Conveyance Of Modality In Translating English Complaint Letters Into Chinese

Modality expresses speaker or author's attitude towards the proposition or the information exchanged. It is the main semantic carrier to convey interpersonal meta-function and can reflect the interpersonal relationship between two parties concerned. During the process of translation, the interpersonal meta-function of the target text (TT) should be equivalent to that of the source text (ST) so as to achieve the purposes of the ST author. Then how to translate modality accounts for an important element for translators in the process of translation.In Halliday's interpersonal meta-function, modality can be classified into two types: modalisation and modulation. He also establishes three basic modal values: high, median and low, and differentiates two types of modal orientation: subjectiveness and objectiveness. At lexical level, modality can be expressed by modal operators, modal adjuncts, adjectival predicators, prepositional phrases, nominalizations and modal metaphors, etc. At clausal level, personal pronouns and tense can also convey modality. At discourse level, different genres reflect different modality and have various usages of modal expressions. Even though the genre is the same, the usage of modality may be different in different languages.Based on interpersonal meta-function, the thesis aims to examine how to convey modality in translating complaint letters from English to Chinese. Complaint letters deal with the relationship between complainer and the party complained. The usage of modality is significant in their interpersonal relationship. The thesis explores the conveyance of modality from three levels: lexical, clausal and discourse level. Some translating strategies are found to convey modality in the TT so that the interpersonal meta-function of the ST can be achieved.