A Functional Discourse Analysis of Chinese Classical Poems and Its Translated Versions

古诗英译文的功能语篇分析A Functional Discourse Analysis of Chinese Classical Poems and Its Translated VersionsContentsAbstract .1Key Words.1I Introduction1II Functional Discourse Analysis32.1 The Theoretical Basis of Functional Discourse Analysis.32.2 The Aim of Functional Discourse Analysis42.3 The Scope of Functional Discourse Analysis.52.3.1 Context of Situation.52.3.2 Context of Culture.52.3.3 Language52.3.3.1 Ideational Function.52.3.3.2 Interpersonal Function.62.3.3.3 Textual Function.62.3.4 Text or Discourse7III Functional Discourse Analysis Approach to Translation Studies.8IV Functional Discourse Analysis Applied in Translation Studies of Chinese Classical Poems.94.1 The Brief Review of Studies on Translation of Chinese Classical Poems within Functional Discourse Analysis Framework.104.2 A Functional Discourse Analysis of a Tang Poem Feng Qiao Ye Bo and Its Translated Versions.114.2.1 Situational System Analysis of Feng Qiao Ye Bo and Its Translated Versions.114.2.2 Experiential Functional Analysis of Feng Qiao Ye Bo and Its Translated Versions.124.2.3 Logico-semantic Relation Analysis of Feng Qiao Ye Bo and Its Translated Versions.144.2.4 Cohesion and Coherence of Feng Qiao Ye Bo and Its Translated Versions.154.2.5 Thematic Structure and Information Focus of Feng Qiao Ye Bo and Its Translated Versions.164.3 Advantages and Problems of Functional Discourse Analysis applied in the Translation Quality Analysis and Evaluation of Chinese Classical Poems and Its Version.18V Conclusion.19Appendix.19References.20A Functional Discourse Analysis of Chinese Classical Poems and Its Translated Versions摘要： 运用功能语言学原理对中国古典诗词及其英译文进行功能语篇分析是汉诗英译研究的新尝试，这一研究始于黄国文教授。本文首先对功能语篇分析的理论基础韩礼德的系统功能语法做一简要介绍，接着对功能语篇分析在翻译中的应用进行了可行性探讨，然后论述功能语篇分析在古典诗词英译研究中的应用。在论述中，首先回顾了这方面的研究成果，接着对张继的枫桥夜泊及其英译文进行功能语篇分析以进一步验证其在古典诗词英译研究中的可行性，最后讨论了这一研究方法的优势和存在的问题，以期得出古诗词英译文评价的新模式。关键词： 系统功能语法 功能语篇分析 翻译研究 古诗英译 翻译质量评估Abstract: This paper is an introduction and attempt of Functional Discourse Analysis (FDA) applied in translation studies of Chinese classical poems, which starts from Professor Huang Guowen, and is different from a traditional one. Firstly, the definition, aim and scope of FDA are introduced, and then the FDA approach to translation studies is discussed. The FDA applied in translation studies of Chinese classical poems is the following, in which its study fruits are briefly reviewed and a Tang poem Feng Qiao Ye Bo by Zhang Ji and its translated versions are analysed within the FDA framework to test its applicability to translation studies of Chinese classical poems. Finally the advantage and problem of FDA applied in translation studies of Chinese classical poems are discussed. It is hoped that the present study will provide a good insight into the translation studies, and the applicability of FDA to translation studies will be well tested.Key Words: systemic functional grammar; functional discourse analysis; translation studies; classical poetry translation; translation quality assessment I IntroductionAs a new discipline in academic terms, translation is just starting to feather as a subject of study in its own right. Like other new subject, it needs to draw on the findings and theories of other related disciplines in order to develop and formalize its own methods (Zhang Feifang, 2001). Linguistics has a great deal to offer to the budding discipline of translation studies as it is a discipline which studies language both in its own right and as a tool for communication. This is particularly true of Functional Linguistics, which no longer restricts itself to the study of language as a system of structures, but rather extends itself to the study of language in use and relates to the world around. “It is pointed out that one of the major aims of Hallidayan linguistics (Functional Linguistics) is to construct a grammar for purpose of discourse analysis” (Huang Guowen, 2001a). Hence Functional Discourse Analysis (FDA), whose theoretical basis is Hallidays Systemic Functional Grammar, can be applied in translation studies as a scientific approach. Studies on translation of Chinese classical poems, especially its translation quality analysis and evaluation, havent had a scientific model or method now. Many scholars in China have showed sound judgment of English translations of Chinese classical poems, however many of them discuss the problems only from the perspective of literary criticism, some of which are subjective and random. Professor Luo Xuanmin points out that we scholars in China are still unable to evaluate translations in a very scientific way (Harry J. Hang, 2004). Hallidays Systemic Functional Linguistics has extensively been applied to the