Towards Translation Of China-related Terms From Western Media: A Manipulative Approach

The past two decades saw an increasing number of news reports in western media on China due to China's growing international influence. As a result, the ever-growing coverage on China brings various translations of China-related terms, which originates in a Chinese social and cultural context. For western journalists and reporters, the introduction of such news words and expression is inevitable. Therefore, the study of the translation of China-related terms is conducive and meaningful for China to identify an ideal strategy to promote its positive image.Under the framework of Lefevere's patronage theory, the thesis proposed a hypothesis that, in the case of CE translation of China-related terms by western journalists, ideology functions as the decisive factor. Then the thesis performs a case study to justify her hypothesis. In an effort to study and categorize the different strategies, the thesis collected reports on China from 14 leading and influential news agencies, newspapers and magazines (English version only) from September 2010 to December 2010 to reveal the manipulating force behind western media. Through qualitive and quantitive studies, the thesis finds that ideology acts as the driving factor in the translation process of China-related terms by western media.