The Characteristics and Translation of English

The Characteristics and Translation of English

The Characteristics and Translation of English

for Science and Technology (EST)

by

Jia Peng

Supervised

by

Prof. Tan Weiguo

Submitted

to

Foreign Languages College

In partial fulfillment of the requirements

For the degree of Bachelor of Arts

In the subject of English Language and Literature

Shanghai Normal University

April 20, 2005

The Characteristics and Translation of English

Acknowledgement

The preparation of this paper has been a long and hard but exciting and meaningful project and one, which would not have been possible without the help and encouragement of my teachers, parents, and friends.

Throughout the process of writing my thesis, I obtained much help and encouragement from my supervisor Professor Tan Weiguo and all my respectable teachers in the Foreign Languages College of Shanghai Normal University during my four-year collage studies. I have benefited a lot from their meticulous scholarship, great attainment, and patient encouragement. I want take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to them.

Then, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to my dear parents. They worked very hard to raise me up and give me this opportunity to be educated in Shanghai Normal University. They show me all their love and offer me a great deal of encouragement in the process of writing the paper. I love them endlessly.

In addition, I would like to thank my best friend Sun Hefei, who provided his PC to support me to write this paper.

Finally, I want to acknowledge the contribution of my beloved friends who brought me a lot of happiness during the process of my writing.

The Characteristics and Translation of English

Abstract

With the worldwide dissemination of science and technique, English for science and technology has been developed into an important language in the scope of science and technology. Since the 1970s’, it has aroused extensive attention and led to much research among different nations. English for science and technology plays an important role in scientific and technical communication all over the world. In order to put it into more common use, translators have translated many scientific and technical documents. This paper discusses the translation of English for science and technology according to my own experience.

The paper is divided essentially into four parts. Firstly, it introduces the development of English for science and technology, what the English for science and technology includes and the characteristics of scientific documents. The first part covers the basic conceptions and principles of translation, including what translation is, what the principles of translation are, the literal and free translation approaches, and basic information about translation of English for science and technology.

The second part, the most important part of this paper, shows the main characteristics of English for science and technology and their translating methods. The third part introduces the elegance in the translation of science and technology. And it also includes my own opinion about the topic.

Finally, the paper sums up some key points about translation of English for science and technology on the basis of what is introduced previously.

I hope that readers will obtain some knowledge about the translation of English for science and technology from this paper. And I hope this paper will serve as reference and guidance for the students who are interested in English for science and technology.

The Characteristics and Translation of English

摘 要

随着科学技术在全球范围内的广泛传播，科技英语已经发展成为一种重要的英语语体，七十年代以来引起了国际上的广泛注意。科技英语是各国进行科学技术交流的重要工具。为了更广泛的让大家知道更多关于科技英语的知识，科技英语语体的特点和翻译方法成了翻译者们的热门研究课题。我将在这篇论文里，根据自己学习掌握到的科技英语的特点和一些翻译方面的理论知识，谈一谈科技英语的翻译。

论文大致分为四个部分。论文首先介绍了科技英语的发展、科技文献的特点和科技文献的内容。第一部分简单介绍了翻译的基本理论，如翻译的概念、翻译得原则标准、直译和意译以及翻译与科技英语。论文的第二部分是主要部分，介绍了科技英语的主要特点及各个特点的主要的翻译方法并举例说明。最后简单介绍了科技英语翻译中的文采问题同时也表达了自己的观点。在论文的最后通过以上的介绍总结了科技英语汉译要点。

通过这篇论文的介绍，希望读者对于科技英语有一个初步的了解，能掌握一些科技英语翻译的简单方法，给今后科技英语翻译的学习作一个借鉴和参考。

The Characteristics and Translation of English

CONTENTS

Page Acknowledgement … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 2 Abstract … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … . 3

I. Introduction… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … .. 6 II. Brief Discussion of Main Characteristics of EST … ….

2.1 The Vocabulary of EST … … … … … … … … … … … … …

2.2 General Use of Nominalization … … … … … … … … … … ..

2.3 Extensive use of the passive voice … … … … … … … … … ..

2.4 The Long and Complicated Sentences … … … … … … … … .

2.5 More Non-Finite Forms of Verbs … … … … … … … … .. … . III． Basic Translation Theory

3.1 Definition of Translation … … … … … … … … … ...

3.2 Translation Standards

3.3 Major Translation Approaches

3.4 Translation Process… … … … … … …

ⅳ. Translation of English for Science and Technology(EST) … … … … … ...

