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Pigham writes:
I think learning to use idiomatic English is a good way for translators. But sometimes, when reading some materials, I can easily understand both its grammatical structure and meaning but find it difficult in translating them into literal Chinese though I have a large vocabulary. Is it because of my poor Chinese?
Take the following sentence as an example:
This section includes a discussion of our operations that may contain forward-looking statements that anticipate results based on management's plans that are subject to uncertainty.
Could you help me to properly organize its Chinese meaning?
My comments:
Is it because of your poor Chinese?
I don't know. I have no way of knowing. I don't have a clue - you did not offer a single piece of evidence. I mean, had you given a version of your translated work, I'd be able to make a judgment, and one hopefully in your favor. :
But that's neither here or there. I will judge from what I have. And from that I have to say it's probably not your Chinese. More likely it's your English, your English comprehension to be exact. I think the difficulty you have in translating that sentence derives from the fact that you may not be absolutely sure what it all means, despite your claims to the contrary (I can easily understand both its grammatical structure and meaning).
You see, when we do a piece of translation, we try to understand the original language first. And the better we understand the original, the better we are able to render it into another language.
The more crystal clear you are with the original, the more confident and at ease you will be with your translation. The reverse is true, too, of course - the more in doubt you are with the meaning of the original, the less sure footed you will be in your attempt to put it across.
See translation as paraphrasing, if you will. To a great extent, translation is like paraphrasing, re-phrasing something another way - albeit this time into another tongue.
Let me take a look at your sentence again - a long and convoluted one it is:
This section includes a discussion of our operations that may contain forward-looking statements that anticipate results based on management's plans that are subject to uncertainty.
It runs on (operations that…) and on (statements that…) and on (results based on…) and on (plans that…), doesn't it?
When taken apart, it says these:
This section includes a discussion about our operations. In it there are statements that are perhaps forward-looking, i.e. the figures in them are anticipated results rather than real. The figures are based on management's plans. As plans go, they are subject to uncertainty, or change.
Now, with these ideas in mind, you can set out to put them into Chinese. Don't be intimidated by the length and structure of the original sentence. If you can't convey the whole thing in one Chinese sentence (I hope you won't, or it'll be another mouthful), feel free to break it down and put across the ideas involved piece by piece. At the end of the day, meaning is more important than form.
As a beginner, learn to always put meaning above form, substance over style. In fact, I say the same to old pros - to be able to keep looking at things from a beginner's viewpoint stands anyone in good stead.
For your reference, here's how I'd do it (I make no bones about the fact that I am no professional translator and therefore am not someone to look up to):
本部分討論（內容）包括業(yè)務運作，其中所含業(yè)績指標均屬前瞻性數(shù)據(jù)。這些數(shù)據(jù)僅是（基于）管理層的計劃設想（做出的）。而（俗話說，計劃趕不上變化。）管理層的計劃則可能會受到未來不確定因素影響而改變。
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