Let us begin with the unit of translation (翻译单位)before we discuss sentence and text．Speaking of the unit of translation，we have to refer to grammatical units because both are closely related to each other．J．C．Catford in his book A Linguistic Theory of Translation divided English grammar into five units，namely sentence，clause，group，word and morpheme．He thinks，according to this kind of division，that two languages can find their own equivalent in translation．What he said is as follows．

“Thus，if we find that two languages operate each with grammatical units at five ranks(an example might be English and French，both of which appear to have five ranks: sentence，clause，group，word，morpheme)，we can reasonably say that there is formal correspondence between the two hierarchies of units; each has the same number of ranks，and as(taxonomic)hierarchies each has the same kind of relationship between units of the different ranks…We may talk of formal correspondence between SL and TL elements of structure operating at corresponding ranks．”(A Linguistic Theory of Translation，Oxford University Press，1978)

Different people look at a thing in different ways．In our country，some think that words should be taken as the unit of translation．Some take it that phrases or groups should be the unit．Some say that clauses or sentences are the unit because whatever language it is，a sentence with a full stop can express a whole meaning．As long as the sentences are translated one after another，the version will stand as a whole of a coherent and clear paragraph or text．Some hold that a paragraph should be the unit of translation because a paragraph lies in the place between sentences and a text．It has apparent signs of beginning and ending from its appearance．In terms of discourse，it functions as the link between other paragraphs．In terms of communicative function，a paragraph has the nature of topic unity and the integrity of meaning．And some take it that a text should be taken as the unit of translation．

It is worthwhile mentioning a very influential theory proposed by Peter Newmark．He pointed out that，in his book A Textbook of Translation ，“I have tired to show that all lengths of language can，at different moments and also simultaneously，be used as units of translation in the course of the translation activity．Each length has a functional contribution to make，which can be summarized as lexical for the word and the collocation; grammatical(Vinay and Darbelnets＇s avengement)for the group and clause; notional for the sentence，the paragraph and the text(Vinay and Darbelnet＇s message)．Further I have tried to show that，operatively，most translation is done at the level of the smaller units(word and clause)，leaving the larger units to‘work＇automatically，until a difficulty occurs and until revision starts; further that in an expressive or authoritative text，there is a certain extra stress on the word; in an informative text，on the collocation and the group; in the vocative or pragmatic section of a text(the part intended to make the readers react)，on the sentence and the text as a unit．Finally，although much of this chapter is devoted to text as unit of translation，I think its importance has been recently exaggerated，in particular by writers such as Wilss，Holmes and Neubert who hardly discuss the practical applications of this concept，and also by Delisle who does．To me the unit of translation is a sliding scale，responding according to other varying factors，and(still)ultimately a little unsatisfactory．”(A Textbook of Translation，Prentice Hall，1988)

We can find that Peter Newmark has quite a different opinion from others．His proposal，in which the unit of translation is“the minimal stretch of language that has to be translated together，as one unit” ，is relatively scientific．A sentence is foundational in considering the whole passage．We hold that the unit of translation cannot be too long or too short．A sentence actually serves as such an effect．And we hold that while rendering sentences，the text should be considered as a whole because a text is the biggest unit in translating，and each sentence in the text is not isolated to exist and it is an organic part of the text．We have to consider and analyze the text to find the exact version for each sentence，instead of putting it as an isolated unit into Chinese，or understanding and interpreting literally．

Then，too，beauty and myths are perennial masks of poverty．The traveler comes to the Appalachians in the lovely season．He sees the hills，the streams，the foliage—but not the poor．Or perhaps he looks at a run-down mountain house and，remembering Rousseau rather than seeing with his eyes，decides that“those people”are truly fortunate to be living the way they are and that they are lucky to be exempted from the strains and tensions of the middle class．The only problem is that“those people” ，the quaint inhabitants of those hills，are undereducated，underprivileged，lack medical care，and are in the process of being forced from the land into a life in the cities，where they are misfits．

　另外，自然的美丽与虚幻的理念永久地掩盖了贫穷。在优美的季节游客来到阿巴拉契亚山脉观光，会去欣赏山川、小溪、绿色，但决不会是穷人。或许他看到一所破旧的山村小屋时，不去亲眼目睹真实的情况，而是回忆一下卢梭的“回归自然论” ，然后就做出判断: “那些人”真是很幸运，有着自己的生活方式，没有中产阶级的生活压力和焦虑。但问题的关键是“那些人” ——山区里生存的另类——缺乏教育、没有特权、缺少医疗，还要被迫离开自己生存的土地，去适应他们不习惯的城市生活。

Comments Compare the two versions and we can find that the meaning of each underlined word in the original differs from the definition in dictionaries．This is because each of these words should be understood and decided in a certain text and context．“Mask”cannot be simply rendered as the covering for the face．“Rousseau”can not be converted into a person，who is considered the most important forerunners of romanticism．It refers to his ideal primitiveness here，attributing superior virtue to primitive civilization．A“misfit” ，literally，is a piece of clothing that does not fit．Figuratively，as it is used here，it refers to a person who is badly adjusted to his environment．Therefore，in the target version，the translator uses掩盖，卢梭的“回归自然论” and不习惯的城市生活instead．

8．10 Sentence and Text句子与语篇

8．10　Sentence and Text句子与语篇