A Report On The Translation Of The Memories Of Barry Lyndon

This source text is selected from the novelette The Memories of Barry Lyndon byWilliam Makepeace Thackeray, found in the electronic library of the University of Adelaideunder the guidance of my teacher. So far there is no Chinese version of this novel published inour country, so the translation sets up a new bridge for a profound research of WilliamMakepeace Thackeray. Through the comprehension of the text, my understanding andcognition of British bourgeois life in the nineteenth century and British culture weredeepened.This Translation report is divided into four parts. Part One gives a brief introduction tothe source of the text, the author’s writing style and the content of target text. Part Tworecords the process of translation, preparation, translation and checking, and sums upproblems and phenomenon occurring in each phase. And to solve the difficulties duringtranslation, the domesticating translation is preferred. Based on translation difficultiesencountered in the process of translation, Part Three makes a detailed illustration oftranslation skills from the following three aspects: adjusting word order, flexibly choosingword meaning in accordance with the context and characters’ emotion and using freetranslation to convey appropriate meaning. In this part the author combines the theories anddetailed examples to show the appropriateness of the improved translation. Finally the authorreflects on the translation, stating the qualities that a translator should possess and the author’srealization of the importance of improving her Chinese as well as English.