National Image And Chinese-English Translation Strategies For China’s Global Communication

China has a high ranking in the areas of national strength, national standing, and national leverage. China also ranks high in global communication and has received world-wide attention. However, the international community is still harboring deep-rooted prejudices against China. Biased reports and deliberate misinterpretation of China’s policies still exist.What may account for these problems? The main reason, apart from ideological discrepancies and conflicts, is that most foreign audiences know little or remain totally ignorant of the Chinese language and culture. China’s history and culture is long and complex to understand. It will be a massive undertaking to introduce China to the world. This will be a challenging but rewarding endeavor. The publishing of the Chinese-English translation of China’s publicity materials is playing a fundamental role in promoting understanding and cooperation in the international community. This will help project a positive and constructive image for China and foster a favorable climate for China’s growth.A Chinese-English translation of China’s publicity materials will serve as a showcase of what China was, what China is and what China may become. A correct translation of this material is a good place to start as China interacts in the areas of foreign exchange and the humanities environment.This paper will explore a Chinese-English translation of China’s global communication from the perspective of national image theory. Some work has previously been completed on the definition of the Chinese-English translation of China’s publicity materials. Some introductions will be given to the research subject and the research area as well as its distinctive features as compared with literary translation. To gain a general idea of the history and status quo of this issue, the author draws on some related literature, finds some problems with the research in this genre of translation, and points out where improvement is possible.Mistranslation and unidiomatic versions are rampant in China’s publicity materials for global communication at various levels. For example:government documents, White Papers, reports to foreign audiences, and public signage and slogans. Mistranslation and unidiomatic versions fail to introduce the real China to the outside world. Miscellaneous translation of street names, for instance, is liable to create confusion and can be visibly detrimental to China’s image in the world. This problem may also hinder foreign exchange and bring about irreversible damages to China.A broad classification of mistranslation types and the reasons behind these problems are discussed in this paper. Mistranslation in China’s publicity materials can be roughly divided into five types, namely, misspellings and grammar mistakes, miscellaneous translation of proper names, Chinglish, political mistranslation and pragmatic mistranslation. Misspellings and grammar mistakes, whose impacts are not as seemingly serious as political mistranslation and pragmatic mistranslation, can in reality exert so malign effects on a city’s image, for instance, that we can not afford the luxury of ignoring them when taking into consideration the fact that mistranslation, no matter what type it is, tends to be compounded by target audiences. This point can also explain why Chinese scholars find it extremely urgent to reverse this disturbing trend. National image, after all, can be ruined by whatever mistranslation.In order to show how this research is conducted and lay a framework, the author, first discusses the etymology of "image" and probes into the definition of national image formulated by scholars in this field. Listing and analysis of scholars’ interpretations of national image lead to a thorough understanding of the essence and characteristics of national image. China is now aiming to be a democratic, peace-loving, responsibly prosperous country, while cooperating as a socialistic form of government in the modern world.In what way are national image and global communication and national image and Chinese-English translation of China’s publicity materials related?---One of the core issues that this paper attempts to address. Two sections are separately devoted to this exploration. The current international communication system is unbalanced, the western countries being superior to China. China’s global communication muscle and leverage was grossly disproportionate to China’s ever-growing political and economic power. Western countries headed by the United States and the United Kingdom are recognized as the voice of authority by the international community. Moreover, China’s deficit in foreign cultural trade and global communication stand as a big barrier to China’s effort to introduce and promote her culture and image to the outside world.With a view to improving this situation, seven suggestions are offered as follows: improve the art in China’s global communication, improve credibility, initiate public diplomacy, make China’s international media conglomerate, state the China issue, establish emergency treatment mechanism, implement cultural diplomacy as well as promote Chinese products.Referring to national image and C-E translation of China’s publicity materials, this paper holds that text contents, translation strategies, quality of the translated versions and communicative effects have a bearing on China’s image in international context, either directly or indirectly. The inter-relations among translation strategies, quality of the translated versions, communicative effects and national image are shown below:Translation strategiesâ†'quality of the translated versionsâ†'communicative effectsâ†'national image{maintain, raise, ruin}The writer maintains that appropriateness, readability, and