In this article,I trace my career from an early interest in language that eventually led me to engage in Chinese medical translation.Born in the United Kingdom in 1954,I gained a Bachelor of Arts degree in German and ...In this article,I trace my career from an early interest in language that eventually led me to engage in Chinese medical translation.Born in the United Kingdom in 1954,I gained a Bachelor of Arts degree in German and Spanish from the University of Heriot-Watt,Edinburgh.Subsequent study of Chinese took me to Taiwan,China,where I gained an interest in Chinese medicine and developed a coherent linguistic approach to Chinese medical term translation,which I and various colleagues have systematically applied in the translation and compilation of numerous works spanning modern texts,classics,dictionaries,and language-learning materials.Our translation approach,though conforming to principles universally recognized by translation theorists,has proven to be highly controversial,with opponents in both Western and Chinese circles.展开更多
This paper strongly rejects the notion that the use of biomedical terms to represent traditional Chinese medical concepts is helpful to the internationalization of Chinese medicine. It further argues that this practic...This paper strongly rejects the notion that the use of biomedical terms to represent traditional Chinese medical concepts is helpful to the internationalization of Chinese medicine. It further argues that this practice destroys the integrity and independence of Chinese medical concepts. Taking the term 风火眼 fěng huǒ yǎn as an example, it shows that the biomedical term ＂acute conjunctivitis＂ often suggested as the translation for this term is unsatisfactory, because （ 1 ） the clinical reference is not identical, （2） it introduces the concepts of ＂conjunctiva＂ and ＂inflammation＂, which are not Chinese medical concepts, and （3） destroys the Chinese medical concepts ＂wind＂ and ＂fire＂ expressed in the Chinese, which reflect the way the disease is traditionally diagnosed and treated. While for English readers not familiar with Chinese medicine, ＂acute conjunctivitis＂ may be immediately intelligible, for those seeking a deep understanding of the subject, the literal translation （loan translation） ＂wind-fire eye＂ is much more helpful. This paper supports these arguments with numerous other examples.展开更多
文摘In this article,I trace my career from an early interest in language that eventually led me to engage in Chinese medical translation.Born in the United Kingdom in 1954,I gained a Bachelor of Arts degree in German and Spanish from the University of Heriot-Watt,Edinburgh.Subsequent study of Chinese took me to Taiwan,China,where I gained an interest in Chinese medicine and developed a coherent linguistic approach to Chinese medical term translation,which I and various colleagues have systematically applied in the translation and compilation of numerous works spanning modern texts,classics,dictionaries,and language-learning materials.Our translation approach,though conforming to principles universally recognized by translation theorists,has proven to be highly controversial,with opponents in both Western and Chinese circles.
文摘This paper strongly rejects the notion that the use of biomedical terms to represent traditional Chinese medical concepts is helpful to the internationalization of Chinese medicine. It further argues that this practice destroys the integrity and independence of Chinese medical concepts. Taking the term 风火眼 fěng huǒ yǎn as an example, it shows that the biomedical term ＂acute conjunctivitis＂ often suggested as the translation for this term is unsatisfactory, because （ 1 ） the clinical reference is not identical, （2） it introduces the concepts of ＂conjunctiva＂ and ＂inflammation＂, which are not Chinese medical concepts, and （3） destroys the Chinese medical concepts ＂wind＂ and ＂fire＂ expressed in the Chinese, which reflect the way the disease is traditionally diagnosed and treated. While for English readers not familiar with Chinese medicine, ＂acute conjunctivitis＂ may be immediately intelligible, for those seeking a deep understanding of the subject, the literal translation （loan translation） ＂wind-fire eye＂ is much more helpful. This paper supports these arguments with numerous other examples.
