A Study On Translation Of Political Texts Based On Functionalist Translation Theory

The twentieth century China saw unprecedented attempts at cultural change and rejuvenation through the transfer of foreign knowledge, and translation played a role in almost all aspects of such development. With the enhancing of China's international standing and influence, countries around the world focus their attention on and strengthen the exchange with China. As politic activity is a prominent aspect of our social life, political texts draw great attention internationally and become the most direct and authoritative source of information. Translating political texts precisely and in time enables the world better to understand China's policies and raises our international status.Thanks to the hard work of translation scholars, the studies on C-E translation of the RWG have obtained certain achievements, among which the principle of "political translation must take politics into consideration"("政治文章的翻译要讲政治")proposed by Cheng Zhenqiu is the most outstanding one(2003:18). However, the achievements on the study of the specific translation principles and strategies could not guide the translation application efficiently. Therefore, this thesis discusses the form and development of functionalist translation theory as well as its representative experts and their contributions, and analyzes the writing process, contents and functions of political texts. By studying comprehensively the Report on the Work of the Government in 2010 and its English version produced by Central Compilation and Translation Bureau, this thesis probes into the guiding function of functionalist translation theory in political translation.From the functional point of view, the thesis proposes four principles:faithfulness, preciseness, reader-orientedness and meaning having priority over form. Eight translation techniques are also presented:addition, deletion, substitution, literal translation, transportation, rearrangement, explanation and annotation. The appropriate apply of these principles and strategies will make great contribution to the accomplishment of the functions of the target text. The findings of the present study are valuable for the further research on political translation.