A Research On English Text Types And Their Translation

Text and translation are studied together at home and abroad by linguists and translators. What category the source text belongs to exerts considerable influence on the translating product, criteria and tactics as well, just because different types of texts perform different functions in a certain linguistic and cultural context. Many attempts of formulating a typology of texts have been made but only to be beset by some problems. For example, classifying texts according to the criteria of "field of discourse" amounts to little more than a statement of subject matter, which is so broad as to have little practical value. Despite these difficulties, identifying the characteristics of the different text types is indispensable for a comprehensive master of the source language in the process of transferring into the target language. In this paper, texts will be generally analyzed in terms of the "four forms of text" : narration, description, exposition and argumentation, because it is a simple, convenient and widely-accepted approach. Comparing some source- and target language texts, we can see the similarities and differences of these four text types: both English and Chinese texts have the same four types and each of them performs similar functions in their own linguistic and cultural context, though they are somewhat different in organization due to some differences in thinking modes and culture.To what degrees the target language is equivalent to the source language text is the critical problem. The criterion of successful translation is not only to maintain faithfulness to the content, language and style of the original text, but also to preserve the same function of the original. The principle of translation is not only to preserve the form, namely stressing the typical framework of the original text, but also to transfer the total meaning of the original text, and thus to achieve the same function. By analyzing different texts, the correlation between the choice of text form and the correct rendition of the original contents andfunctions are; discussed, therefore, how to use the proper forms of texts to convey the contents and functions of the source language and how to realize the principle of" equivalence of function, correspondence of text type, and similarity of form " are emphasized.The thesis is composed of four chapters. Its feasibilities, significances, and clues of argumentation are set forth in the part of introduction In the first chapter, a survey of the text linguistics, concepts of discourse and text, unit of text and the view of the text-oriented translation, is carried out. Thus the setup of the thesis is decided, making way for the discussion of text typology as the essential part in the study of text-oriented translation by investigating text linguistics, the concept of discourse and text, and the reasons of dividing a large unit into units, which is the key point of what we mean by text-oriented translation. Further, the significances of text type study in translation are discussed so as to find out the cut-in point in the following study. In the second chapter, a literature review of text-type study at home and abroad is made so as to underlie the classification of text types in translation study. From the cognitive properties of text types, the effectiveness of the four foams of text types in translation can be revealed. In the third chapter, we analyze the characteristics of the "four forms of text types", that is: narration, description, exposition and argumentation. Comparative study of text types between English and Chinese is made as well, among which we expound the similarities and the differences of text types, and the similarities-enable the translator to realize the equivalence of contents and functions of text types of two languages, while the differences in thinking modes and culture are what we have to resolve so as to ensure the functional equivalence of the texts. In the fourth chapter, as to the text-oriented translation, it's crucial to make it clear the hierarchical...