International Journal of Educational Innovation and Science, 2023, 4(1); doi: 10.38007/IJEIS.2023.040109.
Meiqi Xu, Ruozhu Peng and Yuhan Qiu
School of Foreign Languages, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, Sichuan, China
This paper is a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods that examines the linguistic features of the be-passive and their Chinese translation forms from three dimensions: formal, semantic, and pragmatic. The data is from the self-built English-Chinese parallel corpus of Conditions of Contract for EPC/Turnkey Projects. Our statistics show that the English be-passive constructions are translated into 11 Chinese translation forms, such as active sentence, notional sentence, and attributive construction. But only 10% of the be-passive are converted into Chinese passive sentence. Although the passive are common both in English and Chinese, it is hard to achieve an equivalent translation from English to Chinese due to the considerable differences in the formal, semantic, pragmatic, and other aspects. The result of this paper can be helpful in further understanding the essential differences between English and Chinese.
Be-passive, FIDIC, Corpus-based
Meiqi Xu, Ruozhu Peng and Yuhan Qiu. A Corpus-based Study on Chinese Translation of the Be-Passive in Conditions of Contract for EPC/Turnkey Projects . International Journal of Educational Innovation and Science (2023), Vol. 4, Issue 1: 109-117. https://doi.org/10.38007/IJEIS.2023.040109.
[1] Li, X. H. (1997). Analysis of the Translation of SUBJECT TO Phrase in FIDIC Conditions of Contract. Chinese Science & Technology Translators Journal, (01):28-30. DOI:10.16024/j.cnki.issn1002-0489.1997.01.010.
[2] Yu,T. & Liang, M. C. (2014) . A Multi-Dimensional Study of English Passive Structures. Foreign Language Education, 35(04):11-15. DOI:10.16362/j.cnki.cn61-1023/h.2014.04.020.
[3] Wang, K. F. & Liu, D. J. (2018). A Study on the Chinese Translations of English Passives: A Supper-Sized English-Chinese Parallel Corpus-Based Approach. Journal of Foreign Languages, 41(06):79-90.
[4] Fehringer C. (2022). The Get-Passive in Tyneside English:A Highly Frequent yet Constrained Variant. English World-Wide, 43(3), 330 - 356. https://doi.org/10.1075/eww.21039.feh
[5] Wang, H & Yao, Z. J. (2008). The Application of the Anaphora Distribution Rule in the Discourse Analysis of the FIDIC Conditions of Contract. Foreign Languages and Their Teaching, (04):21-25.
[6] Zhang, W. J. & Zhao, Z. J. (2011). The Translation of FIDIC Contract Terms and Conditions. Chinese Science & Technology Translators Journal, 24(02): 17-20. DOI:10.16024/j.cnki.issn1002-0489.2011.02.017.
[7] Kang, L. (2013). Linguistic Features of FIDIC Contract and Its Translation. Foreign Language Education, (00):160-169.
[8] Wang, L. F. & Wen, D. R. (2017). A Corpus Study on Semantic Categories and POS Distribution Patterns in Business English Contracts. Shandong Foreign Language Teaching, 38(02):12-20. DOI:10.16482/j.sdwy37-1026.2017-02-002.
[9] Yang, Y. Q. (2022). A Study of the Translation Strategies of English to Chinese Passive Voice in Engineering Contracts——Taking FIDIC as an Example. English Square, (16):20-22. DOI:10.16723/j.cnki.yygc.2022.16.001.
[10] Xiong, X. L. & Wang, Z. J.(2001). A Cognition-based Contrastive Study of English and Chinese Passives. Foreign Language Research, (03):1-6+112.DOI:10.16263/j.cnki.23-1071/h.2001.03.001.
[11] Liu, M. Q. (1998). Genre and Translation. Beijing: China Foreign Translation and Publishing Corporation.
[12] Weiner, E., & Labov, W. (1983). Constraints on the Agentless Passive. Journal of Linguistics, (1): 29-58.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022226700007441
[13] Quirk, R.,Greenbaum, S., Leech, G. and Svartvik, J. (1973). A grammar of Contemporary English(807-808). London: Longman.
[14] Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S. and Finegan, E. (1999). Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Harlow: Longman.
[15] Jespersen, O. (2006). Essentials of English Grammar. London: Routledge.
[16] Xiao, R., McEnery, T. and Qian, Y. (2006). Passive Constructions English and Chinese: A Corpus-Based Contrastive Study. Language in Contrast,(1):109-149. https://doi.org/10.1075/lic.6.1.05xia
[17] Lian, S. N. (2010). A Comparative Study of English and Chinese (Revised), Beijing: Higher Education Press.
[18] Han, J. (2013). Comparative Analysis of Legal Texts in the Context of Functional Linguistic. Shanghai: Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press.
[19] Liu, D. J. & Wang, K. F. (2020). The Translation of Passive Constructions from English to Chinese-A Multi-Variate Study Based on Big Data. Technology Enhanced Foreign Language Education, (01):45-52+7.