Positive Transfer of Native Language on Translation1

1、母語的正遷移作用在翻譯中的作用分析positive transfer of native language on translationcontentsabstract.1key words.1i. introduction.2ii. the historical development of the study on transfer phenomena in sla.31. the concept of transfer.32. the historical development of the study on transfer phenomena in sla.3iii. langua

2、ge transfer and translation.4iv. prevailing views on translation.51. arguments against the positive transfer on translation.52. arguments in support of the positive transfer on translation.5v. pedagogical implication.6vi. conclusion.8references.8positive transfer of native language on translationabs

3、tract: the term “transfer” is first defined by behaviorist psychologists to refer to the process of automatic, uncontrolled and subconscious use of past learned behavior in the attempt to produce new responses. according to them, the main impediment to learning was interference from the prior knowle

4、dge. psycholinguists use the term to refer to the influence imposed by a learners possessed linguistic knowledge and skill upon the subsequent learning of new linguistic knowledge or skill. generally speaking, there are two types of transfer, positive transfer and negative transfer. positive transfe

5、r results in correct performance while negative transfer results in errors. in the field of sla research, language transfer has long been a controversial research subject. it was initially associated with behaviorist theories of language learning and was seen as an impediment (a cause of errors). it

6、 was considered to only hinder the acquisition of a second language. however, the development of interference theory and the flourishing of psycholinguistics have finally recognized the significance of the role of the first language in sla. the positive role of language transfer in sla has been grad

7、ually acknowledged. the thesis mainly explores positive transfer of native language on translation. key words: language transfer; positive transfer; translation; sla摘 要：“遷移”最初由行為主義心理學家提出，指在學習新知識的過程中，對已有的知識進行自動的潛意識的利用過程。心理語言學家利用這一術(shù)語，指語言學習過程中學習者已有的語言知識或技能，對獲得新的語言知識或技能的影響這一現(xiàn)象。外語學習中，遷移現(xiàn)象非常廣泛。語言遷移一般有兩種：即

8、正遷移和負遷移。正遷移產(chǎn)生積極正確的結(jié)果；相反，由于母語的習慣而導致的錯誤稱為負遷移。在二語習得研究領(lǐng)域，語言遷移一直是一個有爭議的問題。它最初和行為主義心理學的語言學習理論聯(lián)系在一起并看成是一種障礙（錯誤的起因），有百害而無一益。然而，隨著實踐研究的不斷發(fā)展，母語在二語習得中的作用受到重視，語言遷移的正面作用也逐漸被認可。本文主要探究母語的正遷移在翻譯中的作用。關(guān)鍵詞：語言遷移；正遷移；翻譯；二語習得i. introductionthe traditional concern of the impact of the first language (l1) on the second lan

9、guage (l2) in second language acquisition made by second language learners are often attributed to interference or negative transfer from the first language caused by the differences between the languages but forgot the common features of languages. for instance, all languages possess the similar gr

10、ammatical classifications. each language has negative, interrogative and sentence order and any normal person can understand and create indefinite number of sentences. the common features of different languages make possible the positive transfer from the first language to the second language. thus

11、the current thesis is going to portray the positive transfer of native language on the second language learning, an important aspect that has long been neglected by most researchers of second language acquisition (sla).of the four skillsreading, listening, speaking and writing, writing is considered

12、 the very one which is vital in measuring their overall linguistic competence because it requires the learners to possess a comprehensive knowledge of the english language. the learners should possess a solid grammatical knowledge and a good vocabulary on the one hand, and numerous writing skills su

13、ch as developing paragraphs and using rhetorical devices on the other. while in a second or foreign language is an acknowledged difficulty for majority of students taking english as a foreign language or as a second language at all levels.although writing is an output activity, it can reflect how we

14、ll the language skills have been input. in this sense, writing is considered to be one of the most effective means to test the learners input of language skills. the large number of errors in students writing also shows the problems in the present teaching of language skills. by the study of errors,

15、 the learner may know better in what aspect he is weak and to what he should pay more attention so that he may improve his learning. from the standpoint of the teacher, he is able to assess a students ability to communicate effectively as well as his grammatical accuracy, and further to infer the na

16、ture of the interlanguage of his students at a particular period of time. he is able to find the weak points in his syllabus, teaching materials and teaching techniques so that he can improve his teaching. therefore, designed to investigate positive l1 transfer in second language acquisition, the pr

17、esent paper will focus on a comprehensive analysis of transfer phenomenon in terms of comparative study of english and chinese writing to examine how much the first language influences the learners interlanguage performance in their writing.ii. the historical development of the study on transfer phe

