Practical Chinese-to-English Techniques: Starting with Amplification

Translation certainly demands solid fundamentals — but it also has techniques, and Chinese-to-English is no exception. The common toolkit: amplification, omission, repetition, conversion, word-order adjustment, sentence division and combination, affirmative-negative switching, and voice change. This article starts with amplification.

Amplification

Amplification means adding words, phrases or sentences in translation to express the source meaning more accurately, in line with the different thinking patterns, habits and expressions of the two languages. It is mostly used in Chinese-to-English translation.

Chinese has many subject-less sentences, while English sentences generally require a subject. Apart from the few cases where an English subject-less construction, passive voice or "There be…" structure works, the subject must usually be supplied from context to complete the sentence.

English uses pronouns far more frequently: when referring to body parts or things belonging to someone, a possessive pronoun is obligatory. So C-E translation often adds possessive pronouns — and E-C translation trims them as needed.

English marks logical relations between words, phrases and sentences with connectives; Chinese usually signals them through context and word order. C-E translation therefore often adds connectives — and English cannot do without prepositions and articles. Also watch for words implied but unstated in the Chinese source, plus generalizing or explanatory additions, to keep the translation complete.

In short, amplification serves two purposes: grammatical completeness and clarity of meaning.

Example 1: 读史使人明智，读诗使人灵秀，数学使人周密，科学使人深刻，伦理使人庄重，逻辑修辞之学使人善辩。
Histories make men wise; poets witty; the mathematics subtle; natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend.

Example 2: 没有调查研究就没有发言权。
He who makes no investigation and study has no right to speak.