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摘要：fuzzy theory and its application in linguistics have greatly contributed to the development of fuzzy translation. However, what are the existing accomplishments of the translation study in fuzzy language? How did it come here and where should it go in the future? This essay tries to focus on the above questions to summarize the existing studies and its problems for the purpose of the further study.
关键词：fuzzy language；fuzzy translation；existing problems
中图分类号：H31 文献标识码：A 文章编号：1009-0118（2011）-10-0-02
I.Introduction
The Fuzzy Theory, which was first put forward by L. A. Zadeh in 1965, has drawn a lot of attention and absorption in natural science world as well as in social sciences, and consequently got a rapid development. It has, obviously, already exerted a great influence on the research of linguistics since Fuzzy Linguistics has come into being. Almost simultaneously, the fuzzy theory has been applied into translation field to make a contribution to the translating study both in theory and practice. Especially in the lately three decades, many scholars in translating field have been showing great interests in the study of the fuzziness in language. Therefore, not only in the practice of translating fuzzy language but also in the theory of its translation, had the pioneers obtained some achievements.
II.The Existing Overseas and Domestic Studies on Fuzziness and Translation
Scholars also introduce the conception of fuzzy language into translation field. However, they mainly concentrate on the field of computer and information technology. In the recent decades, the usual method they refer to about the translation of fuzzy language is fuzzy matching, which is for the purpose of developing the technology of machine transliteration. Machine transliteration is the process of automatically transforming the script of a word from a source language to a target language, while preserving pronunciation. The development of algorithms specifically for machine transliteration began over a decade ago based on the phonetics of source and target languages, followed by approaches using statistical and language-specific methods. As Translation of a text in one’s local language can be very time consuming, and same text which needs to be translated appears several times, N. Joshi, et al (2011), through using the principle of fuzzy matching, shows the design of a translation tool which provided automatic translations for completely or partially reappearing text. S. Karimi (2011) reviews the key methodologies introduced in the transliteration literature. The approaches are categorized based on the resources and algorithms used, and the effectiveness is compared. Fuzzy language may find its extreme advantages in researching machine translation.
From the late 1970s, domestic linguists began to study the Fuzzy Theory. Wu Tieping, a linguistic professor in Peking Normal University, introduces the relationship between the Fuzzy Theory and Fuzzy Linguistics as well as the latest overseas accomplishments of the research of fuzzy language in 1997.
From 1987, when Fan Shouyi for the first time applies the principles of fuzzy mathematics into the assessing of translated texts, the study of fuzzy language from the translating perspective becomes more and more popular. Through checking China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House (CNKI), it can be found that up till now, nearly four hundred papers focusing on the translating of the fuzzy language have been published during this period (from 1987 to 2011). However, the domestic study of fuzzy language in translation is still in a preliminary stage. Essays of practicality and academic value referring to this aspect can be found scattered in several journals. The existing study results on fuzzy translation are classified as the following two aspects.
Study on fuzzy translating theory. Some research the translation of fuzzy word from the perspective of semantics, such as Wang Bingqin (1998:125-142) discusses the comparison of numeral’s category and its translation. Some research the translation of fuzzy word from the perspective of pragmatics. Such as Shen Quanliu, Wu Baizhen (2004:101-103) analyzes the pragmatic meaning of hedges based on the relevant pragmatics theories, and conclude that the translation of hedges should be pragmatically equivalent and be compliance with the Optimal Relevance Principle. Some researches are based on the translating theory. Such as Wu Yicheng (1996:18-23) studies the translation of fuzzy language in literature works, and suggests that the criteria of translating are fuzzy. Liu Zailiang (1999:90-92) even verifies that the process of translating—understanding the source text and expressing it in the target text—is fuzzy. Wan Laisheng (2002:74-76) points out that during the translating of fuzzy language, the fuzziness of translating criteria could also lead to the fuzziness of translation activities. Some applies fuzziness into the assessment of translated text. Such as Fan Shouyi (1990:43-67) and Mu Lei (1991:66-69, 1992:39-43) tries to assess the translated text by fuzzy mathematics. Shao Lu (2008:108-113) tries to introduce information entropy, a measure of the uncertainty associated with a random variable, to measure the grade of fuzziness in literary translation. Tan Zaixi (2010:11-14), drawing on a forthcoming work by Shao Lu, discusses the nature of fuzzy language, its relations to literature and translation, and especially extends to the fuzzy grade of fuzzy expressions in the target text, which can be measured against that in the source text in terms of information entropy.
