A Study On Chinese To English Translation Of Cities’ AD Slogans Under Functional Equivalence Theory

Since China’s implementation of the reform and opening-up policy, China hasreceived much more attention from the world. Especially after the entry into the WTOand the success in holding the29thOlympic Games, Chinese image has becomeunprecedented important. During this process, publicity materials are much accountedas a medium for the world to know China. Therefore, translations of Chinese publicitymaterials are of particular importance for Chinese development. Excellent translationscontribute to more effective communications. The city AD slogans, as kind ofpublicity material, serve as a direct way. People get the first impression of a city fromits AD slogan. Consequently, a city’s AD slogan is so important as the city’s “face”.Eugene A. Nida’s theory of functional equivalence has been highly valued andhas influenced the aspect of translations all over the world. This theory mainlystresses the target reader’s response rather than the form. We consider functionalequivalence as one of the best translation theories for cities’ AD slogans translations.Studies on translations of cities’ AD slogans are few so far. Applying Nida’sfunctional equivalence theory to this field is a new application. The thesis willillustrate functional equivalence systematically and analyze feathers of cities’ ADslogans briefly, then apply the theory to translations of cities’ AD slogans, trying tofind the guidance and practical applications in the theory, and also researching thestrategies to translate cities’ AD slogans based on the functional equivalence theory.The thesis also analyzes the problems and excellent existing translations of cities’ ADslogans under the functional equivalence theory, and proposes six strategies in thetranslations guided by the theory.We intend to arouse people’s attention and contribute to the translations of cities’AD slogans...