This article is about the formulation of Chinese School of Language Life, including its theoretical ground, its main members and their concerns, and its developing course. Language life refers to all activities associated with the application, learning and study of language and scripts, language knowledge and language technology. Application, learning and study are three dimensions of language life. The “language” concerned by language life includes language and scripts, language knowledge, and language technology. A matrix combining the three dimensions of application, learning, study and three ranges of language, language knowledge and language technology results in nine categories: language application, language knowledge application, language technology application, language learning, language knowledge learning, language technology learning, language study, language knowledge study and language technology study. This paper argues that a great deal of work has been done in the area of language life, such as: sociolinguistic observations in respective areas, carrying out quantitative study on language life through media and press, conducting analysis on language situation, and implementing investigations into public views on language issues. As a result, Chinese scholars have developed a framework for study of language use, and eventually, an emerging “School of Language Life” came into being with an objective of “to conduct language and linguistic research on language life and for language life”.
This paper deals with the technical difficulties and challenges encountered in carrying out an ongoing publicly-funded national research project entitled the Chinese Thought and Culture Translation and Communication Project, which aims at standardizing key concepts and terms in translating Chinese classical texts. The project was initiated to meet the needs of promoting equal dialogue and communication between the Chinese and western civilizations in an era that has seen an increasing demand from English readers for a better understanding of Chinese indigenous knowledge. The major part of the project deals with various fundamental issues in deciding the appropriate fi nal English translation in order to overcome both linguistic barriers and bridging the huge differences between the Chinese and western cultures. To achieve the goal, the following principles were established: the fi rst and foremost principle is the accurate understanding of the concepts, especially their connotations in thought and culture. Secondly, the concepts should be translated in relation to specifi c contexts. Thirdly, creative translation is encouraged, with due respect to existing translations by sinologists and specialists. Fourthly, phonetic transliteration is necessary and indispensable in the translation of concepts on which there are no English equivalents or semi-equivalents.