Study on fuzzy translating practice. Most of the papers published discuss the practical translating of fuzzy language. For instance, Zhao Yanchun (2001:9-13) exemplifies the effect of translating with fuzzy language, and how the translators to make their translated text equivalent with the source text by applying the fuzziness of language. And according to Shen and Wu (2004:101-103), the translator can use some strategies such as equivalence, addition, ignoring and transferring during their translating of fuzzy language. Mao Ronggui, Fan Wuqiu (2005:11-15) work out four ways for translating fuzzy language, that is, to translate precise language into precise one, precise into fuzzy, fuzzy into precise, and fuzzy into fuzzy. Wang Xiaofeng et al (2010:33-36) try to explain the fuzzy feature of numerals in Chinese and English from the perspective of fuzzy linguistics.
Ⅲ. Problems to be Overcome
First, the research is incomplete in system and unclear in classification. Fuzzy translation in China is still in want of a systematic theoretical framework. None of the basic theory of fuzzy translation, the object, scope, method and task of the study are been systematically discussed in the periodicals. Next, the research is lack of depth. Despite the large quantity of the published papers, the quality of most of them is low. Most of them discuss the same few problems such as the definition, type, functions of fuzzy language, and exemplify the translating strategies of fuzzy language. The theories of fuzzy translating are far less discussed than the phenomenon of fuzziness in language. Last, the perspective of study in fuzzy translation is imbalance. Most current research about fuzzy translating concentrate in the following four aspects, that is, the characteristics and performance of fuzzy language, the translating of hedges, the basic translating skills of fuzzy language and the assessment of translated text. Moreover, there are too many, if not most, papers in some aspects such as the fuzzy meaning of word and phrase, fuzzy language and rhetoric. Comparatively speaking, research on other perspectives such as how to deal with the fuzziness in literary works is still in short. In the recent three years, though a few master’s dissertations have referred to the translating of fuzzy language in Practical Writings, such as in business correspondents, diplomatic, journalism and laws, they are sporadic and need further exploring.
Ⅳ. Conclusion
To sum up, the study of fuzzy language in western emphasizes the perspective of semantics and pragmatics, their researches seldom show any tendency in translation, except in developing fuzzy matching in machine transliteration. On contrary, researches in China paid a lot of attention on fuzzy translation. This partly due to the discrepancy between English and Chinese, for the former is hypotaxis language while the latter parataxis language, which shows more strikingly the properties of fuzziness. Therefore, a complete and comprehensive comparison of fuzziness between English and Chinese can be practically valuable in translation field.
During the recent years, though the study on fuzzy language and its translation has made great progress in China, it is still far from being called as a complete and systematic branch of the Fuzzy Theory. The above analysis shows that in China, from the macroscopic perspective, it is pressing to construct a theoretic system in fuzzy translation on the existing results, and only based on systematic theories, can the studies make further, extensive and significant improvement. And from the microcosmic perspective, we should try to find the intrinsic character and the law of fuzzy language implicated in it so as to provide instructions for the practice of translating. To achieve this purpose, many questions should be discussed and verified, such as what are the innate similarities and differences between fuzziness in Chinese and in English, how to make a proper choice between fuzzy words and specific ones according to the requirements of communication, how to employ fuzzy words to express the speaker’s or writer’s thoughts and emotions inappropriately and so on.
参考文献：
[1]Fan,Shouyi.“A Statistical Method for Translation Quality Assessment”[J].International Journal of Translation Studies,1990,(2/1): 43-67.
[2]范守义.模糊数学与译文评价[J].中国翻译,1987,(4):2-9.
