On The E-C Translation Of News Leads-From Perspective Of Communicative Translation And Semantic Translation

The news lead is an indispensable component of a news report and the translation of it is a vital stage in the process of news translation. So far, some Chinese translators have embarked on relevant researches in this area, offering valuable insights on procedures and techniques to the translation. This thesis attempts to probe into the translation of English news leads from the perspective of communicative translation and semantic translation in quest of efficient ways to accurately transmit information and retain as much as possible the creating and cultural characteristics of original news lead. Based upon Buhler's classification of language functions, Peter Newmark puts texts into three types, i.e. the expressive type, the informative type and the vocative type. To tackle the problems of translating different types of texts, he accordingly contributes the methods of communicative translation (CT) and semantic translation (ST).As far as the text type is concerned, news leads belong to informative texts, yet containing intermingled characteristics of the author's creating features and rich rhetorical devices and cultural elements. Hence, with regard to application of communicative translation and semantic translation, the author holds that translators should adopt flexible strategies according to different textual functions in news leads so as to guarantee the overall quality of translation. To be specific, the author suggests translators apply communicative translation to transmitting truthful information on the one hand and apply semantic translation to reserving literary and cultural features embedded in original news lead on the other hand.This thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter One introduces news leads definition, function, types and Chinese & English news leads analysis. Chapter Two defines news translation, features of news leads translation, and methods of news lead translation. Chapter Three lays down the core theoretical foundation of this thesis by means of conducting in-depth researches into communicative translation and semantic translation, text typology and their relations. Chapter Four dwells on the application of CT and ST, including analyzing the text type, seeking the translation criteria and dealing with specific problems in the translation.