The 5th Climax of Translational Activities — under the Background of M

ultilingualism in the Digital Age

Outline

1.the 5th C limax of Translation in China

2.Multilingualism

3.the D igital A ge

1.the 5th C limax of Translation in China

1.1 A brief history of translation in China: 5 stages

1.2 Brief History of Western Translation

1.3 Comparison between the 5th Translation Climax in China and the 6th Translation Climax in the West

1.1A brief history of translation in China: 5 stages

1>Translation of the Buddhist scriptures (From the Eastern Han Dynasty to Song Dynasty)2>Science and technology translation (From the end of the Ming Dynasty to the beginning of the Qing Dynasty)3>Western learning translation (From The Opium War to the May Fourth Movement of 1919)4>Chinese translation of Marxist works and English translation of Selected Works of Mao Zedong (1949-1966) & literary translation (1919-1966)5>Translation of western academic and literature works (1976- )

1.2Brief History of Western Translation

第一次翻译活动高潮罗马文学三大鼻祖之一的安德罗尼柯于公元前3 世纪翻译的拉丁文版《奥德赛》被视为西方翻译史上最早的译作，其后的一些大文学家们也都开始尝试用拉丁语翻译或改写希腊戏剧作品，从而掀起了西方历史上。这一阶段的翻译活动将古希腊文学介绍到罗马，促进了罗马文学的诞生和发展。第二次高潮出现在罗马帝国后期。此时圣 · 哲罗姆翻译的《通俗拉丁文本圣经》成为定本，标志着《圣经》翻译取得了与世俗文学翻译同样重要的地位。第三次高潮出现在 11 － 12 世纪。此时，西方世界出现了大规模的翻译活动。西方翻译家把大批阿拉伯语作品译成拉丁语，在翻译史上留下了重要的一页。

1.2Brief History of Western Translation

第四次高潮发生在文艺复兴时代晚期。这时候，除了宗教之外，翻译活动已经深入到思想、政治、文化等各个方面，同时也涌现出一批优秀的翻译家和译作。其中英王詹姆士一世 1611 年命人翻译的英文钦定本《圣经》则标志着英国翻译的一次飞跃。这部译着至今仍被奉为英语语言的经典之作，对英语语言和英国文学的发展产生了巨大的影响。第五次高潮是在 17 － 20 世纪。这一时期的翻译比文艺复兴时期稍为逊色，但仍有大批西方文学名著被翻译出来，此时东方的一些优秀文学作品也开始被译成各国文字。第六次高潮开始于二战时期，一直延续至今。二战以来，世界经济获得了巨大的发展，科技领域也取得了前所未有的成果，翻译的范围随之大大扩展，科技和商业翻译日趋成熟。各种国内、国际翻译协会和团体的组建，为集中翻译力量多出翻译精品打下坚实的基础。更重要的是，随着计算机的出现，人们对机器翻译的研究也已正式提上议事日程。虽然目前计算机翻译的质量远远不如人工翻译，但其速度却是人类无法比拟的，这无疑对人工翻译提出了严峻的挑战。在未来的世纪里计算机到底能不能代替人脑还是个谜。

1.3Comparison between the 5th Translation Climax in China and the 6th Translation Climax in the West

The Root Cause:

①the rapid development of world economy

②the advancement of science and technolog

y

③more and more inter-cultural exchanges

2.1Definition

>Multilingualism is the act of using polyglotism, or using multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers.

>Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population.

2.1Definition

Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of globalization and cultural openness. Owing to the ease of access to information facilitated by the Internet, individuals' exposure to multiple languages is becoming increasingly frequent, thereby promoting a need to acquire additional languages. People who speak several languages are also called polyglots.

3.The Digital Age

3.1Definition

3.2The Four Digital Divides

3.3Translation in the Digital Age

3.1Definition:

The Digital Age, also commonly known as the Computer Age or Information Age, is a period in human history characterized by the shift from traditional industry that the industrial revolution brought through industrialization, to an economy based on the manipulation of information, i.e., an information society.

The onset of the Digital Age is associated with Digital Revolution, just as the Industrial Revolution marked the onset of the Industrial Age.

During the information age individuals gained the ability to transfer information freely, and to have instant access to information that would have been difficult or impossible to find previously.

3.1Definition:

In the last decades, the world has begun to undergo a new technologically-driven revolution, allegedly leading toward what is commonly called “the Digital Age.” Impelled by the phenomenal proliferation of computers and information devices, this Information Age already is a reality to millions in all countries of the world.

To be sure, this revolution is part of the long-term development of electronic communication technologies that includes four digital divides.

3.1Definition:

> In the 19th century: the telegraph and the telephone.

>In the mid-20th: broadcast media like radio and television.

> More recently: networks like Ernet in India and Ethernet in the U.S.

> In the last two decades: an explosive and unprecedented growth in those commonli called "information and communication technologies (ICTs)".

3.2The Four Digital Divides

The revolution has been as dramatic, rapid, and far-reaching as the agricultural revolution and the first industrial revolution. What is remarkable about the current ‘information technology’ revolution is the extraordinary rapidity of change it brings. For example, it took at least a century before the printing press touched 50 million individuals. It took 38 years for radio to reach the same number, and 13 years for television.

But the World Wide Web, in only 4 years, exceeded the 50,000,000 mark. Never before has a communications revolution spread so rapidly.

3.2The Four Digital Divides

3.3Translation in the Digital Age

3.3.1Great changes brought to translators’ work:

· a. Translators are feeling the long-term changes brought by the information age.

b. Acceleration of available information c. The increase in inter-cultural encounters d. The continuing virtualization of private and

business life.• As a knowledge-based activity, translation requires new strategies and a paradigm shift in methodology.

3.3.2The need for electronic tools

A. GlobalizationB. The growing demand for translationC. Digitization, automation and their impact on the translation marketD. The influence of specialization and diversification on the translatorE. The impact of ICT on translation

3.3.3Tele-translation

This concept is based on the assumption that translators can communicate with clients across the globe; they can compete for orders regardless of their location. A sophisticated IT infrastructure is a competitive advantage in terms of client acquisition. Quick access to relevant and reliable online and offline data has become a key issue in the retrieval of encyclopedic and linguistic information necessary for translation tasks.

3.3.4Typologies of electronic translation tools

A. Melby’s translator workstation

B. From HT to FAHQT—Dimensions of transla

tion automation

3.3.5A. Melby’s translator workstation

Level one: text processing , Telecommunic

ations Software, Terminology Managemen

t Systems

Level Two: translation memory systems

Level Three: machine translation

3.3.6B. From HT to FAHQT—Dimensions of translation automation

>MT, CAT, HT,HAMT,FAHQMT

> Human and Machine translation

> Human involvement

>mechanization

Fully Automatic High Quality Machine Translation

Human-Aided Machine Translation

Machine-Aided Human Translation

Human Translation

Computer –Assisted Translation

3.3.6New approach

• Regard the electronic translation tools as an integral part of the translation process and as instruments that support the translator during the various sub-processes of translation.• The translator decides on what types of translation technology are needed at what stages in the translation process in order to optimize his or her professional performance.

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