3. Steps and methods in long English sentence translation
Long sentences make up a large portion in English, and there are several reasons for its frequent appearance.
3.1 Reasons for frequent appearance of long English sentences
3.1.1 Frequent use of modifiers
Compared with Chinese, modifiers are much more frequently used in English, such as attributive clauses, adverbial clauses and appositives. But in Chinese, the specific nouns are not modified, but are explained by employing another independent sentence.
(13)These students, who rarely do any housework at home, will serve as waiters in the restaurant near the school, which draws a large number of customers everyday.
The main structure of this sentence is “the students will be waiters in the restaurant”, but the sentence is made long by the use of two attributive clauses, one of which is to modify the word “students”, and the other of which “the restaurant”. But in Chinese, this sentence will be put as followed. 这些学生在家几乎不做家务，而他们将要到学校附近的一家餐馆去当侍者， 而这家餐馆每天食客云集。We can see that the single English sentence is separated into three clauses, each expressing a specific meaning without employing any subordinate clauses.
3.1.2 Complex structures
“Compared with Chinese, in which verbs are arranged in time sequence, English sentences are much more complex with the use of various clauses, parenthesis, appositives and prepositions. Chinese students usually find it hard to identify the main structure of long English sentences, so it is necessary and quite helpful to learn the segments that make the simple sentences long.”[11]P61
(14)He, instead of standing back, walked forward to face the accuser, with others looking at him in astonishment as well as puzzlement.
This is a typical long English sentence with complex structures. A student without a thorough knowledge of English grammar is bound to fail to understand its meaning. To understand long sentences, a study of English grammar is required, and a large amount of reading of all types of articles in English is also very helpful.
3.2 Types of long sentences writing
In order to know better how to translate long sentences, it is necessary to know the types of writings where long sentences are most frequently used. Generally, long sentences frequently appear in official documents, scientific reports, and newspapers.
(i). Law documents
The reason why long sentences are frequently used in law documents is that long sentences are more formal compared with shorter ones, and official documents must be written in a formal tone and style. For example,
(15) “Any clause, covenant or agreement in a contract of carriage relieving the carrier or the ship from liability for less or damage to, or in connection with, goods arising from negligence, fault, or failure in duties and obligations provided in this article or lessening such liability otherwise than provided in these rules shall be null and void and of no effect.” [12]P256
(ii). Scientific documents
Long sentences also make up a large portion in scientific document, such as technology specifications. We can look the typical example.
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