analysis of discourses of different types; however, in the literature to date, there are few studies on translation of poems within Hallidyan framework. The approach of FDA of Chinese classical poems is a functional one, which is different from those in the literature to date. This study is first suggested by Professor Huang Guowen, a functional linguist in School of Foreign Languages, Sun Yat-sen University. And other scholars in China have also written many papers to discuss this issue, e.g. Ding Jianjiang (2004), Yang Rufu (2004), Zhou Lan (2004). Professor Huang has written many papers (2002a; 2002b; 2002c; 2002d; 2002e; 2003a; 2003b) to study Chinese classical poems and its translated versions from the perspective of FDA based on Systemic Functional Linguistics with two underlying purposes: 1) to show how a functional analysis can provide insight to the study of translation, and 2) to test the applicability of Systemic Functional Linguistics in discourse analysis and translation studies (Huang Guowen, 2002c). Huang has attempted to study different translated texts of Du Mus poem Qing Ming from the perspective of Interpersonal Metafunction (2002b), Experiential Metafunction (2002c), Logical Metafunction (2002d), Textual Metafunction (2002e) within Systemic Functional Linguistics. He has also made a FDA of eight translated versions of Jia Daos poem Xun Yin Zhe Bu Yu (An Unsuccessful Visit to An Absent Recluse) (2002a), and discussed the importance of formal equivalence in poetry translation through the analysis of Ma Zhiyuans qu poem Tian Jing Sha Qiu Si (Autumn Thoughts) and three of its English translations from a Functional Linguistic perspective (2003b). These studies give us a new perspective to the translation quality analysis and evaluation of Chinese classical poems, and can help us find out and resolve the problems we meet in translating Chinese classical poems and appreciate the poems and its translations better. In this paper, Systemic Functional Grammar, the theoretical basis of FDA, is firstly introduced, and FDA approach to translation studies and its applicability of translation studies of Chinese classical poems is then discussed. After briefly reviewing its study fruits, a Tang poem Feng Qiao Ye Bo by Zhang Ji and its translated versions are analysed within the FDA framework to test its applicability to translation studies of Chinese classical poems. Finally the advantage and problem of FDA applied in translation studies of Chinese classical poems are discussed. It is hoped that the present study will provide a good insight into the translation studies and the applicability of FDA to translation studies will be well tested.II Functional Discourse Analysis The term Discourse Analysis was first suggested by American structuralist Zelling Harris in 1952 (Huang Guowen, 2001a). From then on, many scholars have offered a lot of new viewpoints and different methods of discourse analysis with great efforts, which make a contribution to the research of linguistic theories and language teaching. Now discourse analysis has become a special knowledge to study the use of language, which has related to many disciplines, such as linguistics, psychology, sociology, literature etc. Nevertheless, by far, discourse analysis hasnt belonged to a formed discipline for the lack of a single theory as its guide and the acknowledged analytical approaches (Huang Guowen, 1988:7; 2001b:50) and still has a long way to go (Hu Zhuanglin, 1998). The Discourse Analysis, whose theoretical basis is Hallidays Systemic Functional Grammar, is known as Functional Discourse Analysis. It tends to construct a grammar for purposes of discourse analysis. Here we will describe its theoretical basis, outline its aim and scope, and discuss its analytical approaches. 2.1 The Theoretical Basis of Functional Discourse Analysis M.A.K.Hallidays Systemic Functional Grammar is the theoretical basis of Functional Discourse Analysis, and it is one of the most influential linguistic theories in the twentieth century, having great effect on various disciplines related to language, such as language teaching, sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, stylistics, and machine translation.Systemic Functional Grammar has two components: Systemic Grammar and Functional Grammar. They are two inseparable parts for an integral framework of linguistic theory. In systemic grammar, the whole of language is conceived as a system of systems. Systemic grammar is concerned with establishing a network of systems of relationships, which accounts for all the semantically relevant choices in the language as a whole. It aims to explain the internal relations in language as a system network, or meaning potential. And this network consists