A Rhetorical Study Of The English Version Of2012Report On Government’s Work

The English version of the Chinese government’s work report is both a crucial official document for international publicity and an important window through which foreign observers gain access to the current state of China. As such, so much depends on the quality of its translation. While many Chinese scholars have paid close attention to the translation of this key official document and have so far brought a wide range of theoretical perspectives to bear on it, few have taken notice of rhetoric’s extraordinary relevancy to the project. As a special discourse, translation always takes place in certain rhetorical situation and means to produce certain effect on the target audience. So to a significant degree, the act of translating is a kind of rhetoric. Considering the specific functions the annual report of Chinese government’s work is meant to perform, the study of its translation from the perspective of rhetoric can certainly help the translators raise their theoretical awareness to achieve the expected communicative effect. Drawing on Lloyd Bitzer’s theory of rhetorical situation, this thesis analyzes the audience, exigency, and rhetorical constraints pertaining to the translation of the said report, with a view to exploring the application of rhetoric to translating political documents in general. The thesis first identifies the various factors which constitute rhetorical constraints on this special act of translation, as well as the efforts made by the translators to handle these constraints and to achieve the expected publicity effect. It then looks further into other related issues confronting translators of the report. The broader implications of what this case study reveals to the translating of political documents as a whole are also explored before we conclude the discussion.