Abstract

With the development of globalization, in order to improve culture exchanges and cooperation. China has a close relationship with other countries. To spread excellent Chinese culture becomes urgent needs for cultural construction. A distinctive feature of English language is the impersonal orientation which differentiates Chinese personal tendency. This thesis mainly studies the characteristics of subjects in communication. From the aspects of historical background, way of thinking and features of national culture, this thesis wants to study the differences between Chinese and English language to explore specific methods in conversions.

 On the basis of the previous studies, this essay selects novels and prose both in Chinese and English, employing a large number of examples to study the usage of impersonal subjects in Chinese and English literary works. On this basis, it summarizes the usage frequency of impersonal subjects and concludes the three major forms of impersonal subjects in English: inanimate subjects +animate verb, formal subjects and passive sentences. In the end, through the transformation of impersonal subjects in various languages, this thesis summarizes the efficient and feasible translation strategies, to provide some useful help for the translation of Chinese and foreign literary works.

Key words: impersonal subjects, contrastive study, inanimate subjects, animate verb, translation methods.

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1 Introduction-1

1.1 Purpose of the Research-1

1.2 Significance of the Research-2

1.3 Layout of the Research-2

2 Literature Review-3

2.1 Definition of Impersonal Subjects-3

2.2 Factors Affecting the Formation of the Differences -7

3 The Analysis of Impersonal Subjects-10

3.1 The Analysis of Impersonal Subjects in The Gift of Maggie-10

3.2 The Analysis of Impersonal Subjects in My Old Home-13

3.3 The Analysis of Impersonal Subjects in A Sailor's Christmas Gift-14

3.4 The Analysis of Impersonal Subjects in Winter Night-15

3.5 The Summary of Impersonal Subjects in English and Chinese-16

4 Methods to the Translation of Impersonal Subjects-16

    4.1The Interchange of Inanimate Subjects and Animate Subjects-16

    4.2The Interchange of Formal Subjects and Null Subjects..17 

    4.3The Interchange of Passive and Active..18

5 Conclusion-19

References-21