Inversion
"Inversion" as one of the translation techniques, means the necessary or even inevitable change of word-order in a sentence according to the usage of the language to be translated into. This“change of word-order”is necessary, because, first of all, each language has its own "natural word-order" and its own peculiarities in word-order；secondly, "inversion", as a stylistic device, is often used for emphasis.
1. Subordinate clauses be placed before principal clauses
Adverbial clauses of "condition"，"concession" or "cause or reason"，when translated into Chinese should normally be placed before the principal clause, though often placed after the principal clause in English. e. g,
"But you would soon appreciate the might of this tiny particle, if, all of a sudden there were no more electricity!"——“不過，要是突然出乎意料地都沒有了電的話，你就會立即意識到這些微粒的威力有多么大了！”
"On the other hand, it would be very difficult to give an adequate account of the modern theory of light without some reference to these general considerations." ——“另一方面，要是不在一定程度上涉及到這些總體的考慮，也很難充分地闡明現(xiàn)代光學(xué)理論?！?/p>
2.“M—P—T”converted into“T一P—M”
The natural order of a series of adverbials in English is: M—P—T usually the adverbial of manner immediately follows the main verb, next comes the adverbial of place and finally comes the adverbial of time. Normally we in China tend to place the adverbial of time first, to be followed by that of place and, finally，that of manner. e.g.
"Professor Tung is working with two of his new assistants in his laboratory at the moment.”一一 “童教授現(xiàn)在正在實驗室和他的兩個新助手一道工作?！保ā癕 —P — T”—“T —P — M”）
3. There are cases in which an“adverbial” (or an adj, phrase ) m English means in effect as much as an "adverbial clause" (or non-restrictive clause) does. Should such an occasion arise, such an "adverbial" (or adj. phrase) is usually placed at the end of the sentence and property amplified in the Chinese version. e.g.
"Wind technology, in particular, is ideally suited to meet this need for electricity."一一“風(fēng)力技術(shù)對滿足電的這種要求，是特別理想的?！?/p>
"Then the mirror of the sea will look twisted out of shape for a while."一一“于是，海平面這面鏡子一時看起來波浪起伏，失去了原來平靜如鏡的形狀。”
4. Cases involving a "that-" clause
In expressing a judgment or conclusion when a "that-" clause which serves as the subject (of a sentence or a clause) is too long and consequently "it" has to be used simultaneously as the "formal subject", inversion is often called for, to conform to the usage in Chinese. e.g.
"lt was always possible that supplies could be stopped by wars or shipping trouble."—-“橡膠供應(yīng)因戰(zhàn)爭或航運事故而受阻，這樣的事過去常常發(fā)生?！保ɑ颍哼^去，橡膠供應(yīng)常常因戰(zhàn)爭或航運事故而受阻。）
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