Application Of Functionalist Theory To English-Chinese Translation Of Aviation Documents

English, undoubtedly, is an important language in the world. EST (English for Science and Technology) is an applied linguistic form which is widely used in the fields of academy and technology. Aviation documents belong to EST, which are the convenient and widely applied texts of acknowledging the structure, material, data and design of every part in an aircraft or a helicopter. They report new scientific technology, new scientific material and new scientific craft, which have been applied in the latest aviation fields in a systematic way. Therefore, aviation documents are critical references for aviation technologists. However, English expression is a barrier to most Chinese technologists, because seldom of them can translate all of the important texts successfully. Then it becomes an obstacle in comprehension, and can detain the high-tech application. The translation of English aviation documents plays an important role in our country's introducing advanced science and technology from developed countries and improving the sci-tech-communication between countries. Aviation documents translation helps greatly for technical workers to grasp more information of science and technology. With more and more experts and officials realizing the importance of science, the translation of aviation documents will arouse much attention. This thesis holds that the functionalist theory is a suitable theory concerning almost all aspects of the document translation. It is due to the comprehensiveness that functionalist theory finds its wide application in translation. The thesis applies functionalist theory as the principle to translating English aviation documents. Based on the study of the features of English aviation documents, the author explores the feasibility of functionalist theory in the translation of aviation documents. This is discussed in three aspects, namely vocabulary translation, syntax translation, and discourse translation. Thus it is concluded that functionalist theory is an appropriate guide to the translation of English aviation documents. The study of E-C translation of aviation documents under the guidance of functionalist theory is of practical significance. Translations of English aviation documents are expected of higher quality. Functionalist theory is of much positive value to its translation. The thesis is just a tentative probe into it, and the research is only a start and much remains to be done in the future.