Towards Effective Approaches To MBA Textbook Translation In China

MBA textbooks got its name from its primary group of readers, students studying for the Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA). In effect, the main users of MBA textbooks are not confined to MBA students only, but include undergraduate and graduate students who major in economics and business in general. MBA textbooks encompass a wide range of subject areas: general management, economics, finance, accounting, marketing, human resources, organizational behavior, etc. Though subsuming under economics and business textbooks, for the sake of convenience, MBA textbooks will be used interchangeably with economics/business textbooks in this dissertation.In 1992, China became a member of the Berne Convention1 and started to introduce from developed countries a vast number of academic works (textbooks included) in multiple disciplines in photo-offsets and translated versions. Among them, the situation with MBA textbooks is both representative and unique.Conventional translation studies in China cover two general areas: literary translation and practical translation, though with much of the attention given to the former. For practical translation, business, science and technology had been the predominant subjects of study but it has in recent years been expanded to law, journalism, medicine, etc. Despite the fact that textbooks are of practical writing and the translation of foreign textbooks has been unprecedented in terms of number and scale, no systematic investigations have been devoted to this topic.The empirical value of translation studies are brought into prominence in this research, the goal of which is to identify the merits and prevalent issues and come forth with practical recommendations for improving the quality of MBA textbook translation. It is also hoped that this study will provide constructive insights and references for textbook translation in other disciplines and for field translation as a whole. The theoretical contribution of this dissertation lies in its proposal to add, on Holmes' map of Translation Studies, the categories of literary and non-literary translation criticism under existing "translation criticism", so that the significance of non-literary translation criticism and its guidance for practical translation can be highlighted.This dissertation combines a review of the status quo of MBA textbook translation, relevant translation, textbook writing and learning theories, analyses of surveys of different groups of "translation stakeholders" (namely, the publishers, the translators, and end users), and a close examination of specific translations taken out of translated MBA textbooks. The study is characterized with its efforts in investigating MBA textbook translation from a multitude of perspectives. It has adopted a qualitative approach and focused on the delineation of MBA textbook translation in China. Coupled with in-depth analysis, critique, and suggestions for improvement, it has, to a large extent, assumed the role of translation criticism.There are six chapters in this dissertation. Chapter One, Introduction, gives an account of the motivation of the research and its significance for translation theory and practice, the reasons for having chosen MBA textbook translation as the research subject, research goals and specific questions to be addressed, and finally the research methods and data collection.Chapter Two describes the status quo of MBA textbook translation in China. It starts with a review of the three waves of textbook importation and translation since the twentieth century and its influence on the Chinese society. The unique situation with MBA education and MBA textbook translation in modern China are discussed. The pros and cons of translated foreign textbooks are explored and it is made explicit that the demands for translated textbooks will not diminish and systemic studies in this territory are needed.Chapter Three expounds the interdisciplinary theoretical framework that the study of MBA textbook translation rests upon. Theories and concepts relevant to this study include but are not limited to Translation Criticism, the Skopos theory, Intercultural Communications, Text Linguistics, Textbook Writing, and Collaborative Translation. The main tenets of each of these theories as well as their respective implications for MBA textbook translation are explicated.Chapter Four is primarily concerned with feedback from the major stakeholders of MBA textbook translation. They include the publishers/editors, translators, and end-users. Inputs from their particular perspectives on MBA textbook translation are gathered. As a complement, translation scholars' views on translation practice have been incorporated.Chapter Five centers around the case studies and technical analyses of MBA textbook translation. Common errors in MBA textbook translation are identified, analyzed, and categorized; some distinctive issues are investigated; concrete measures are proposed and among them, translator training is illustrated in detail.Chapter Six is the concluding section. It summarizes the content of the entire dissertation, points out the contributions this research has made toward translation practice and the research potentials in textbook translation. This research is the first of its kind to investigate in a systematic way the phenomenon of MBA textbook translation, which has opened the first chapter for the study of foreign textbook translation in China. As MBA textbook translation is representative of the translation practice in many other subject areas, they tend to face many similar issues and the study of MBA textbook translation can act as an enlightenment and valuable reference. The dissertation draws attention to the fact that Translation Studies come from translation practice and should therefore contribute back to practice by offering constructive insights and solutions. To do so, translation scholars are strongly encouraged to take a more proactive role in carrying out systemic studies on various translation phenomena in the field.