The Gloosy Ganoderm: Systemic Functional Linguistics and Translation
Theoretical Explorations in Translation Studies - Readings Empowered by Systemic Functional Linguistics - Bo Wang
M.A.K. Halliday † [+]
University of Sydney (Emeritus)
M.A.K. Halliday, who died in April 2018, was born in Yorkshire in 1925. He was trained in Chinese for war service with the British army; studied in China, taught Chinese in Britain for a number of years, then moved into linguistics, becoming in 1965 Professor of General Linguistics at University College London. In 1975 he was appointed Foundation Professor of Linguistics at the University of Sydney, where he remained until his retirement.
Description
Halliday examines equivalence in translation in different dimensions, i.e. (i) stratification, (ii) rank and (iii) metafunction. To illustrate how these dimensions can be applied to translation studies, Halliday (2009) selects two translated texts between English and Chinese from two different registers: an introductory remarks from a dictionary and an introduction to an exhibit from a tourist guide. Based on his analysis from the perspectives of rank and stratification, he shows how the higher hierarchical scales of stratification and rank carry higher values, pointing out some difficulties in the management of translation shift.