Translation as Textual Titration: The Origin of Translation and a Typology of Titration Patterns
摘要
This paper regards translation as experiments in which two linguistic systems are titrated from their textual perspectives. First, textual titrations are quantified by the density rate (DR), which is defined as the dual rate between RWC (the ratio of English words to Chinese characters) and RCC (the ratio of English clauses to Chinese commas [and sentences]). Secondly, the DR equation and its 3-dimensional (3D) view are used to locate the origin of translation (OT). Starting from this original point, four curves are identified: the RWC interval curve, the RCC interval curve, the DR interval curve, and the DR average curve. Accordingly, eight directions and five curved surfaces are specified. Thirdly, these five curved surfaces define five types of titration patterns: Type I (T1), Type II (T2), Type III (T3), Type IV (T4), and Type V (T5). Finally, five typological transformations are identified, that is, the T1-to-T3 transformation, the T3-to-T2 transformation, the T2-to-T5 transformation, the T5-to-T4 transformation, and the T4-to-T1 transformation. The pentagonal typology and the typological transformation provide an analytical framework for translation practices and studies.