3. Translation of proper punctuations
News title is always simplified in structure; accordingly, punctuation plays a very important role in news headline. More often than not, certain punctuation can produce some kind of special result. The translator should pay attention to the concrete meaning of these punctuations while translating them.
3.1. Comma (,)
“Comma expresses the stop between the compound ingredients in title, and it is also used to replace ‘and’ in order to save space, generally being translated to be ‘和’ in Chinese.”P29
For example:
(1) Australia，U.S. Seek More Ways to Promote Trade
(=Australia and U.S .Seek More Ways to Pro-mote Trade)
---澳大利亚和美国寻求更多途径以促进两国贸易
(2) UN, Iraq Talk on Refugee Aid
---联合国和伊拉克谈判援助难民问题
(3) China, CIS States May Share Cables
---中国和独联体国家合作开发光电通讯
(4) Ready, aim, flambé: Army, Marine Cooks Battle Each Other
---预备、瞄准、开火:海陆两军交“火”厨师各显神通(“The two commas in front of the colon are used to indicate display, and function as Chinese slight-pause; the last comma then is equal to ‘and’." P67)
3.2. Colon (:)
In the English news title, the most eye-catching information is always put in front, and then some supplement information is drawn out to make up the subject after colon. The similarities in Chinese and English expression provide a series of parallelisms of content in translation.
Look at the examples:
(1)The＄2 billion Makeover: Australia’s Olympic City Gets Ready for the Games
---二十亿美元的大改造：澳大利亚的奥林匹克城准备迎接奥运会
(2) War Plan: the West’s Military Options
---战争计划：西方的军事选择
“Colon is also used to take place of relation verbs, and it is always translated to be ‘说’、 ‘宣称’、 ‘是’ in Chinese.”P29
For example:
(1) Renminbi to Remain Reliable, Strong: Li
---李鹏说人民币保持可靠和坚挺
When colon is used to show the source of a quotation, that is, equal to the Chinese word“说”, in English it can be put in head of or after the speaker, while in Chinese it can only be placed after the speaker.
(2) Health Survey: New Yorkers Fitter, Slimmer
---健康调查称纽约人更加健康和苗条
(3) Poll on Trial: Why Weren’t the Victim Cries Heeded?
---笼罩着审讯的疑云是为什么受害者的呼救没人理睬
3.3. Quotation mark (‘’)
Generally speaking, single quotation mark is used in English news headline instead of double quotation marks. To be accordant with Chinese natural expression, it is better for translator to change it into double quotation marks in Chinese.
Look at the following examples:
(1) Abadan Oil Refinery ‘Destroyed’
---阿巴丹炼油厂“被毁”
(2) Arafat to Reagan: ‘We Are Still Here’
---阿拉法特告诫里根：“我们仍然存在”
3.4. Dash(—)
Dash is used to separate each independent clause in the title, and also frequently used to draw out the speaker before or after the subscript without the quotation mark. It is often translated to be “说” in Chinese in order to draw out the speaker, and to be “再”in order to emphasize something.
For example:
(1) Labor Council Face Bankruptcy — Officials
---官员们说劳动党委员会面临崩溃
(2) Our Differences Can Be Overcome — Rockefeller
---我们的分歧是能够克服的— 洛克菲勒(说)
(3) Yeltsin in Hospital — Again
---叶利钦再次住院
(4) World Unity against Terrorism Needed — Blair
---英国首相布莱尔说：世界各国在反恐问题上需要加强联合 |
