Study On EST Translation From The Perspective Of Functional Equivalence

Nowadays, with the rapid development of domestic Space Technology, Englishfor science and technology (EST) translation in this field plays an increasinglyimportant role in knowledge accumulation and information exchange.However, the underlying theory of translating has not caught up with thedevelopment of skills. Traditional translation theories have developed on the basis ofliterary translation. The corresponding strategies paid much attention to lexical level,which give emphasis to formal equivalence; while pragmatic level is often ignored.This source text oriented translation strategy often produces many under qualifiedtranslated texts. Consequently, the effective communication of scientific informationhas largely been hindered.From the perspective of functional linguistics, the purpose of technical text aimsat information transferring. Truthfulness of information transferring is of theoverwhelming importance in EST translation. To achieve this effect, Nida’s functionalequivalence is introduced into EST translation. A desirable target language textrequires the closest natural equivalence of the source language, first in terms ofmeaning and secondly in terms of style. This requirement has shifted from oldconcept, which focused on the form of the message, to the new concept, whichfocused on the response of the receptor to the translated message. Consequently, toproduce high quality of EST translation, priority of functional equivalence overformal equivalence and priority of the needs of reader over forms of language shouldbe taken into consideration.The purpose of this thesis is to apply functional equivalence approach to ESTtranslation. Through this humble study, more insights and worthwhile research on thisfield are expected.