4.1 Literal Translation of EST

4.2 Free Translation of EST

4.3 … … … …. … … … … … …

ⅴ. Conclusion … .. … … … … … … … … … … … … …. … … … … … ..

References … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

The Characteristics and Translation of English

Ⅰ.Introduction

The English for Science and Technology (EST) emerged in the 1950s (冯梅，2000：加页码) It was the outcome of the swift development of science and technology after World WarⅡ.Since the 1970s, the EST has aroused worldwide attention and led to much research among different nations. With more and more science papers published in English, the EST, a major variety of English, which is different from the daily English and literary English, has emerged as the times require with its own typical characteristics. And now it has become a significant language variety.

The EST generally refers to both written language and spoken language about science and technology. It includes scientific books, papers, reports, experimental records and schemes; various scientific intelligence and scripts; the practical scientific handbooks (operative means including instruments, machines and tools); scientific films, videos and sound materials with the caption, etc. An important and perhaps surprising feature of English for Science and Technology is that its normal style is common to both written and spoken communication (刘宓庆，1998: 加页码)

The EST has its own characteristics such as high-level specialization, new concepts, complicated structure, simple and clear language, more declarative sentences, extensive use of the passive voice, many complicated and long sentences, etc. Compared with other literary forms, it has higher-level scientific nature, organization, accuracy and closeness.

Ⅱ. Translation and English for Science and Technology

1. Brief Introduction to Translation

1.1. What is translation?

Translating is rending from one language into another, i.e. the faithful

The Characteristics and Translation of English

representation in one language of what is written or said in another language. Translation covers a very broad range. Some people believe it is a science, others take it as an art; and yet many consider it a craft or rather, a skill. Nida, a famous American translator, says that translation is not only an art, a technique or a creation of literature but also a science. (冯梅，2000: 加页码) If the word “translation” refers to a subject, namely, the study of translation theory and skills, it is no doubt a science, just as any subject is, with its own rules, laws and principles for the translator to abide by.

1.2. Principles of Translation

The main principles of translation are faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance (信、达、雅) which were first proposed by Yan Fu(严复) in1898. (作者名字，2001：加页码) The English for Science and Technology (EST), which will be discussed later, emphasizes particularly the principles of faithfulness and elegance.

1.1.3. Literal Translation and Free Translation

Literal translation and free translation are two familiar approaches of translation. The so-called literal translation, lterally speaking, means, “not to alter the original words and sentences”; strictly speaking, it strives “to keep the sentiments and style of the original”. For example, crocodile’s tears(鳄鱼的眼泪), chain reaction(连锁反应) and gentlemen’s agreement(君子协定) are translated in a literal way.

Free translation is an alternative approach which is used mainly to convey the meaning and spirit of the original without trying to reproduce its sentence patterns or figures of speech(比喻). For example, the following are translated by acting on the approach of free translation: Adam’s apple(喉结), at sixes and sevens(乱七八糟), It rains cats and dogs.(大雨滂沱) Do you see any green in my eye? (你以为我是幼稚可欺的么?).

Literal translation and free translation are relative concepts. In other words, there is no absolute “literal” or entirely “free” version in the practice of translation. They are usually adopted simultaneously in the process of translation.

1.3. The Characteristics of EST Translation

The translation target of EST is scientific documents. The scientific materials are characterized by preciseness. So the EST requires accuracy and logicality of its

The Characteristics and Translation of English

translation. So EST translation is marked by objectivity, standardization, distinctive feature in literary form, regular syntax and realism. Objectivity means that the translator cannot change the original ideas, neglect the information or put own comments in the process of translation. He must translate the original into Chinese version accurately. By standardization it is meant that he should always use some professional expressions like technical terms. The translators are required to use the official translations to the original???. By realism, the translation of EST is closely related to our daily life. As we know, newly created technical terms are pouring into English for science and technology. The accumulation of new words is quite important. The characteristics of EST will be discussed in following chapters. For the translation of EST, two criteria are almost always accepted, namely, the criterion of faithfulness/ accuracy and that of smoothness. In the process of translating the EST, translators acquire adequate knowledge of EST and the relevant background. And then according to its characteristics, the translators convey the information to the readers or the audience by using standard, professional and logical target language. It is quite necessary to make better translation of the English for Science and Technology.

