On C-E Translation Of The 2009 Report On Government Work From The Perspective Of Functionalism

Government work reports belong to a peculiar type of text, having a special style with both universal and unique linguistic characteristics. They are delivered orally by premiers at the People's Congress, yet are written with extreme elaboration. They consist of looking back at the past achievements and shortcomings as well as planning the work for the following year. For most part, they clarify and expound the policies and viewpoints of the government. Therefore, their translation should have clear and precise diction, and ambiguity is forbidden.With the development of globalization and integration, translation is playing an increasingly important role in the exchange between China and the West. The significance of translation study should not be neglected. Due to the special characteristics of political writings, there is more likely a tendency of word-for-word translation in rendering the style. The annual Government Work Report ("GWR" for short thereafter) delivered to the People's Congress, reviewing the government performance of the past year or even the past five years and outlining future policies and plans for politics, economy, people's life, etc., certainly presents a most authoritative and important source of information about the situation of China and the policies of its government. The author of this thesis makes a tentative research on the translation of political writings in light of functional approaches, aiming at discovering proper translation strategies and methods, improving Chinese-English translation (C-E for short thereafter) quality and facilitating communication.