18、nomena in sla1. the concept of transferthe phenomena of transfer in learning have been universal accepted. but they are initially associated with the interference in behaviorist theories of second language acquisition. however, it is now widely accepted that the influence of the learners native lang

19、uage cannot be adequately accounted for in terms of habit formation as the behaviorist put in. transfer has been used by educational psychologists and educators to describe the use of past knowledge and experience in new situations. in sla, transfer refers to the effect of native language on the lea

20、rning of second language. a good many linguists have various definitions for the term:kellerman has suggested that the term be restricted to “those processes that lead to the incorporation of elements from one language into another”. odlin offers the definition of transfer as: transfer is the influe

21、nce resulting from the similarities and the differences between the target language and any other language that has been previously (and perhaps imperfectly) acquired.foreign language learners often use native language patterns or rules in learning a foreign language. this is negative transfer, also

22、 known as interference. in some cases, when both the native language and the foreign language have the same form, pattern, or rule, the transfer facilitates learning. this is positive transfer. so, positive transfer is beneficial while negative transfer is a hindrance to sla. transfer can be a two-w

23、ay process, namely, the linguistic knowledge and skill of the native language may affect the sla and vice versa.2. the historical development of the study on transfer phenomena in slatransfer and transfer theory can be traced back to as early as 200 years ago. yet, learning transfer theory concernin

24、g sla came into being just in the 1950s. it refers to the phenomenon that learners try to employ sentence intonation, lexical meaning, grammatical structure and cultural habit of the mother tongue when they communicate in the target language. actually, this phenomenon is very common in sla, particul

25、arly at the elementary stage.language transfer phenomena have exerted considerable effect on sla: people in the past conducted detailed investigation and research on transfer phenomena in learning a foreign language. from the historical point of view, the research of transfer in sla has undergone th

26、ree stages: (1) the first stage: in the 1950s, behaviorism played a predominant role in the field of language learning theory. the function of transfer was fully recognized and always integrated with behaviorism, thus became the theoretical basis of comparative analysis. (2) the second stage: from t

27、he 1960s to the end of the 1970s. during this period, due to the influence caused by chomskys language theory, behavioral language learning standpoint was severely criticized, and its drawbacks were also exposed gradually. so the function of learning transfer was largely contempted in sla. scholars

28、in foreign language teaching and research tried to follow the cognitive theory and get rid of the impact of behaviorism. both behaviorism and transfer phenomena were coldly treated and ignored. the research focus was on interlanguage and cognition investigation in sla. (3) the third stage: from the

29、beginning of the 1980s up to now. at this stage, in foreign language teaching and research field, people became increasingly interested in transfer phenomena. the word “transfer” did not merely refer to the mechanical transfer from native language to second language. it was treated as a kind of impo

30、rtant learning strategy in language acquisition, a complicated cognitive procedure that is influenced by various factors. the clarification of this procedure became an outstanding topic in sla research field. the positive role of transfer phenomena in sla was gradually acknowledged.iii. language tra

31、nsfer and translation all languages share basic fundamentals, according to chomskys universal grammar theory (cook, 1994). while languages may differ in their word order or in what elements may be dropped from a construct, they are indeed similar. languages comprise aspects of plurality, nouns, obje

32、cts and other such linguistic components; they are built on what surrounds us physically and emotionally, and the combinations are not limitless. we learn the rules when we learn our first language and we apply them to any other language we learn. yet, language transfer can have both positive and ne

33、gative results in the target language being learned “correctly”, and “incorrectly”, with the l1 structure and vocabulary causing interference with the learner. there is both positive and negative transfer. “it has been common in second language teaching to stress the role of interference for native

34、language interference is surely the most immediately noticeable source of error; however, the native language is often positively transferred.” (brown, 1994) the theme of language transfer was dealt with by james and cook . the positive transfer of l1 to l2 makes “explanations compatible with the le

35、arners prior knowledge” (james, 1994). learners bring with them their own meta- cognition and meta-language from their l1 to help them describe, compare and explain the l2 to themselves, enabling them to analyze the language further. if students are encouraged to analyze the l2 language and consciou

36、sly compare it to their own language, they may notice patterns that make sense to them, and better understand the structures and uses of the language. hence early l2 fossilization may be prevented. both james and cook cite france as an example of this move to integrate both the students native langu

37、age and foreign language in l2 studies.iv. prevailing views of transfer on translation1. arguments against the positive transfer on translationmany valid arguments have been put forth to keep translation out of the classroom. one situation which would appear to hold no place for its use would be in

38、classes consisting of students with differing mother tongues. as there is no single unifying language between the students. translation would be used at the expense of students who do not share that language. other arguments presented in training sessions, and certainly enforced at language schools