2. The Characteristics and English-Chinese Translation of EST

2.1. The Vocabulary of EST

With rapid and remarkable advances in modern science and technology, an increasingly large number of English technical terms have arisen in our daily life, giving rise to a new genre of register with vocabularies outside the range of ordinary educated man — English for Science and Technology (EST).

The development of science and technology provides an extremely abundant vocabulary for EST. This is also the main and most essential source of the modern new words. (Preface, 6,000 Words, A Supplement to Webster’s Third New International Dictionary)不是夹注！！！

2.1.1. The Characteristic Vocabulary of EST

The Characteristics and Translation of English

The most remarkable characteristic of EST is extensive use of technical terms. There are several characteristics of EST vocabulary.

2.1.1.1. Specialization of the Words in Common Use

Technical terms are used widely in EST. A great number of them come from the words used commonly in our daily life. But they have strict technical meaning in EST. EST borrows words in common use to explain the professional technical concepts. This was called “building 词义理据 by imagination” in semantics. That means 以引申或扩展（包括借助于各种修辞格）的基本词义来给新的概念命名，符合英语一词多义和词性转化的历史传统。In modern English, 新兴科学在传统科学的影响下，尽量利用传统旧词，赋新意于旧词。For example, 遗传工程学的发展给旧词template( 刻印模版，pattern or gauge [usu. A thin board or mental plate ] used as a guide in cutting or drilling metal, wood, etc. –ADD) 带来了新义：“遗传密码载体分子”（a molecule in a biological system that carriers the genetic code for another macromolecule-WTNID, 6,000 Words）(刘宓庆，1998: 326). After careful research, we will find that the new meaning origins from the basic meaning of a word. It is the extensive meaning of “pattern” and “gauge”. Chinese is different from English in this aspect. In Chinese, new meanings give rise to new words.

2.1.1.2. One Word with Multiple Meanings

一词多义 is another characteristic of the EST vocabulary. One word with multiple meanings means that many may adopt a common-used word subjects or has different meanings in one subject.??? For example, “transmission”, in radio engineering, it means “传送” or “播送”; in mechanics, it means “传动” or “变速”; in physics, it means “透射”; in medicine, it means “遗传”, etc. But there is no such a word with multiple meanings in Chinese for science and technology.

Besides these two, there are several other word-building methods for EST vocabulary. That is what we will talk about next.

2.1.2. Translation Methods of EST Vocabularies

Generally, there are two methods in the translation of EST vocabularies: literal translation and free translation. The literal translation includes transplant, transliteration and pictographic translation, etc. The free translation includes

The Characteristics and Translation of English

deduction, extension and explanation, etc. By transplant, we find the meanings of morphemes of a word and put them together. By transliteration, we translate the word by its pronunciations in English. By pictographic translation, we describe the shape of the article indicated by the English word. By deduction, we conclude the meaning of words by both contextual meaning and the explanation in dictionary. By extension and explanation, we translate the word in its extensive meanings. We will have further discussion with the word building of EST in the followings.

2.1.3 Word-Building of EST and Translation

There is no special requirement for the translation of EST in comparison with general English except wording and characteristic structures.

From the respect of linguistics, the vocabulary of EST was formed by way of functional shift, borrowing, deriving, compounding, acronym, blending and so on.(《科技英语实用教程》，人民解放军总装备部队训练教材编辑工作委员会，国防工业出版社，2003.1)???

The word building methods include compounding, blending, affixation, acronym and borrowing. Beside, there are some other ways of word-building like clipping, back-formation, coinage, functional shift and borrowing from the foreign words. (《文体与翻译》，刘宓庆, translation theory and practice series,，中国对外翻译出版公司，1998.8)????

2.1.3.1 Affixation

Affixation is an important way of coining new English words and technical terms, with prefix and suffix as inseparable elements of the words being coined. The advantage of affixation is evident: it is the most flexible means of forming new words and its potential of creation is almost boundless, therefore it is extensively used in the formation of technical terms. Besides prefix and suffix of English origin, there are some foreign borrowings, noticeably the Latin ones, e.g. mini- (微) ，bio- (生命、生物) ，thermo- (热), electro- (电), aero- (空气), carbo- (碳), hydro- (水), -asis (表示疾

The Characteristics and Translation of English

病), -mania (狂热), etc. if we are familiar with these prefixes and suffixes, many technical terms can be translated appropriately. We can use the translation method of transplant. Here are some examples.

