A Study On The English Translation Of 2010 Report On The Work Of The Government From The Functionalist Perspective

More than thirty years of reform and opening-up as well as the socialist modernization have greatly promoted China's comprehensive national strength and international status. China has become the focus of the international community which pays close attention to China's current developments in politics, economy etc. The annual Report on the Work of the Government (hereinafter referred to as "RWG") reviews the government performance of the past year and outline future plans and policies for politics, economy, people's wellbeing, diplomacy etc. It is the most authoritative source of the latest situation of China, so it surely attracts the world attention. Thus, RWG translation is of vital importance because it not only facilitates the foreigner's access to information about China, but also helps enhance China's image on the international arena.In view of this background, the present thesis attempts to conduct a comprehensive and systematic study on RWG translation. Because 2010 Report on the Work of the Government (hereinafter referred to as "2010 RWG") is the latest RWG which presents a full picture of current China and includes various up-to-date plans and policies, it is employed as a case study in this thesis. From the functionalist perspective, mainly based on the text typology and skopostheorie, the present thesis aims to conduct a study on the translation of 2010 RWG at the lexical, syntactical and textual levels and conclude proper and effective translation criteria and techniques, expecting to provide a reference for the translation practice of political writings of such kind. Since text typology and skopostheorie basically converge in the case of RWG translation and provide applicable criteria and strategies for RWG translation, this thesis is supported by the important theoretical elements such as text type, translation skopos, target readers etc. of the two theories and centers on how to convey the original information faithfully and get them across to the western readers in an idiomatic way. Invariance in transfer of the content and the thoroughness of the orientation to the target language are the principles governing the RWG translation.This thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One, as an introduction, includes the overview of RWG and its English translation, previous study on RWG translation, why 2010 RWG as a case study, theoretical basis and the breakthrough of the thesis. Chapter two is on the translation of 2010 RWG at the lexical level. The translation of category words, excessive intensifiers, long- and multiple- modifiers, high-frequency words and culture-specific words are analyzed. Chapter three discusses 2010 RWG translation at the syntactical level. Modality, zero-subject sentences, subordination, sentences with rhetorical devices are taken into consideration. Chapter four is on 2010 RWG translation at the textual level, with cohesion, theme and information arrangement the chief concern. Chapter five, as the conclusion, summarizes the whole thesis, points out the limitations and makes suggestions for further study.