s of Papers in This Issue
A cognitive interpretation of “relevance”(p. 1)
HUAHongyan(College of International Studies, Southwest University, Chongqing 400700, China)
Approached from the perspective of philosophy of mind, “relevance”, as a result of mental-physical supervenience, is what ostentatious information supervenes on the speaker by means of cognitive context. “Relevance” also shows identification to the transformation in the topological structure in the mind. It can be quantified according to the degree of supervenience.
Time as the perceptive subject and the constructing of discourse defamiliarization(p. 8)
WANGXiaowei(School of Foreign Languages, Henan University, Kaifeng 475001, China)
The paper analyzes the function of the English construction “Time + SEE + Complement” (TSC) in the constructing of text defamiliarization from the perspective of functional grammar. Based on the cognitive model of TSC construction, discourse defamliarization, as a kind of stylistic feature and discourse semantics, is firstly realized in the double perception of time and human beings to events, and then the abstractness, imagery meaning of percept C as the ground and new information in TSC, and also the epistemic distance between the perceptive subject and percept presented by the tense distribution of perceptive verb SEE. The thematic development model of discourse factored by TSC construction also proves its role in the constructing of factuality and defamiliarization of discourse.
An exploration of the temporal meaning of perfective verbs from the perspective of grounding: Taking the past tense as an example(p. 17)
RENFengmei(School of Foreign Languages, Henan University, Kaifeng 475001, China)
The property of temporal meaning is internal to language. The verb is the core item of a clause, whose temporal meaning is closely related with verbs and other verbal expressions. Guided with the grounding theory in cognitive grammar and based on an exploration of the grammatical realization of temporal meaning of perfective verbs as a subcategory of Chinese verbs, this paper establishes a model to analyze the grounding of the temporal meaning of perfective verbs by taking the past temporal meaning as an example, and thereby, the mental mechanism of the past temporal meaning of perfective verbs is revealed from a cognitive perspective.
A cartographic approach to the study ofde(p. 23)
TIANQilin(School of Foreign Languages, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, China)
There has been heated controversy about the nature ofde. This paper discovers that different kinds ofdephrases must be arranged according to a specific order. Based on the study of the cartographic theory, we propose that as the function ofdephrase is to modify a nominal phrase,deis the phonetic realization of the functional category Mod, which can be split into Mod1, Mod2, Mod3, and so on. In Universal Grammar (UG), these functional categories must be in a hierarchical order. In fact, the linear order of different kinds ofdephrases is an overt reflection of the hierarchy of the functional categories, Mod1, Mod2 and Mod3, etc.
The historical roots and developmental traces of some key terms in Systemic Functional Linguistics(p. 30)
GAOYin(School of Foreign Languages and Literature, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China/School of Foreign Languages, Northeast Dianli University, Jilin 132012, China)
MIAOXingwei(School of Foreign Languages and Literature, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875,China)
This paper aims to explore the historical roots, developmental traces and conceptual essentials of the key terms, namely social semiotics, system, function, context, stratification and realization in order to grasp the essence of the key terms and understand the nature of systemic functional linguistics. By analyzing the roots and developmental traces of the key terms, we find that,greatly influenced by anthropology and social linguistics, systemic functional linguistics partly follows the paradigms of the traditional functional linguistics such as the Copenhagen School, the London School and the Prague School, and at the same time it has its own innovations and developments.
Restructuring college foreign language class: A perspective of big data and multimodal(p. 37)
WANGChunlei&DINGAiqun(School of Foreign Languages, Suqian College, Suqian 223800, China)
With the employment and popularization of big data and multi-modalisation of foreign language cognition and dimension, college foreign language class faces many challenges such as MOOC. This paper explores the possible ways of college foreign language class reconstruction by analyzing the integration of big data and multi-modalisation in college foreign language courses.
The representation of the “present”: A critical view of Gertrude Stein’s early experimental drama(p. 41)
LIWeiping(School of English Studies, Shanghai Internatimal Studies University, Shanghai 200083, China)
Gertrude Stein was both an important advocate of modernist literature and a pioneer of experimental drama in America. The entirely new group of plays she wrote in the early period of her career was not only a reflection of her innovation, but also her subversion and reconstruction of the traditional drama. This paper is intended to examine Stein’s modernist concept of focusing on the fragmentary “present” in drama, discuss the representation of the occurring “l(fā)ife episodes” in her “conversation plays”, “epistolary plays” and “metadrama”, and reveal the artistic effect and aesthetic value of her early experimental drama.
Translations of & studies on Bachelard in China(p. 46)
ZHANGJinghui(Postdoctoral Research Station at School of Foreign Languages, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China/School of Foreign Languages, Henan University, Kaifeng 475001, China)
Gaston Bachelard enjoyed a high reputation as founder of the “New Philosophy of Science Epistemology” and the “Poetics of the Imagination and Reverie Theory”. His lifelong research touched upon two fields, philosophy of science and literary poetics. From a few articles initially, to and afterwards becoming freer, more extensive, and deeper, translations and researches on Bachelard in China have experienced 30 years of progress. From a meager start-off to a noticeable rise, they have reached a more open, extensive and in-depth scale. Four respects of studies on Bachelard are worthy of attention in the future. China’s academia came into contact with Anglo-American theories much earlier. However, there had been some estrangements between Anglo-American thoughts and that of France and Europe, limiting Chinese scholars’ acceptance and understanding to the latter, which resulted in belated initial research and restricted scope on Bachelard and other French thinkers. Studies on Bachelard will exert greater impacts on starting a new literary theory horizon that differs from the Anglo-American one.