Minicell= mini + cell

Minicrystal= mini + crystal

Reagency= re + agency

Microbicid= mocro + bicid

2.1.3.2. Compounding

Compounding is the way of combining at least two words to form a new word(刘宓庆, 1998: 376).English technical terms formed by compounding generally take three forms: with a hyphen； compounds without hyphen, E.g.:

with hyphen with no hyphen

splashdown hot-press 重复？？？

waterleaf pulse-scaler

software hot-press

greenhouse pick- up

Two or more separate words forming a word combination. E.g.

lunch box 便携式计算机,

aircraft carrier 航空母舰,

space cell 太阳能电池,

space junk 太空垃圾

Most of such compound words may be translated literally, i.e. put the Chinese equivalents of separate elements together and we get the Chinese equivalents of the compound words. Sometimes, however, there are exceptions. For example, bull’s eye (靶心), cat and house (航向与指挥的), dog house (高频高压电源屏蔽障), etc. Literal translation in tackling such terms may lead us astray. Therefore whenever we are confronted with unfamiliar terms and are not sure of their meaning, we should frequently consult dictionaries of relevant specialties. In many cases some additional expressions are needed to make the original meaning clear and accurate.

2.1.3.3. Blending

The Characteristics and Translation of English

Blending is a variant of compounding, omitting the latter part of the first word and clipping off the first of the second word(刘宓庆, 1998: 377). The translation method of transplant can be used in this case. e.g.

Contrail=condensation+ trail

Smog= smoke+ fog

Telex= teleprinter+ exchange

Medicare= medical+ care

Gravisphere= gravity+ sphere

In many compounding words, either the first part or the second part of the overlapped word could be a full monosyllabic word or disyllabic word. E.g.: Zincode= zine+ platicode

Escalift= escalator+ lift

Copytron= copy+ electron

Generally speaking, this blending of words possesses the combined meaning of both; therefore, literal translation is used in translating such terms, with one element modifying the other.

Blended words are used more commonly in the EST than in other language texts. People with a professional knowledge of science think that it is easy to understand the meaning of the original word by imagination. E.g.: biorhythm is compounded with biological and rhythm, and it means 生理节奏, etc.

Blending, in a way, can be considered as another form of compounding. 一般采用“偏-正”式E.g.: 自动 (“偏”-修饰语) 电梯（“正”-中心词）

2.1.3.4. Acronym

An acronym is a word made up from the first letters of the name of something. Since it is very convenient to use this brief form, acronyms arewidely adopted in English technical terms. With the rapid development of science and technology, more and more acronyms are extensively used in various fields; therefore, it is up to the translator to discern their actual meaning in different context.

AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome 艾滋病

The Characteristics and Translation of English

WTO World Wide Trade Organization 世界贸易组织 CDMA Code Division Multiple Access 码分多址

CIA Central Intelligence Agency 美国中央情报局 Besides, t above ways of word-building, there are some other ways to form technical terms in English, such as clipping, borrowing, back-formation, coinage, functional shift and so on. In whatever circumstances, the discrimination of the original meaning and the contextual analysis are of vital important. Only we can an accurate understanding of them, can we put them into Chinese exactly as they actually mean.

2.1.3.5. Proper Noun

Many of the technical terms in English are borrowed from proper nouns such as names of people, places, firms, trade marks, organizations, and so on. In such cases, consulting relevant dictionary will be of great help. Transliteration is usually adopted in dealing with such terms, and at the same time, labels that indicate the nature of such words are added to the corresponding translation.

John F. Kennedy 约翰·F·肯尼迪

Bill Clinton 比尔·克林顿

IBM System IBM 系统

Washington 华盛顿

Vietnam 越南

2.2. General Use of Nominalization

2.2.1. Nominalization

A nominalization is a noun phrase that has a systematic correspondence with a clausal predication, which includes a head noun morphologically related to a corresponding verb.

English is static, and nouns are frequently used to replace verbs, while Chinese is dynamic, using more verbs in a single sentence. As a comprehensive language with abundant variety in morphology, English has many strict rules for the predicative verb to restrict its variety. For example, one sentence is permitted to have only one predicative verb. So many nouns in English are changed from verbs. By this, nominalization came to be used commonly.

