Negation
Some linguists say, "Every language has its peculiarities in negation". And there is indeed an important, though often neglected, difference between Chinese and English in negation---negation, in way of thinking and in mode of speaking. If we study the matter closely, we shall not fail to notice that native speakers of English have their own way of thingking in the negative and of expressing negative implications, quite different from ours.
To begin with, the use of “yes” and “no” is a case in point. e.g. In Chinese, it is quite idiomatic to carry on a conversation like this:某甲：“你明天不去嗎？”某乙：“是的，我明天不去?！盜n English however，the dialogue should be: Mr. A: “Are you not going tomorrow?” Mr. B:"No, I'm not going." (NOT "yes, I'm not going." ）
Furthermore, what is affirmative in form in one language may often mean something negative in another language. For instance, if a British friend says to you: "The world today is far from peaceful", what he actually means, when rendered into Chinese , is：“今天的世界還很不安寧。”
Technically, the analysis and handling of negation in thinking and in the mode of speaking is called“negation”，one of the“translation techniques”which helps us to represent the original thought adequately in translation. Let us now elaborate this a little bit.
Some linguists who have researched into "English words implying negative sense", are of the view that these words can be classified in the following way:
1. "Full negatives"---no, not, none，never，nothing, nobody, nowhere, neither, nor：
"All solids have both size and shape. Liquids have size but no shape, while gases have neither size nor shape."—— “一切固體既有形狀又有大小。液體只有大小沒有形狀，而氣體既無形狀又無大小?！?/p>
“At the same time the Germans were also building a jet engine; but neither country told the other, of course."——“德國人同時也在建造噴氣發(fā)動機(jī);但是，哪一個國家也沒有告訴另外一個國家?！?/p>
2. "Absolute negatives" --- not at all, by no means, in no way, none, nothing, short of, etc. e. g.
"In this case, the cutting tool, that is，the drill, turns fast，but the workpiece doesn't move at all."——“在這種情況下，切削刀具即鉆頭快速轉(zhuǎn)動，但工件卻根本不動。”
“This is desirable but by no means essential to the primary objective of validating mathematical models of aircraft behaviour. ”——“對于驗證飛機(jī)性能的數(shù)學(xué)模型這一主要目的來說，這是必需的，但決不是最本質(zhì)的?！?/p>
Generally speaking, there is little difference between Chinese and English as far as 1. and 2. are concerned; but there is a marked difference in the mode of thinking and speaking as far as the following three categories of negatives (3. 4. 5. ) are concerned：
3. "Semi negatives" --- hardly, rarely, scarcely , seldem, barely, few, little, etc, e. g.
"The value of the helicopter is immense. It can hardly be measured."——“直升機(jī)的價值是無限的，幾乎無法估量?！?/p>
“Sounds are so familiar to us that we rarely inquire into their nature."——“我們非常熟悉聲音，以致很少去探究其性質(zhì)。”
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4. "Partial negatives"---not every, not all, not much, not many, not always, not often, etc. e. g.
“Eclipses are not seen in every part of the world. ”——“不是在世界上所有的地方都能看到日食和月食的。”
“But not all that sun's power gets down to the surface of the earth.”一一“但是，并非全部太陽能都能達(dá)到地球表面?！?/p>
5. "Words with negative implication"---fail, without, beyond, above, until, unless, lest, ignorant, refrain, refuse, negJect, absence, lack, instead of, other than, except, rather than, etc. e. g.
“Galileo, amongst others, recognized the problem, but failed to solve it. ”——“伽利略和其他一些人認(rèn)識到這個問題，但是沒能加以解決。”
“Without reasoning one is apt fo be beyond control.”——“沒有理智容易變成不受約束?！?/p>
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