A Comparative Study Of Chinese-English And Chinese-Russian Translation Strategies For Distinctive Chinese Expressions

Distinctive Chinese Expressions are frequently used in political documents such as the Report on the Work of Government,conveying complex information and summarizing policies while carrying a rich Chinese culture.Therefore,the translation strategies for such expressions have become a focus of research.However,there has been a lack of research on the translation strategies for non-English languages,hindering the dissemination and acceptance of Chinese political documents in non-English speaking countries.To address this,a comparative study of different translations can help summarize common translation strategies and provide references for non-English translations.This thesis selects distinctive Chinese expressions from the Report on the Work of Government from 2018 to 2022 and analyzes the strategies used in Chinese-English and Chinese-Russian translations from the perspective of the Variational Translation Theory.By comparing the similarities and differences in the use of strategies in both languages,this study aims to improve the translation quality of distinctive Chinese expressions.Variational Translation Theory,put forward by Huang Zhonglian,contains many adaptation techniques that can guide the translation of distinctive Chinese expressions.This study focuses on the application of adaptation techniques in the comparative study,summarizes the similarities and differences in the translation strategies of English and Russian translations,and draws from each other’s experiences to further develop translation strategies for distinctive Chinese expressions.The thesis divides the expressions selected from the Report into three general categories of traditional culture-loaded expressions,distinctive economic and political terms,and buzz phrases.The framework applied for analysis is the five common adaptation techniques:adding,deleting,narrating,condensing,and altering.The comparison has revealed that both foreign language translations reflect some ideas on the use of adaptation techniques;however,the difference lies in the different levels of its application.In particular,the English translation is more flexible and applies more translation strategies that reflect the idea of adaptation techniques.The Russian translation could learn from the English translation in the choice and timing of using adaptation techniques.Furthermore,the comparison of the two foreign translations provides further insights into translation strategies and can offer new ideas for learners of both languages.