Application Of Gestalt Theories To E-C Translation Of EST

Translation is a process, involving comprehending the source language text (henceforth ST) as a whole and reproducing this whole in the target language text (henceforth TT). Viewing the translation theories of the past three decades, we find that the emphasis of translation study lies in the wholeness of the object of translation, the ST, as well as the cognitive activities or mental activities of the subject of translation, the translator. What the translator concerns most is not how the whole is constituted by parts, but how the parts are analyzed and actualized against the whole context. Gestalt theories, focusing on the wholeness and integrity of things, are in compliance with the development of modern translation theories, and thus it is necessary to study their application to translation.Jiang Qiuxia published a monograph on the application of Gestalt theories to literary translation in 2002. Since then, lots of papers have been published on the application of Gestalt theories to English learning and teaching and literary translation. Until now, few in the academic field have applied Gestalt theories to EST translation. The present thesis has made a tentative interdisciplinary study of the relationship between Gestalt theories and EST (English for Science and Technology) translation from English to Chinese (henceforth E-C).EST, as a special variety of English, has its own features, such as technicality in wording, symmetry in sentence structures and coherence and cohesion in texture, which are the standard of configuration emphasized by Gestalt theories. Based on the analysis of the relatedness of Gestalt theories and translation as well as EST characteristics, the author, employing a comprehensive method of macroscopic theoretical analysis and microscopic translating illustrations, tries to apply Gestalt theories to EST translation (E-C).The thesis firstly gives an introduction of Gestalt theories, including the definition of the term "Gestalt", Gestalt principle, field theory and Gestalt perception, which focus on the wholeness and harmony of things. Secondly, the study elaborates the close relationship between Gestalt theories and translation, which lies in the interaction between the subject of translation, i.e., the translator, and the object of translation, i.e., the ST. To be more exact, the ST is a unified whole embodied or realized by a set of related components integrated together, and the translator's Gestalt perception allows him to grasp the text as a whole. In this way, through the interaction between the translator and the ST, the ST can be easily comprehended by the translator and the wholeness of the ST can be reproduced naturally and faithfully in the TT.Through theoretical analysis and translating illustrations, the study goes on to demonstrate in detail how EST translation is related to Gestalt theories, how some specific Gestalt laws, laws of pragnanz, can be applied to EST translation practice and how the concept of Gestalt wholeness affects the wholeness and harmony in the TT reproduced by the translator, which is of much novelty. This study also argues that solid language foundation and delicate diction are far from enough in reproducing the wholeness of the EST text. If the translator adopts Gestalt theories in EST comprehension and translation, he could grasp the EST text as a whole and analyze the component parts against the whole, and thus reproduce the wholeness of the ST in the TT naturally and faithfully.Based on meticulous reading of works and papers on Gestalt theories and translation, the author undertakes an interdisciplinary study. As for the methodology of study on this subject, the thesis has been adopting some basic scientific methods in interdisciplinary research: deduction, induction and analogy.