On Chinese-English Translation Of The Scientific And Technical Text

Translation of scientific and technical texts has long been a subject of interest and discussion among researchers due to inconsistency in the quality of translation. The delivery of the translated text can be meaningless or downright contradictory with the original text which may lead to confusion even among professionals let alone non-professional readers. The cause of the problem lies in the absence of professional knowledge among translators and lack of translation theories and practices on the side of professionals. In addition, the majority of researches in China on the translation of science literature are found in the field English to Chinese translation which highlights topics such as attributive clauses and translation of science terminology. On the other end of the spectrum, few researches have been done on the Chinese to English translation of science literatures and thus even less discussion on relevant theoretical studies and professional practices.Based on the case study of the translation of the Job Training Materials of the WISCO-Liberia Program, the paper discusses the principles and methods in Chinese to English translation of science and technical literature. The paper comprises four parts: part one, an introduction to the background and objective of the research. Part two, a detailed account of the process of a typical translation practice, including the preparation, translation and post-translation processes. In this process, attention should be given first to the thorough understanding of the original teaching material in terms of professional background knowledge, the context, target user and purpose of the material; by using a project-oriented management and a group-based job assignment and coordination system, the efficiency and quality of translation are ensured; finally, through cross-review and professional proof-reading, the translation if completed and further feedbacks from users are expected to improve the quality of future editions. Part three presents the case studies on the translation of words, sentences, diagram, formula and examination questions, and the generalizes the principles and methods of Chinese-English translation of science literature regarding terminologies, use of nominalization and compound nouns, sentences with no subjects, long sentences, loosely structured sentences etc. Part four is a conclusion on the principles and methods of translation and the effect on translation from factors such as the target user, means and purpose of communication.