A Translation Report On The Oxford Encyclopedia Of African Thought (Excerpts)

The first half of the 21st century is a critical period for China’s fully development.Accompanied by the continuous advancement of domestic development and the significant increase in national power,several new changes have taken place in China’s relations with the world in the past ten years,especially that China-Africa relations have been significantly improved and comprehensively expanded on the basis of friendly cooperation in the past.Under the circumstances,it is very necessary to deepen the understanding of African economy,culture,and politics.In view of this,the author decides to select the book The Oxford Encyclopedia of African Thought,which is a very detailed introduction to various aspects of Africa,and translates some of its key words,in order to contribute to the spread of African thought and culture.As a comprehensive research result in the field of African thought and culture,the book contains more than 360 key words.The author selected the following six key words from the book: “Civil Society”,“Ethics”,“Divination”,“Tribe”,“Taboo”and“Scientists,African”.These key words involve several aspects of Africa,such as politics,morals,scientific development,social life,and divination culture.As an encyclopedical informational text,this translation practice has the characteristics of preciseness,simplicity,popularity and fluency.In view of this,the author divides this paper into four chapters,aiming to combine this translation practice with Newmark’s text type translation theory,so as to explore the characteristics and translation strategies of information texts from the three levels of vocabulary,syntax and text.Through this translation practice,the author hopes to strengthen the understanding of encyclopedical information text translation theory and translation strategies,and promotes the spread of African thought and culture in China.