The Characteristics and Translation of English

2.2.2. Nominalization in EST

Compared with general English, noun phrases are more frequently used in EST. When expounding the EST, (加夹注！！) points out that the nominalization is one of the characteristics of the EST. The EST should have a simple and direct style of writing, very objective ideas, accurate contents, and plenty of information and facts. This is because scientific literature contains more abstract concepts such as definitions, principles, laws, conclusions, etc., and manifold modification and restriction are required to elaborate these concepts or ideas. As the semantic meaning of a noun phrase that consists of several words is usually complicated, the translation should go beyond the surface structure.

2.2.3. Translation of Normalization in EST

Expressing much accurately in few words is very important in translating the EST. In the original, nominalization is used to simplify the structure of the sentence. Different methods of translation will be adopted in different situations For examples. ◆Archimeds first discovered the principle of displacement of water by solid bodies.

“Of displacement of water by solid bodies” is the nominalization of this sentence. This not only simplifies the appositive sentence, but also stresses the fact of displacement. In Chinese version, this noun phrase should also be translate in noun form“固体排水原理” to make a short sentence.

◆If you use firebricks round the walls of the boiler, the heat loss can be considerably reduced. 炉壁采用耐火砖可大大降低热耗。

The EST explains the laws of nature. The translator should avoid using the first person or the second person in Chinese version and put the topic information in the head of sentence.

◆The rotation of the earth on its own axis causes the change from day to night. “The rotation of the earth on its own axis” is the nominalization of this

The Characteristics and Translation of English

sentence. We translate the noun “rotation” into the verbs “自转” in Chinese. Thus we use two verbs in Chinese sentence to makes the complex sentence simple, clear and close.

地球绕轴自转，引起昼夜的变化。

Going with the nominalization of verbs, the prepositions are also used frequently in EST in form of “Verb+ Object+ Prep” or “Prep. + Object+ Prep.”

1) Verb+ Object+ Prep

make use of（利用）, pay attention to（注意）, Obtain support from（得到支持）, Keep watch over（密切注视）, Make a claim to（主张）, have a look at, give no evidence of（不足以说明）, take warning from（从中引以为戒）

From these phrases, the meanings of Chinese verbs all come from nouns, which are objects in the originals. The verbs in originals are called “Empty Verbs”(空心动词), including have, get, make, do, take, etc. Their function in syntax is more important than their thematic function(主题功能). In English-Chinese translation, we should pay more attention to the noun in the originals to prosing to Chinese concept.

2) Prep. + Object+ Prep

Preposition is very active and it can express the meaning of verbs together with nouns. In this form of nominalization, the “Empty Verbs” are replaced by a preposition. E.g.: with a view to (根据), in accordance with (依照), for lack of (缺少), in proportion to (成比例), on account of (基于…原因), by means of (凭借), at the expense of (由…负担). For this form, we should focus on nouns after the first preposition and convert the nouns to Chinese accordingly.

2.3. Extensive Use of the Passive Voice

The passive voice is used when focusing on the person or thing affected by an action in EST. It is often used in EST where the object of the action is more important than those who perform the action. For Example:

We have produced over 20 different models in the past two years.

Changes to:

Over 20 different models have been produced in the past two years.

(Although these two sentences have the same meaning, they differ in word order

The Characteristics and Translation of English

and thus should be used in different context. The second one that emphasizes the “action” but not the “actor”, is better for EST.)

In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence is neither a do-er nor be-er, but is acted upon by some other agent or by something unnamed. If the agent (the performer of the action) is important, use "by" For Example: Tim Wilson wrote "The Flight to Brunswick" in 1987. Tim Wilson wrote changes to:” The Flight to Brunswick in 1987. ment.edu\gramma\subject.htm

The passive voice is especially helpful (and even regarded as mandatory) in EST such as scientific or technical writing or lab reports, where the actor is not really important but the process or principle being described is of ultimate importance. Science and technology documents put emphasize on recounting and reasoning. The readers pay their attention on the ideas and contents in the texts. In order to achieve objectivity, the passive voice is widely used in EST. In accordance with the different language situation, the passive sentence can be translated flexibly into the active form or just be kept in passive form. In Chinese, the passive voice usually is expressed by “把” and “被”. The passive voice in Chinese is less commonly wider used in comparison with the English on account of the flexible syntax of the Chinese language. Therefore, when dealing with English-Chinese translation, we should avoid sticking to the original pattern, and try to convert the passive voice into various “active” patterns.