[3]刘在良.试论翻译的模糊性[J].山东师大外国语学院学报,1999,(1):90-92.
关键词：fuzzy language；fuzzy translation；existing problems
中图分类号：H31 文献标识码：A 文章编号：1009-0118（2011）-10-0-02
I.Introduction
The Fuzzy Theory, which was first put forward by L. A. Zadeh in 1965, has drawn a lot of attention and absorption in natural science world as well as in social sciences, and consequently got a rapid development. It has, obviously, already exerted a great influence on the research of linguistics since Fuzzy Linguistics has come into being. Almost simultaneously, the fuzzy theory has been applied into translation field to make a contribution to the translating study both in theory and practice. Especially in the lately three decades, many scholars in translating field have been showing great interests in the study of the fuzziness in language. Therefore, not only in the practice of translating fuzzy language but also in the theory of its translation, had the pioneers obtained some achievements.
II.The Existing Overseas and Domestic Studies on Fuzziness and Translation
Scholars also introduce the conception of fuzzy language into translation field. However, they mainly concentrate on the field of computer and information technology. In the recent decades, the usual method they refer to about the translation of fuzzy language is fuzzy matching, which is for the purpose of developing the technology of machine transliteration. Machine transliteration is the process of automatically transforming the script of a word from a source language to a target language, while preserving pronunciation. The development of algorithms specifically for machine transliteration began over a decade ago based on the phonetics of source and target languages, followed by approaches using statistical and language-specific methods. As Translation of a text in one’s local language can be very time consuming, and same text which needs to be translated appears several times, N. Joshi, et al (2011), through using the principle of fuzzy matching, shows the design of a translation tool which provided automatic translations for completely or partially reappearing text. S. Karimi (2011) reviews the key methodologies introduced in the transliteration literature. The approaches are categorized based on the resources and algorithms used, and the effectiveness is compared. Fuzzy language may find its extreme advantages in researching machine translation.
From the late 1970s, domestic linguists began to study the Fuzzy Theory. Wu Tieping, a linguistic professor in Peking Normal University, introduces the relationship between the Fuzzy Theory and Fuzzy Linguistics as well as the latest overseas accomplishments of the research of fuzzy language in 1997.
From 1987, when Fan Shouyi for the first time applies the principles of fuzzy mathematics into the assessing of translated texts, the study of fuzzy language from the translating perspective becomes more and more popular. Through checking China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House (CNKI), it can be found that up till now, nearly four hundred papers focusing on the translating of the fuzzy language have been published during this period (from 1987 to 2011). However, the domestic study of fuzzy language in translation is still in a preliminary stage. Essays of practicality and academic value referring to this aspect can be found scattered in several journals. The existing study results on fuzzy translation are classified as the following two aspects.
Study on fuzzy translating theory. Some research the translation of fuzzy word from the perspective of semantics, such as Wang Bingqin (1998:125-142) discusses the comparison of numeral’s category and its translation. Some research the translation of fuzzy word from the perspective of pragmatics. Such as Shen Quanliu, Wu Baizhen (2004:101-103) analyzes the pragmatic meaning of hedges based on the relevant pragmatics theories, and conclude that the translation of hedges should be pragmatically equivalent and be compliance with the Optimal Relevance Principle. Some researches are based on the translating theory. Such as Wu Yicheng (1996:18-23) studies the translation of fuzzy language in literature works, and suggests that the criteria of translating are fuzzy. Liu Zailiang (1999:90-92) even verifies that the process of translating—understanding the source text and expressing it in the target text—is fuzzy. Wan Laisheng (2002:74-76) points out that during the translating of fuzzy language, the fuzziness of translating criteria could also lead to the fuzziness of translation activities. Some applies fuzziness into the assessment of translated text. Such as Fan Shouyi (1990:43-67) and Mu Lei (1991:66-69, 1992:39-43) tries to assess the translated text by fuzzy mathematics. Shao Lu (2008:108-113) tries to introduce information entropy, a measure of the uncertainty associated with a random variable, to measure the grade of fuzziness in literary translation. Tan Zaixi (2010:11-14), drawing on a forthcoming work by Shao Lu, discusses the nature of fuzzy language, its relations to literature and translation, and especially extends to the fuzzy grade of fuzzy expressions in the target text, which can be measured against that in the source text in terms of information entropy.
