Study On Proper Noun Translation In Historical Work—Translation Report Of 1937-1947: La Guerre-monde

The translation of proper nouns is a perennial task in translation practice and an enduring research topic in translation studies.For translators,the task has proven to be a tricky one.When translating proper nouns,translators should not only interpret semantic content,but also convey the cultural meaning behind them when necessary.In historical works,proper nouns are an important language tool to reproduce historical details.Besides referential meaning,proper nouns often carry rich historical and cultural connotations.In the process of translating historical works,the translator,as the first reader of the original works,needs to emerge from the mist of different languages and cultures,accurately determine the meaning of proper nouns in the historical context,and explore the special historical identity and cultural significance behind proper nouns,which requires professionalism and research ability from the translator.This paper takes 1937-1947: la guerre-monde published by éditions Gallimard as the translation and research object,and probes into the difficulties that occurred in the translation process and translation strategies of proper nouns in historical works.1937-1947: la guerre-monde is a historical work on the Second World War.Compiled by more than 50 experts and scholars of diverse disciplines,the text is highly specialized,which brings together extensive knowledge on history,society and culture.The types of proper nouns are numerous and have a wide range of origins,which puts high demands on the accuracy and standardization of the translation.It is also the key difficult part of this translation project to accurately interpret the reference and connotation of proper nouns.The report is divided into five sections.The first part gives a brief introduction of the translation task,1937-1947: la guerre-monde,and analyzes the characteristics of the original text and challenges of translation.The second section presents the process of translation practice,including pre-translation preparations,translation practice and post-translation matters.The third part discusses the translatability of proper nouns as well as related translation principles and skills.The fourth part conducts a case study.In this section,the translator carries out an analysis on the difficulties that occurred in translation practice,as well as relevant translation strategies regrading proper nouns in historical works,from three perspectives: cultural default,second-hand proper nouns and diachronic changes in the semantics of proper nouns and synchronic differences between French and Chinese translations.The last section summarizes the translation challenges and related strategies of proper noun translation in historical academic works,and marks the end of the thesis with presentation of the findings and the limitations of this study.