HUANGJinwei(Department of Chinese, Sichuan International Studies University, Chongqing 400031, China)

This paper reviews Dr.Xuping Li’sNumeral-classifiersinChinese:TheSyntax-semanticInterface.It introduces the contents and main arguments of each chapter in the first part, and then makes a brief comment on the book, and points out the deficiencies in the second part.

Review ofTheStructuralDesignofLanguage(p.91)

WANGHeyu(School of Foreign Languages, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China)

InTheStructuralDesignofLanguage, Stroik & Putnam develop their survival minimalism, arguing that the narrow syntax must reside, for reasons of conceptual necessity, within the performance systems.As simple as this novel design is, it provides radical new insights into what the human language faculty is, how language emerged in the species, and how language is acquired by children.Specifically, this book (i)proposes a new structural design for human language, which is grounded in biological and physical laws; (ii)investigates the connections between the evolution of language and evolutionary biology; (iii)provides novel structural analyses of the complex adjunction and conjunction constructions.

Reading Lawrence Buell’sTheDreamoftheGreatAmericanNovel(p.96)

DINGXialin(School of Foreign Studies, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China)

Since the birth of the notion of the Great American Novel in 1868, the United States has produced a lot of notable novelists and caught the world’s attention.Under the pen of professor Lawrence Buell, the novels on various topics and of divergent styles all represent variations on the same theme: the Great American Novel.The retellings of old stories, the rise and fall of the American Dream, together with the racial divides between the North and South, have made it possible for such famous novelists as Mark Twain, William Falkner and Tony Morrison to take the center stage.Additionally, even some pessimists such as Don DeLillo and Thomas Pynchon have stood out from the crowd by writing about the “improbable communities”.All this forms a testimony to why this dream remains unkillable.