A Report On E-C Translation Of The Mind In The Making (Excerpts) Based On Adaptation Theory

The source text of the report is extracted from The Mind in the Making,authored by American historian James Harvey Robinson.Through the interdisciplinary use of history,psychology,anthropology and sociology,Robinson discusses the importance of reshaping mindsets and developing critical thinking to find solutions to the predicament of human beings.Taking into consideration the features of the source text,including the existence of abundant historical facts and expertise as well as the complexity of language,the author chooses Jef Verschueren’s adaptation theory as the theoretical basis and explores the translation strategies and methods adopted in the translation within the framework of the three angles of adaptation theory.The discussions of the thesis are centered around how translators overcome the differences in linguistic habits,cognitive ability,and cultural contexts between English and Chinese readers under the guidance of adaptation theory,so as to produce a translated text which can be readily accepted by the target readers.According to the thesis,the three perspectives of adaptation theory,including contextual correlates,structural objects,and dynamics of adaptability,provide guidance to the translator on making appropriate decisions in translation.Contextual correlates of adaptability puts emphasis on the spatial and temporal differences,psychological factors and historical and cultural background of the original author and the target readers,which enables translators to accurately understand and convey the meaning of the source texts.Structural objects of adaptability,which relates to the organization of translated texts from the aspects of lexicon,syntax and discourse,helps render the source texts into acceptable and understandable language through the application of replacement,paraphrase and other translation techniques,as well as the analysis of the theme and information structure.Dynamics of adaptability,which focuses on the subjectivity of the translator,hints at the fact that the proper employment of the strategies of active and passive adaptation can give full play to the translator’s subjectivity while taking account of fidelity to the source texts and acceptability of the target texts.