of subsystems from which language users make choices. When meaning is expressed, people are intentionally making choices in the system network. On this basis, choice is meaning. In English, we make choices between different types of process, participants and circumstances. They are known collectively as the transitivity choices. We can divide the choices into the following kinds: Material Process, Behavioral Process, Mental Process, Verbal Process, Relational Process, and Existential Process. Halliday interprets language development from a functional point of view and formulates a functional theory of language. He believes that language is what it is because it has to serve certain function. In other words, social demand on language has helped to shape its structure. According to Halliday, language can be reduced to a set of highly coded and abstract functions, which are metafunctions: the ideational, the interpersonal, and the textual functions. These metafunctions appear at a new level in the linguistic system, taking the form of grammar. (Hu Zhuanglin, 2001: 410 - 423).2.2 The Aim of Functional Discourse Analysis Some discourse analysts believe that discourse analysis is an Interpretive Activity for its aim is to help the reader understood what a text (or a writer) has expressed. In opposition to this, FDA is an Explanatory Activity, which tends to explain how a text can express such a meaning. Halliday and Hasan (1976:327) point out that the aim of discourse analysis is not interpretation but explanation, not to find out what is expressed but how it does express. However, explanatory activity includes interpretive activity because when we tend to explain how a text is expressed, we must make clearly what it expresses, so explanatory activity is at a higher level than interpretive activity. FDA is an explanatory activity and its aim is to make an evaluation on a text in order to find whether it is proper and useful in the communication. To evaluate whether a choice of a form of language is proper in certain context, we should consider several factors: Context of Culture, Context of Situation and Language, which are known as the scope of FDA. 2.3 The Scope of Functional Discourse Analysis We can discuss the scope of discourse analysis from the three aspects from a Systemic Functional Grammar perspective: Context of Culture, Context of Situation and Language. 2.3.1 Context of SituationThe factors like time, place, content of conversation, and relation between speakers related to communicational meaning are Immediate Context, which is called Context of Situation in Systemic Functional Grammar. According to Halliday and Hasan (1985), Context of Situation consists of three variables: Field, Tenor and Mode, which are called Register. “Register is defined by Halliday as variation according to use: that is, we typically use certain recognizable configurations of linguistic resources in certain contexts. There are three main dimensions of variation which characterize any register: what is being talked about (this is called the field); the people involved in the communication and the relationship between them (the tenor); and how the language is functioning in the interaction, e.g. whether it is written or spoken (the mode)” (Thompson, 2000: 36). 2.3.2 Context of CultureLanguage is a social phenomena and the reflection of social activity. Each language group has its own history, culture, custom, mode of thinking, ethical criteria and values. These factors that reflect the language group construct Context of Culture. Simply speaking, Context of Culture refers to all the meanings that a text can express in certain society and culture, including communication aim, process, form, content, etc. Context of culture is reflected by Genre and Genre is decided by communication aim for it is a dynamic and developing social process.“Genre, in very simple terms, can be seen as register plus purpose. That is, it includes the more general idea of what the interactants are doing through language, and how they organize the language event in order to achieve that purpose” (Thompson, 2000: 36) Context of Situation and Context of Culture constructs Situational System.2.3.3 LanguageAccording to Halliday (2000), language has three metafuncrions: the Ideational, the Interpersonal, and the Textual functions. 