On The Translation Of Report On The Work Of The Government

Political texts are usually used on formal occasions, such as speeches and reports delivered in public by leaders of a Party and a country. The annual Report on the Work of the Central Government of China (the Report) is a typical political text which has aroused people’s great attention. As a result, people begin to attach high importance to the translation of the Report. The thesis will study both Chinese and English versions of the Reports in recent years and try to provide some useful suggestions for the translation of political texts.Methodologies of contrastive analysis, induction and exemplification are adopted in the thesis. Not only are the Chinese version and relevant English translation compared, but the improvements of English translation are analyzed from recent years’Reports. The aim of the research is to sum up practical translation principles and approaches which will be conducive to further research on translation.On the one hand, a macro-analysis is made on the factors that affect translation such as social development, political factors, economic factors and cultural influence; on the other hand, a micro-analysis is made on linguistic differences and on the translation of words, sentences and paragraphs. Quantities of up-to-date examples are so typical that they make abstract theories easy to understand. Among those examples, many are taken from Report on the Work of the Government in2012, which can better reflect the development of our country. Besides, some necessary background knowledge about the Report is discussed in Chapter Two, which makes research more interesting.We can get the conclusion that the Report manifests distinctive features. First, words with Chinese characteristic are abundant in the Report, because it is closely related to the social development of China and reflects specific cultural connotations. Second, many complex and long sentences with fewer connectives can be found in the Report, whose patterns are single. Besides, there are many imperative sentences and slogan-type sentences. With principles of accuracy and flexibility, translators are supposed not only to convey the correct meaning of original texts, but also to introduce Chinese culture to foreign readers during translation. The translation approaches frequently used are literal translation, literal translation with explanations and liberal translation. What’s more, the translation strategies of words with Chinese characteristics, compound sentences and paragraphs should also be paid attention to.This thesis consists of introduction, four chapters and conclusion. The introduction is the generalization of research motives, previous researches on the translation of political texts, theoretical basis as well as methodologies of this thesis. Chapter One is the introduction of political texts, including definitions, classification and functions. In Chapter Two, some necessary background knowledge related to the Report is discussed. Besides, it also discusses the characteristics of the Report. Chapter Three introduces some factors that influence translation such as social, economic and cultural factors. Chapter Four is the summary of translation principles and approaches. The conclusion is a brief summary of the whole thesis and it puts forward suggestions for translators to improve the quality of their translation.