Muriel Spark’s introspection: On the multiple themes inTheFinishingSchool(p. 55)
DAIHongbin&GONGYijin(College of Foreign Languages and Cultures, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China)
Muriel Spark’s last novelTheFinishingSchoolcan be regarded as the review and summary of her concerns in her whole writing career. It demonstrates the richness and variety of her writings through the illustration of her themes, which include the theme of envy in human nature, the multiple meanings of “finishing”and the exploration of themes of marriage and love. The review of and focus on the former themes in her writings help the reader to better commemorate Spark. The novel again manifests Spark’s charisma and further establishes her firm position in the field of contemporary British literature.
Space and man from the perspective of heterotopia: Reconsideration of Don Delillo’s novels(p. 61)
LINan(School of English Languages, Shanxi Normal University, Linfen 041004, China)
In Delillo’s most important works, he depicted many spaces closely related to the Cosmopolis of New York, architect spaces, artificial machinery spaces, and those spaces outside the city which existed in the way of absence. By presenting the characteristics of these spaces, Delillo also displayed the subjective features of the citizens. Through Foucault’s perspective of heterotopia, the paper examined the shaping function of the spaces on subjects as well as reform and counteraction of the subjects to spaces. As a result, Delillo’s description of the entangling relationship between space and man revealed new glamour.
A study of overseas translation and spreading of Can Xue’s works(p. 67)
WANGWenqiang(School of English Studies, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai 200083, China)
GUOEnhua(School of Foreign Languages, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China)
As the representative novelist of Chinese “advantgarde”, Can Xue is an extraordinary phenomenon in contemporary Chinese literature. Most of her works have been translated abroad, and even been chosen as the textbooks by some world famous universities. By researching journals and newspapers abroad, the paper tries to offer a critical view of Can Xue, and the reasons why her works appeal to the readers abroad.
From self-fiction to meta-fiction: Narrative aesthetics ofFlowerofTaoist(p. 74)
XULi(College of Foreign Languages, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China)
FlowerofTaoistis the experimental work of Dazai Osamu. The transformation from the authentic self-fictionSeato the meta-fictionFlowerofTaoistis not only a result of the influence by André Paul Guillaume Gide, but also a reflection of Dazai Osamu’s thoughts on self-fiction. Through the analysis of text reconstruction and generation, mise en abyme and meta-fictional features, it reveals the unique narrative techniques used in the novel and the artistic effects which transcend self-fiction. The experiments of forms in Dazai Osamu’s novels are pioneering and of great importance to the exploration of narration in Japanese modern novels.
On “fluency” as the translation strategy prior to “faithfulness”(p. 80)
WANGJianguo&ZHANGHong(School of Foreign Languages, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China)
This research studies the C-E and E-C translation of perception verbs, and finds that the translations fall into two types: corresponding and non-corresponding. The commonalities of human cognition provide the basis for the corresponding or faithful translation, while the differences between the Chinese and English pragmatic approaches to the fluency of writing, conditioned by the difference between the Chinese and English thinking modes, give rise to the non-corresponding or unfaithful translation. Since the non-corresponding account for a higher proportion than the corresponding in the translations of prominent translators, it can be safely concluded that to be fluent is the first choice for translators rather than to be faithful. This conclusion demonstrates that “fluency” is the most important quality in the context of E-C and C-E translations just as observed by Lawrence Venuti in the Westerners’ over-300-year-long practices.
Reflections on the discourse imbalance between Chinese and Western translatology(p. 89)
ZHOUZhongliang(School of Humanities, Ningbo Dahongying University, Ningbo 315175, China)
Ecological imbalance of Chinese translation discourse system is a fundamental problem to be settled if we hope to establish an independent translatology theoretical system. This paper offers a reflective analysis on the factors accounting for the discourse imbalance, the “tri-aphasia” China’s translation studies faced as a result of the imbalance and the solutions to the problem. The paper holds that translation researchers in China should conduct a critical review and constructive re-formation on contemporary Chinese translation discourse system so as to establish our own discipline identity and promote our discourse power in international academic arena.
On the use of “creative rebellion” in tourism translation(p. 95)
HUXichun&ZHAOTingting(The Foreign Language Department, Yangzhou Polytechnic College, Yangzhou 225009, China)
There exists philosophical foundation in the action of “creative rebellion” translation and in essence the rebellion is the more or less change of the original culture reflected by the original verse. In order to realize cross-cultural exchange, “creative rebellion” will inevitably happen in translating tourism verses. Translators or interpreters often use rebellion in forms and incomplete resonance to accomplish “creative rebellion”, which is with important mission and high value in cultural integration.
The connection with conjugation & intergrowth of machine translator & human translator(p. 100)
ZHAOLianbin(Department of Foreign Languages, Changzhi University, Changzhi 046011, China)
Gradually, machine translation has come into reality. Machine translator then comes into human life and work. Translation model thus experiences a surprising revolution. The conjugation and intergrowth is the necessary state of human translator and machine translator. The reasons are the following: 1) Human translators and machine translators have the same existent condition composed by their similarities and logical relations; 2) The differences between human translators and machine translators are the complementary conditions for them; 3) The primitiveness of human translators and the development of machine translators leads to the relationship between prototype and model with them, and thus human translators has the characteristics of replacement and changeability.