2.3.3.1 Ideational FunctionThe Ideational Function is to convey new information, to communicate a content that is unknown to the hearer. Present in all language uses, the ideational function is a meaning potential, because whatever specific use one is making of language he has to refer to categories of his experience of the world (Hu Zhanglin, 2001:415). Ideational Function consists of Experiential Function and Logical Function.The Experiential Function includes three subsystems: Transitivity System, Voice System, and Polarity. Among them, Transitivity is the most important one. The whole of the transitivity system is a part of the ideational component. “Transitivity is a simply the grammar of the clause in its ideational aspect. It consists of six different processes: Material Process, Behavioral Process, Mental Process, Verbal Process, Relational Process, and Existential Process” (Hu Zhanglin, 2001: 416). Material Processes are those in which something is done. These processes are expressed by an action verb, an Actor (logical subject), and the Goal of the action (logical direct subject, usually a noun or a pronoun). Behavioral Processes refer to physiological and psychological behavior such as breathing, coughing, smiling, dreaming, etc. Mental Processes express such mental phenomena as “perception” (see, look), “reaction” (like, please) and “cognition” (know, believe, convince). A mental process involves two participants, Senser and phenomenon. Verbal Processes are those of exchanging information. Commonly used verbs are say, tell, talk, praise, describe, etc. Relational Processes can be classified into two types: Attributive and Identifying. The former expresses what attributes a certain object has, or what type it belongs to, for example, Sara is wise. The later expresses the identical properties of two entities, for example, Tom is the leader; the leader is Yom. Existential Processes represent that something exists or happens. In every Existential Process, there is an Existent (Hu Zhuanglin, 2001: 416-417).The Logical Function concerns the relationship between clauses, and it consists of Logical Dependency Relations and Logico-Semantic Relations and is often discussed in Textual Function.2.3.3.2 Interpersonal FunctionThe Interpersonal Function embodies all uses of language to express social and personal relations. This includes the various ways the speaker enters a speech situation and performs a speech act. Interpersonal function is realized by Mood and Modality. Mood shows what role the speaker selects in the speech situation and what role he assigns to the addressee (Hu Zhuanglin, 2001: 418).2.3.3.3 Textual Function The Textual Function refers to the fact that language has mechanisms to make any stretch of spoken or written discourse into a coherent and unified text and make a living passage different from a random list of sentences. And it fulfils the requirement that language should be operationally relevant, having texture in a real context of situation that distinguishes a living passage from a mere entry in a grammar or a dictionary (Hu Zhuanglin, 2001: 420). Textual function consists of Logical-Semantic Relation, Cohesion System, Thematic Structure and Informational System. 2.3.4 Text or DiscourseA text is a semantic unit appearing in a spoken or written form. It should be accordant with the communitional contexts (Context of Culture, Context of Situation) for it is a language unit using in social activities. So Context of Culture and Context of Situation are the components of text. On this basis, a text can be seen as a purposeful activity of language use, which is guided by interaction among form, function, and context within a verbal behavioral framework. And their relationships are: context decides form and form constructs context; form expresses function and function is realized by form (Si Xianzhu, 2005), see the following diagram: RealizeSituationForm(Wording)DecideFunction EmbodiedConstructText is a semantic unit and its meaning is realized by clause. Halliday believes that a clause is the simultaneous realization of ideational, interpersonal, and textual meanings. Take the sentence This house was built by John Smith for example:IdeationalMaterial ProcessAction/ passiveThis housewas builtby John SmithGoal/ AffectProcess:Material ActionActor: AgentAnimateInterpersonalDeclarativeMood ResidueSubjectPredicatorAdjunctTextualUnmarked ThemeThemeRhemeGivenNew(Hu Zhuanglin, 2001:421)III Functional Discourse Analysis Approach to Translation Studies Translation is a new discipline in academic terms, the establishment of Translation Studies as an independent discipline starts from its getting rid of the confinement of linguistics, but as an inter-discipline in nature, its further development is bound to draw heavily from the light that other related subjects, first and foremost, linguistics shed on. Hence, what Translation Studies has discarded is the narrow sense structural linguistic research model, and what it needs is the systemic-functional linguistic model- an integrated approach characteristic of the combination of linguistic and cultural analysis into one(Si Xianzhu, 2004a). It is