The Application Of "Ninety - Nine Degrees" In Translation And Equivalent Translation Theory

With Chinese literature drawing more attention from other countries, it has been a significant task for translators to diffuse Chinese thoughts correctly. This thesis consists of two parts:one is the translation of a novel and the other is the comment on the translation. The novel is A Day at Ninety-Nine Degree Fahrenheit, one of the remarkable works by Phyllis Lin (Lin Huiyin). It tells a story about people in different social stratums spending their one day under the scorching sun in Peking. The story displays a huge gap between the rich and the poor, offering a miniature of the whole society. The second part is a comment on the theories and methods applied in the process of translation. Firstly, I made a summary on the three important aspects that are difficult to be translated properly for English readers, by analyzing the characteristics of the original novel. And then I applied Nida’s theory of "equivalent effect" and the principle of dynamic equivalence for translation to discuss the contradictions between the factual descriptions of original version and effects of translated version on readers in a different culture. A qualified translator always attempts to seek the balance between the two factors, especially when dealing with a cultural gap between the original and English readers.