On the translation of communication language on the Internet

Fang+Qiu

【Abstract】With the rapid development of the Internet and online social media， there have been increasingly more network communication language. The paper will make an exploration of the Chinese – English translation of the present catchwords on the internet， enabling the target language readers to have a better understanding of the Chinese network communication language.

【Key words】Internet communication language； translation

Introduction

With the rapid development of Internet， some net friends create a large number of network catchwords in the internet environment. At present， China has conducted a wider range of international communication and cooperation， so there is an sharp increase of the use of English language， which demands that the Chinese communication language on the Internet be translated into English excellently. The author of the paper tries to analysis the skills of the translation of communication language on the Internet so as to promote an online communication with foreign friends.

1. The definition of communication language on the Internet

Different scholars have different explanation of communication language on the Internet. According to Chen Juan （2013）， it referred to the commonly used words on the Internet or the words that are relevant to the network. Cai Aichun & Tan Hui （2013） put it that in a narrow sense， the network language referred to the language that is used in chatting rooms or online forums. In this paper， the author will analyze the Chinese – English translation of communication language on the Internet from the narrow sense.

2. The classification of communication language on the Internet

Many scholars have attempted to classify the communication language on the Internet， and the author intends to sort out it in a narrow sense as follows：

1） A transference from homophonic

This type of communication language on the Internet aims at shortening the typing time or seeking a sense of novelty. For example， “这样子”is cut as “酱紫”， and “see you” is shortened as “CU”. Sometimes， it directly abandon the language symbol and use homophonic or similar pronunciation such as specific symbols or numbers instead to express the equivalent meaning， for example， “666” is often used to express that one did something really well， and “for you” is expressed as “4 U”.

2） A condensation of the original ones

This type of network communication language is to enhance the communication efficiency. For example， the expression of “although I dont know exactly the meaning of something， I can feel that it appears very awesome” can be shortened as “不明覺厉”.

3） A new meaning give to the old word

The commonly used word “备胎”originally has the meaning of a Spare Tire， however， when it is used in internet communication， it means the person who is the RERERVED person in a relationship.

4） Words of social focus

This type of communication language on the Internet commonly is able to reflect the topic of general interest. For example， “洪荒之力”can be translated as pre-historical powers to express its tremendous strength.

There are in general four types of communication languages on the Internet， and there is certainly other special cases such as changing the pronunciation of the word to try to be cute， etc.

3. An exploration of translation skills of communication language on the Internet

Peter Newmark （2011） put it that the basic principle of translation is being loyal to the original text. Translators are supposed to represent the original language information with approximate equivalence. Based on Newmarks theory， the author intends to explore the Chinese – English translation skills of communication language on the Internet so as to provide convenience for those who want to use the English version of the communication language on the Internet.

1） A direct equivalence

This type of translation is applied to the occasion when there is a good correspondence between Chinese and English communication language on the Internet. Commonly speaking， it can be expressed easily and understandable. For example， “不知道” can be translated as “dunno”， “88” translated as “byebye” and “4ever” translated as “forever”.

2） Transliteration

Some new – rising network words can only be translated by the method of transliteration to show the Chinese characteristics. These words often attract the focus of the society due to strong social public opinions. For example， the word “土豪”， at the very beginning， all translators made efforts to find a equivalence in English， the result was not satisfactory. Ultimately， a transliteration of “tuhao” was adopted to translate this commonly used word in China. It maintained the specified meaning of the original word as well as reflected the acceptance of Chinese words in the international culture environment.

3） A combination of literal translation and free translation

This type of translation of communication language on the Internet is applied to the occasion when there is a good correspondence between the meaning and form of both the Chinese and English words. For example， “有錢任性”can be translated as “rich and bitch”， in which there is a good equivalence of rhyme in English and four – character structure in Chinese， and meanwhile， the equivalence in semantic meaning is achieved. Similarly， “你真牛”can be translated as “you rock”， which has an extremely approximate meaning in the context of network.

The paper made an exploration of the Chinese – English translation of the present catchwords on the internet， which aims to enable the target language readers to have a better understanding of the Chinese network communication language and make an application of it.

References：

[1]Cai Aichun，Tan Hui.The English translation of online communication language from the perspective of cross – culture.[J].An Academic Journal of Hunan City College，2013（5）：125-127.

[2]Chen Juan，A exploration of the Chinese – English translation of Chinese network catchwords from the perspective of functional equivalence theory[J].An Academic Journal of Shanghai Second Polytechnic University，2013（12）：47-49.

[3]Edwin Gentzler.Contemporary Translation Theories（Revised Second Edition）[M].Shanghai：Shanghai Foreign Languages Education Press，2014，72-75.

[4]Peter Newmark.Approaches to Translation[M].Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Languages Education Press，2011，40-48.