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：“你明天不去吗？”某乙：“是的，我明天不去。”In 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：“今天的世界还很不安宁。”

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."—— “一切固体既有形状又有大小。液体只有大小没有形状，而气体既无形状又无大小。”

“At the same time the Germans were also building a jet engine; but neither country told the other, of course."——“德国人同时也在建造喷气发动机;但是，哪一个国家也没有告诉另外一个国家。”

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."——“在这种情况下，切削刀具即钻头快速转动，但工件却根本不动。”

“This is desirable but by no means essential to the primary objective of validating mathematical models of aircraft behaviour. ”——“对于验证飞机性能的数学模型这一主要目的来说，这是必需的，但决不是最本质的。”

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."——“直升机的价值是无限的，几乎无法估量。”

“Sounds are so familiar to us that we rarely inquire into their nature."——“我们非常熟悉声音，以致很少去探究其性质。”

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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，并非全部太阳能都能达到地球表面。”

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认识到这个问题，但是没能加以解决。”

“Without reasoning one is apt fo be beyond control.”——“没有理智容易变成不受约束。”