A comparable corpus-based study on stylistic features in translated English tourism texts

Abstract

本文基于自建英语旅游文本类比语料库,比较英语旅游翻译文本与英语旅游原生文本在类符型符比、词汇密度、平均句长、平均词长、高频词等参数上的区别。研究发现,英语旅游翻译文本较之英语旅游原生文本具有以下特点:(1)符合"简化"趋势,主要表现为标准化类符型符比较低,动词变化程度较低,原形形容词使用重复率较高,高频原形副词使用较频繁;(2)符合"显化"趋势,主要依据为代词密度偏低;(3)时态的运用更为丰富,主要体现在完成时和将来时所占的比重更高;(4)文体更为正式、客观,主要表征为动词名词化较多、被动语态的使用更为频繁和极低的缩略式使用频率。 Based on a comparable corpus of English tourism texts,this paper investigates the stylistic features of translated English tourism texts by comparing their lexical variety(STTR),the average word length,the lexical density and high frequency words with those of spontaneously-written English tourism texts.The findings(1) support the translation universal hypothesis of "simplification",which is represented by a lower STTR and a lower lexical variety of verbs,adjectives and adverbs,(2) support the translation universal hypothesis of "explicitation",which is represented by a lower density of pronouns,(3) reveal more diverse use of tenses(especially the use of perfect tense and future tense),and(4) show more formal and objective style in translated English tourism texts with a higher frequency of the use of nominalization,passive voice and a lower frequency of the use of contracted forms.