Study on fuzzy translating practice. Most of the papers published discuss the practical translating of fuzzy language. For instance, Zhao Yanchun (2001:9-13) exemplifies the effect of translating with fuzzy language, and how the translators to make their translated text equivalent with the source text by applying the fuzziness of language. And according to Shen and Wu (2004:101-103), the translator can use some strategies such as equivalence, addition, ignoring and transferring during their translating of fuzzy language. Mao Ronggui, Fan Wuqiu (2005:11-15) work out four ways for translating fuzzy language, that is, to translate precise language into precise one, precise into fuzzy, fuzzy into precise, and fuzzy into fuzzy. Wang Xiaofeng et al (2010:33-36) try to explain the fuzzy feature of numerals in Chinese and English from the perspective of fuzzy linguistics.
Ⅲ. Problems to be Overcome
First, the research is incomplete in system and unclear in classification. Fuzzy translation in China is still in want of a systematic theoretical framework. None of the basic theory of fuzzy translation, the object, scope, method and task of the study are been systematically discussed in the periodicals. Next, the research is lack of depth. Despite the large quantity of the published papers, the quality of most of them is low. Most of them discuss the same few problems such as the definition, type, functions of fuzzy language, and exemplify the translating strategies of fuzzy language. The theories of fuzzy translating are far less discussed than the phenomenon of fuzziness in language. Last, the perspective of study in fuzzy translation is imbalance. Most current research about fuzzy translating concentrate in the following four aspects, that is, the characteristics and performance of fuzzy language, the translating of hedges, the basic translating skills of fuzzy language and the assessment of translated text. Moreover, there are too many, if not most, papers in some aspects such as the fuzzy meaning of word and phrase, fuzzy language and rhetoric. Comparatively speaking, research on other perspectives such as how to deal with the fuzziness in literary works is still in short. In the recent three years, though a few master’s dissertations have referred to the translating of fuzzy language in Practical Writings, such as in business correspondents, diplomatic, journalism and laws, they are sporadic and need further exploring.
Ⅳ. Conclusion
To sum up, the study of fuzzy language in western emphasizes the perspective of semantics and pragmatics, their researches seldom show any tendency in translation, except in developing fuzzy matching in machine transliteration. On contrary, researches in China paid a lot of attention on fuzzy translation. This partly due to the discrepancy between English and Chinese, for the former is hypotaxis language while the latter parataxis language, which shows more strikingly the properties of fuzziness. Therefore, a complete and comprehensive comparison of fuzziness between English and Chinese can be practically valuable in translation field.
During the recent years, though the study on fuzzy language and its translation has made great progress in China, it is still far from being called as a complete and systematic branch of the Fuzzy Theory. The above analysis shows that in China, from the macroscopic perspective, it is pressing to construct a theoretic system in fuzzy translation on the existing results, and only based on systematic theories, can the studies make further, extensive and significant improvement. And from the microcosmic perspective, we should try to find the intrinsic character and the law of fuzzy language implicated in it so as to provide instructions for the practice of translating. To achieve this purpose, many questions should be discussed and verified, such as what are the innate similarities and differences between fuzziness in Chinese and in English, how to make a proper choice between fuzzy words and specific ones according to the requirements of communication, how to employ fuzzy words to express the speaker’s or writer’s thoughts and emotions inappropriately and so on.
参考文献：
[1]Fan,Shouyi.“A Statistical Method for Translation Quality Assessment”[J].International Journal of Translation Studies,1990,(2/1): 43-67.
[2]范守义.模糊数学与译文评价[J].中国翻译,1987,(4):2-9.
[3]刘在良.试论翻译的模糊性[J].山东师大外国语学院学报,1999,(1):90-92.