2.3.1. Change to Active Voice in Chinese Version

2.3.1.1. The Original Subject Unchanged

There are much more Chinese verbs with the passive voice than those in English. So the passive voice is used more extensively in English. Sometimes, in English-Chinese translation of EST, the Chinese verbs can express the passive voice without using the passive structure and the subject of the original sentence will be unchanged in Chinese version. E.g.:

(1) Official from the national aeronautics and space administration said 300 researchers in industry; government and education would use the

The Characteristics and Translation of English

system. 美国宇航局官员说，工业、政府和教育部门的300名研究人员将获准使用这个系统。 蓝色81页

(2) The world health organization estimates that 1.7 billion people Mycobacterium tuberculosis. 世界卫生组织估计有17亿人肺结核。

(3) The basic theory of the traditional Chinese medicine the theory of yin and yang theory of the five elements. 中医的基本理论阴阳五行学说。机器，73页

2.3.1.2. Changing Original Subject into Object

In some cases, the passive sentences should be changed into the active voice in Chinese version to make it readable in Chinese. The subject of the original sentence is changed to the object in the translated text. The agent (the performer of the action), prepositional phrase as adverbial modifier and other phrases in the original sentence will be translated into the subject accordingly. E.g.: of 200 Belgian and French lives.

大战结束时, 这个组织拯救了八百人, 但那是以二百多比利时人和法国人的生命为代价的。

(2) 化学用符号代表元素。

2.3.1.3. Adding a Proper Subject to Make the Chinese Version Smooth

Some Chinese verbs cannot be properly used in the passive voice. In this case, the subject of the original sentence is changed to the object of the translated sentence with added subject. E.g.

(1) The full meaning of cloning will (“Be felt” cannot be translated directly as “被尝到” in Chinese. Translating this kind of sentence, we should add a new subject “我们” in Chinese version according with the context. The translation should be”们才会彻底明白其价值所在.”)

(2) New computer viruses and logic bombs every week.

The Characteristics and Translation of English

每个星期，我们都能发现新型计算机病毒和逻辑炸弹。

(3) Gases frequently as compressible, liquid as incompressible. 人们通常认为气体是可以压缩的，而其体则不可以压缩。

2.3.2. The Passive Structure Converted Into the Sentence with No Subject

The original subject is changed to the object in the translated version. and there is no subject in the translated sentence. E.g.:

1) Great efforts should be made to inform young people especially the dreadful consequences of taking up the habit.

This sentence aims at the fact of making good efforts to inform young people of the dreadful consequences of taking up the habit. In translation, we can remove the subject to emphasize this important information.

应该尽最大努力告诫年轻人吸烟的危害, 特别是吸上烟瘾后的可怕后果。 Many strange new means of transport have been developed in our century,

the strangest of them being perhaps the hovercraft.

在我们这个世纪内研制了许多新奇的交通工具, 其中最奇特的也许就是气垫 船了。

2.3.3. The Passive Structure Remaining Unchanged

In this conversion, there are two circumstances:

First, in order to emphases the original passive meaning, the original passive sentence will keep its passive voice in Chinese version. We should add some words which carry passive meaning, such as “被” “受” “得到” “以” “加以” “予以” “为…所…” and so on. E.g.:

The discovery is highly appreciated in the circle of science. 这一发现在科学界得到很高的评价。

The finished products must be carefully inspected before delivery. 成品在出厂前必须予以仔细检查。

Second, the subject together with the predicate is translated into the subject of the translated text. E.g.

Attention must be paid to environmental protection in developing economy.

The Characteristics and Translation of English

发展经济必须注意保护环境。(冯梅，2000：77)

2.3.4. Sentence in form of “It … that…”

This is particular sentence structure used commonly in EST, which became the remarkable characteristic in the comparison with other kinds of English languages. It can be foreseen that… (可以预料出…), it cannot be denied that…(不可否认…). This kind of sentence could be translated into无人称或不定人称active sentence. E.g.

