A Practice Report On The E-C Translation Of Chinese Sketches （Excerpts）

This report is based on the translation practice of Chinese Sketches（excerpts）,written by the British sinologist,Herbert A.Giles.The book is mainly about miscellaneous notes concerning Chinese social life and customs,such as women’s status,medicine,divination,literature and so on.This report focuses on three points,and introduces in detail the three problems encountered by translator in the process of translation,namely,the translation of Wade-Giles Romanization,the translation of negative sentences and realization of textual cohesion in the target text.At the same time,the corresponding solutions to these three problems are also presented together with analysing certain typical examples.Specifically,basing on the principle of being loyal to the source text,and respecting the writer and serving the readers,the translator uses the cross validation method to translate the Wade-Giles Romanization by looking up historical materials and comparing it to the Chinese Pinyin Table.Some of the negative sentences in the source text are dealt with by reverse translation in accordance with context.And cohesion and coherence are achieved in the target text through semantic reproduction.At the same time,when dealing with the cultural factors in the source text,the translator draws on the theory of Reception Aesthetics,taking into consideration the possible readers of the target text,and adopts the translation strategy of combination of domestication and foreignization,so as to transmit the information and attitude reflected from the source text.The above strategies and methods applied help to bring better understanding,fluency,and make the translation better-structured and much more readable.Through this translation practice,the translator has an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of historical information texts,summarizes the ways and methods needed in translating such texts.The translator expects to expand the knowledge reserve in relevant fields,accumulates more experience in translation,and if possible,provide modest reference for peers or learners in the related areas.