Abstract:Translation is a medium for people from different cultural backgrounds to exchange ideas and finally achieve mutual understanding. Different languages have different characteristics and usually the differences between these characteristics are likely to affect language communication. The work of translation is not only related to two kinds of language, but also involves differences of two and more kinds of social cultures and language backgrounds between the sending and receiving. These various factors may directly lead to the misunderstanding between speakers and translators and cause different irrelevant understandings in the process of language information transmission. As a result, how to handle ambiguity in the process of translation needs to be deeply studied. Due to the fact that the international relationship is becoming closer and closer, the bilingual translation has become particularly important. But the ambiguity phenomenon greatly influences the translation effect. Thus in translation study, including literary translation, business translation and studies of language mechanical translation, researchers are more and more concerned about the effect of ambiguity on translation. In this paper, ambiguity is divided into two parts: unintentional ambiguity and intentional ambiguity. The paper first discusses the definition of intentional and unintentional ambiguity, and then it explores the causes for the ambiguity. Finally, the paper expounds how to reduce the interference from ambiguity in translation and how to make use of the pragmatic function of ambiguity for an effective translation.

Keywords: translation; unintentional ambiguity; intentional ambiguity; cause

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

Chapter 1 Introduction-1

1.1 Research Background-1

1.2 Research Significance-1

1.3 Main Content and Organization-2

Chapter 2 Literature Review-3

2.1 Definition of Ambiguity-3

2.2 Previous Achievements at Home and Abroad-3

2.2.1 The Study at Home-3

2.2.2 The Study Abroad-4

2.3 Classification of Unintentional Ambiguity-4

2.3.1 Phonetic Ambiguity-4

2.3.2 Lexical Ambiguity-5

2.3.3 Syntactic Structure Ambiguity-6

2.4 Classification of Intentional Ambiguity-7

Chapter3 Previous Researches on Translation Strategies of   Ambiguity-9

3.1 Contextual Restriction Strategies-9

3.2 Adjacency Attachment Principle-9

Chapter 4 Related Translation Strategies-11

4.1 Translation Strategies for Ambiguity in Source Language-11

4.1.1 Strategies for Unintentional Ambiguity in Source Language-11

4.1.2 Strategies for Intentional Ambiguity in Source Language-12

4.2 Translation Strategies for Ambiguity in Target Language-13

4.2.1 Strategies for Unintentional Ambiguity in Target Language-13

4.2.2 Strategies for Intentional Ambiguity in Target Language-14

Chapter 5 Conclusion-15

References-17

Acknowledgments-18