It is evident that a well-lubricated bearing turns more easily than a dry one. 显然，润滑好的轴承，比不润滑的轴承容易转动。

It seems that these two branches of science are mutually dependent and interacting. 看来这两个科学分支是相互依存，相互作用的。

2.4. The Long and Complicated Sentences

2.4.1. Extensive Use of Long and Complicated Sentence in EST

When dealing with the complex concepts, the long and complicated sentences are used more frequently in EST than the general English. This is decided on the characteristics of EST. Because, the EST’s target is to state a logic and describe an process. The definition, laws, theorems, concepts or the techniques in EST must be accurate and precise. So the sentence in EST has many modifiers, qualifiers and additional elements. This makes the sentence long and complicated. Sometimes, a sentence could be as long as a paragraph. Extensively using long and complicate is a remarkable feature of EST. The long sentence in EST is complicated and hard to read and understand. Translating long and complicated sentence is perhaps the most difficult in English-Chinese translation. The prerequisites for correct handling of long and complicated sentences in English-chinese translation lie in the correct comprehension of the logic and structure of the original sentences. The usual method adopted in translation is cutting the sentence into several short and simple sentences. We should recognize the ideas and the layers of the structure of the original sentences. Then we reset the elements of the sentence in Chinese version to make sure it is up to Chinese expressive way. (《英汉科技翻译》，冯梅、刘荣强 编著，哈尔滨工业大学出版社，机器翻译技术丛书，2000年 蒂119页)

The method normally employed for free electronics to be produced in electron

The Characteristics and Translation of English

tubes is thermionic emission, in which advantage is taken of the fact that, if a solid body is heated sufficiently, some of the electrons that it contains will escape from its surface.

[Original Version] 固体加热到足够温度时，它所含的电子就会有一部分离开固体表面飞逸到周围的空气中去，这种现象称热离子放射；通常，电子管就利用这种现象产生自由电子。

[Analysis] The original text was not to show what the thermionic emission is. It was not giving a definition but a concept. Describing a concept includes giving the definition and the examples. And the examples are generally expressed by conditional clauses. It is hard to express the original meanings in only one sentence in Chinese. We should make clear the layers of the original sentence and convey different information by several sentences in Chinese. The sentences about definition should be translated first, and then the examples. In this way, the Chinese version express the original meanings faithfully and could keep the style of the original sentence either.

[Revised Version] 在电子管中产生自由电子，其通常采用的方法是热离子发射，即利用这样一种现象：固体热锅热到足够的温度时，有些离子就会从固体表面逸出，而逃到周围空间去。

2.4.2. Translation of Long and Complicated Sentence in EST

In the process of translating long and complicated sentences, the first step is to have an extensive reading about the whole text to understand the structure and the general idea of the text. And then analysis the syntax and make sure of the relationship between the clauses to get a complete understanding of the whole sentence. At last, we translate the long and complicated sentence into a correct, accurate and readable Chinese sentence. There are three main methods about the translation of long and complicated sentence in EST: 顺序法，reversing and splitting分句译法.

1) 顺序法

If the narrative layers of long sentence are in sequence and close to Chinese, we can translate the original sentence in sequence. On the basis of the different circumstances, we can add or omit some connectives. For example:

In the course of designing a structure, you have to take into consideration what

The Characteristics and Translation of English

kind of load to above mentioned structure would be subjected, where on the structure the said load will do, what is expected or applied by degrees.

在设计建筑物时，必须考虑到建筑物将承受什么样的荷载，在建筑物的什么地方荷载将起作用，以及这荷载是徒然是假的，还是逐渐施加的。

2) Reversing

If the structure of the long sentence is contrary to Chinese version, we should translate the original sentence in contrary sequence. In most situations, the English sentence structures are contrary to the Chinese sentences. So the reversing is used more frequently in the translation of EST. We can see that from the example of 2.4.1.

3) Splitting

Between principle clause and subordinate clause or between the words modified by preposition phrases or participial phrases, the connections are not so tight sometimes. And these elements may have their own meanings respectively. We can split the long and complicated sentence into several units and recast these units in Chinese thought pattern and expressive manner. We can see this from the example of 2.4.1.

2.5. More Non-Finite Forms of Verbs

The non-finite forms of a verb have no tense, person or singular \ plural. The infinitive and present and past participles are the non-finite parts of a verb; to do; doing; done. As a mentioned before, EST requires simple and clear expression and close structure. http://www. \glossary.html So EST frequently uses non-finite forms of verbs instead of attributive clauses and adverbial clause, using 分词独立结构instead of adverbial and parataxis clauses, using infinitive phrases instead of kinds of clauses or using pronoun + verb-ing forms instead of attributive clauses and adverbial clause. These make the sentence short and striking. E.g.

Today the electronic computer is widely used in solving mathematical problems having to do with weather forecasting and putting satellite into orbit.

Numerical control machines are most useful when quantities of products to be produced are low or medium; the tape containing the information required to produce the part can be stored, reused, or modified when required

Translating this non-finite of verbs, we can use translation methods referred above,

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