political awareness weigh heavily on the quality of translated works, the cognition of target readership, communicative effect and national image. To make this point clear, the writer elaborates on their mutual relations. It is stressed that whether or not to adopt proper translation tactics not only affects the quality of translated works, but also produces three communication effects, which may maintain, raise or ruin China’s national image.To justify how translators choose translation strategies may affect national image building and communication, four factors, among the intra-text and inter-text factors underlying translators’choice of translation strategy are singled out for attention. These factors are ideology, translation Skopos, text typology and target readership. After this discussion, five translation strategies for Chinese-English translation of China’s global communication are formulated, such as trans-editting, pragma-equivalent translation, comparable-text-assisted translation, translation-explanation and semantic&structural undulateness. These translation strategies are explicated in this format:Strategy Motivationsâ†'Strategy Manifestationsâ†'ExemplificationThis paper consists of five chapters.Chapter1:Introduction. This chapter deals with such important issues as research background (what motivates the author to make a study on this topic), issues to be addressed, research methodologies, structure of this paper, research significance and the new contributions that this paper attempts to make.Chapter2:Chinese-English translation of China’s publicity materials:a review of its history and status quo. This chapter begins with a brief introduction of what Chinese-English translation of China’s publicity materials is, their distinctive characteristics, the principles of this genre of translation, challenges involved in this genre. Then, after giving a review of its research history and status quo, the writer points out five problems and offers some tentative solutions. Types of Common mistranslation in China’s global communication and the reasons that may account for them are dealt with at the end of this chapter.Chapter3:National image and Chinese-English translation of China’s publicity materials. First, national image theory serves as the theoretical perspective of this paper. Terminologies concerning national image theory, including definitions, essence, and major features are briefly introduced. Second, China’s current goal in national image building and communication and her national image strategy are elaborated respectively. Third, in an effort to show how national image and Chinese-English translation of China’s publicity materials are related and to justify the writer’s endeavor to explore translation strategies from the perspective of national image building and communication, the writer sets aside two sections:one section deals with national image and global communication, the other national image and Chinese-English translation of China’s publicity materials. Relying on translation examples as proof, this paper concludes that different translation strategies may produce three communication effects which may affect China’s image, i.e. to maintain, to raise, or to ruin China’s image. It will be of much academic and practical value to explore translation strategies of this genre as viewed from China’s national image building and global communication.Chapter4:National image and translation strategies. Two tasks will be accomplished in this chapter.Task one:How can we make the translation strategies to be chosen to stand on their own rights if we are to consider national image building and global communication? Ideology, translation Skopos, Text typology and target readership are discussed in much detail.Task two:What are the effective translation strategies for China’s global communication? As to this issue, five translation strategies are put forward. They are trans-editting, pragma-equivalent translation, comparable-text-assisted translation, translation-explanation and semantic&structural undulateness. Each translation strategy is explicated with either a case study or examplification.Chapter5:Conclusion. This chapter starts with a succinct review of the main points of the preceding chapters and follows by showing the flaws inherent in this research.The present study is an empirical research under the guidance of national image theory. Starting with the basic terminologies in this theory, this dissertation ranges over national image theory, international relations, intercultural communication, and translation studies, including the Skopos Theory, the Relevance Theory and so on. In research methodologies, content-based analysis and text-based analysis are adopted. This dissertation gives equal weight to theory elucidation and exemplification. Qualitative analysis plays a major role while quantitative analysis, as a complement, plays a supporting role. With both macro-theoretical perspective and micro-translation strategies, this dissertation attempts to bring into surface the problems with C-E translation of China’s global communication and come up with effective solutions.It is challenging to explore translation strategies form the perspective of national image building and global communication. It is hoped that the five translation strategies put forward in this dissertation can minimize or even remove mistranslations in all its manifestations which are plaguing the Chinese-English translation of China’s publicity materials. If the findings, particularly the translation strategies, can alert the translators at large to the fact that what they are doing is by no means a personal act but a big mission---to make China known to the world and to project a positive image for China in the international community, the author’s effort pays off.