摘 要

学界对汉语语气词的研究由来已久，研究成果也非常丰富。口语化的表达方式尤其是语气词的使用是散文的一大特点。通过使用语气词，作者能够实现情感的自然表达，精神境界的物我统一。英语中没有语气词，其表达语气的方式不同于汉语。对译者来说，怎样有效地将汉语独有的语气词翻译成英语一直是一个大的挑战。

本文共为五部分。第一部分绪论简要介绍了本文研究背景、研究意义和研究方法，并对英汉语气系统和语气词英译的研究进行了文献综述。第二部分对比分析了英语语气系统和汉语语气系统，从语气类别和语气表达手段两方面归纳了两者的异同。第三部分对朱自清的两篇代表作《荷塘月色》和《匆匆》进行研究，列举了文中运用的典型语气词“呢”、“吧”、“了”、“的”及探讨了它们的用法和情态意义。第四部分以张培基和朱纯深的英译本为研究对象，结合具体例句分析译文中翻译语气词时所使用的翻译策略，其中包括运用语调、英语情态词、语气的转换、时态的选择及次要语气的弱化。第五部分是本文的结论部分，从几个方面对全文进行总结，并提出未来的研究展望。

关键词：语气词；英汉语气系统；翻译策略；中国散文

Abstract

The research of Chinese modal particles has a long history and the research results are rich. Chinese prose is a natural flow of speech in which the colloquial expression especially the use of modal particles is a remarkable characteristic. By using modal particles, the author can implement the natural expression of emotion and achieve the coexistence and unity of man and nature. There are no modal particles in English, the devices of expressing mood are different from Chinese. How can modal particles, which are peculiar to Chinese, be successfully translated into English remains a great challenge to translators.

The paper consists of five parts. The first part is introduction. It briefly introduces the research background, research significance and research methods, and reviews the researches of English and Chinese mood systems and translation of modal particles. The second part compares English and Chinese mood systems and categorizes the similarities and differences from mood categories and expression devices of mood. The third part studies the typical modal particles “ne”（呢）, “ba”（吧）, “le”（了）, “de”（的) in Zhu Ziqing’s two representative works, Moonlight over the Lotus Pond and Transient Days and analyzes their usages and modal meanings. Based on Zhang Peiji and Zhu Chunshen’s translations, the fourth part probes into the devices and translation strategies employed with specific examples, including the use of English intonations, English modal words, transformation of moods, selection of proper English tenses and weakening of minor moods. The fifth part is the conclusion part. The whole paper will be summarized from several perspectives, and future research prospects will be proposed.

Key words: modal particles; English and Chinese mood systems; translation strategies, Chinese proses

Contents

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Research Background 1

1.2 Research Significance 2

1.3 Structure of the Paper 3

2 Comparison of English and Chinese Mood Systems 4

2.1 Definition of Mood in English and Chinese Study 4

2.2 The Similarities between English and Chinese Mood Systems 4

2.3 The Differences between English and Chinese Mood Systems 5

2.3.1 The differences of mood categories 5

2.3.2 The differences of expression devices of mood 6

3 Modal Particles in Zhu Ziqing’s Moonlight over the Lotus Pond and Transient Days 8

3.1 Chinese Modal Particles 8

3.2 Modal Particles in the Two Essays 8

3.2.1 Usage of “ne”（呢） 8

3.2.2 Usage of “ba” （吧/罢） 9

3.2.3 Usage of “le”（了） 9

3.2.4 Usage of “de”（的） 10

4 Translation Strategies in Zhang Peji and Zhu Chunshen’s Translation 11

4.1 Using English Intonations 11

4.2 Using English Modal Words 12

4.3 Transformation of Moods 12

4.4 Selecting Proper English Tenses 13

4.5 Weakening Minor Moods 14

5 Conclusion 15

References 16

Acknowledgments 17

A Study of the Translation

of Modal Particles in Chinese Proses: A Case Study of Moonlight over the Lotus Pond and Transient Days

1 Introduction

1.1 Research Background

The research of translation of Chinese modal particles has a long history and the research results are rich. As a certain aspect of it, the translation of modal particles in Chinese proses is very important and deserves great attention. With natural emotional displays, deep artistic conception, delicate wording and scene choosing, Chinese prose is a natural flow of speech whose scene atmosphere is rendered, and language is pure, fresh, beautiful and concise. In Chinese proses, the use of modal particles is a remarkable characteristic, through which the author can implement the natural expression of emotion and achieve the coexistence and unity of man and nature.

Zhu Ziqing, a prestigious Chinese essayist, is considered to be one of the most influential writers in the May Fourth Period of the early 20th century. Moonlight over the Lotus Pond and Transient Days are his two representative works, which are famous for their beautiful language and profound thoughts. In these two proses, modal particles play an irreplaceable role in mood expression and are used to express the writer’s emotion. In order to better illustrate the translation strategies of modal particles, Zhang Peiji’s translation of Transient Days and Zhu Chunshen’s Moonlight over the Lotus Pond are chosen as the research text. Zhang Peiji is a famous translator in contemporary China, who is best known for translation of Chinese proses. In his translations of Zhu Ziqing’s works, he applies adept strategies and flexible methods in dealing with modal particles. Zhu Chunshen’s translation of Moonlight over the Lotus Pond is known as a classic and has been studied by different scholars, so it is worth doing research.

As for references, there are some studies of English and Chinese mood systems and translation of Chinese modal particles. In Zhang Xiaosheng’s (2015) thesis Study on the Translation of Modal Particles “ne” （呢）in the Dram- Teahouse in English version, she counted all the “ne” used in Teahouse and classified them according to different mood categories. Based on the analysis of specific contexts, she gave a comprehensive analysis to the translation strategies of “ne” in the case study of Ying Ruocheng’s English version. In Xiang Yi’s (2012) thesis A Corpus- Based Study on Four Modal Particles in Three Chinese Translations of Gospels, she focused on the analysis of the use of modal particles in Gospels and three Chinese versions. In Wang Feihua’s (2005) journal article The Approaches of Translating the Modal Particles in Chinese Classic Works into English, he introduced modal particles with previous researches and how the function of modal particles were realized. By using The Analects as a case study, he summarized the methods of translating ancient Chinese modal particles into English. All of these materials are valuable for this paper. However, there are limited researches about the translation of modal particles of Chinese proses. The study of modal particles in Moonlight over the Lotus Pond and Transient Days and the corresponding translations, which is the focus of this paper, hasn’t been found in the process of literature consulting.

1.2 Research Significance

Due to the differences between English and Chinese mood systems, the ways of mood expression in English and Chinese languages are quite different. Modal particle is one of the important marks that makes Chinese different from English. The expression of Chinese mood is mainly realized by modal particles, while it is through verbs and their inflectional changes to reflect different moods in English. Besides, as a product of Chinese culture, the modal meaning of modal particles can be different according to the change of context. Limited by many factors, it is less likely for translators to translate them without any difficulties, which may affect the quality of English translation. By analyzing the use of modal particles in Moonlight over the Lotus Pond and Transient Days and the corresponding translations, the paper is to probe into methods or techniques to achieve successful translation of modal particles in Chinese proses and provide reference for the future translation of modal particles.