39、in japan are that the application of l1 in the learning process creates a crutch for students. as a result of word-by-word translation, learners develop neither target language (l2) thinking skills nor efficient reading ability, their speech is halting and interlanguage errors are embodied. harbord

40、(1992) provides further reasons for not using it, citing a return to grammar-translation with all of its negative connotation; the isolation of lexis from any real context prevents students from gleaning insight into the multiple uses and meaning of the word as well. he further contends that in an i

41、nformal application, translation creates a hierarchy where the stronger students prevent weaker students from contributing in the l2 by enforcing a feeling of inferiority.2. arguments in support of the positive transfer on translationgoruschs study, while enlightening, is an example of the extreme f

42、orm of translation which is abhorred by educators and students, and is not at all what current advocates of translation are suggesting. recent articles argue that there is no reason why translation activities cannot be incorporated into a communicatively based lesson, and they promote different acti

43、vities that suit the different goals and aims of students (atkinson, 1987).heltai suggests a positive transfer for the use of translation and writing is that it should be used when translation is an end in itself, when english is a foreign language and not a second language, by students at an advanc

44、ed level of language ability, for adults who prefer conscious learning, when formal correctness is important and the students are actively interested in acquiring this formality, and when the teacher shares the same l1 as the students. while these scholars may disagree with whom and to why translati

45、on should be used, there is accordance as to how it benefits students and where it should be used, which is in classes where the l2 is a foreign language and there are few opportunities to experience that language outside of the classroom.if the translation activities are done in pairs or in small g

46、roups, the students must use the target language for negotiation in order to agree on the more appropriate language to be used. as heltai explains, for many students, the use of the l2 will be in situations where either neutral or formal language is required, and activities that do not require creat

47、ive spontaneity yet require transactional language are more appropriate than ones which require more colloquial language. translation can provide this situation.further arguments reason that the use of translation anchors previously learned vocabulary in the mind and helps learners to expand their v

48、ocabulary, rather than relying on a limited syntax. this is an argument put forth by heltai, who states that advanced learners tend to fossilize in their acquisition of vocabulary because they have learned circumlocution skills. forcing advanced students to search for other words gives such learners

49、 a new goal in their studies.v. pedagogical implicationthe findings of this research suggest several directions for second language teachers. first, l1 thinking affect more or less to l2 learners in their interlanguage development. indication from the present study tell us that what accounts in fiel

50、d of language transfer is how to train our students to make good use of the positive transfer of the native language and how to minimize their negative transfer in translation rather than a whole ignorance of the role l1 may play in l2 learning. actually in teaching practice, l1 thinking style can b

51、e helpful in structuring and generating ideas and it may help with the lexical and syntactic choice in the process of l2 translation. english teachers should encourage them to consciously resort to some effective references so that the learners can enlarge their target language repertoire.in additio

52、n, teachers need to be aware of the effect the academic depth of the translation task has on the transfer of composing processes. if the task requires language that is beyond a students l2 proficiency level, then the difficulty of producing a text in the l2 becomes exponentially greater. in classroo

53、ms where l2 translation students have a low l2 proficiency level and are faced with high level translation tasks, it may be advantageous for the teacher to discuss and practice compensating strategies for accomplishing real-world translation tasks that require an l2 proficiency level beyond that of

54、the students. without having any strategies for accomplishing such a task, it is possible that these l2 learners may become frustrated and give up on the task. if they do persevere and finish the task, the quality of the final product may possibly be below their potential that they had been aware of

55、 some compensating strategies. a final implication for teachers of l2 translation is that translation instruction for lower l2 proficiency students should be coupled with language instruction. the main target of l1 translation instruction is to teach students about the translation process and how to

56、 use it. however, l2 translation instruction should contain not only translation instruction but also language instruction in reading, listening, speaking, grammar, vocabulary, and anything that the translation teacher believes accelerates the acquisition of overall language fluency. instruction tha

57、t speeds up the acquisition of the l2 will help students quickly get beyond an l2 proficiency level that potentially inhibits their ability to transfer their l1 composing processes.although many l2 writers use their l1 in some way while writing in the l2, the amount of l1 used during l2 writing is n

58、ot the same for all l2 writers. in general, proficient l2 learners do not depend heavily on the l1 to drive the writing process because they have a sufficient level of l2 automat city and knowledge to think and plan in the l2. however, lower l2 proficiency writers rely more heavily on their l1 during the writing process in order to sustain the process and avoid a complete breakdown in language.cumming observed two distinct strategies that helped sustain the writing process of their lower l2 proficienc