Translating Chinese Political Neologisms As A Problem-Solving Process

Based on the assumption that translation is a problem-solving process, this papercopes with the range of problems in political neologism translation. It first points outdifficulties in the translation process, which are mainly caused by cultural differencesand political delicacy. Then it follows Nida’s four-stage translation procedures to findsolutions to these problems. The first stage is to analyze the meaning of a Chinesepolitical neologism at conceptual and textual levels. Then at the transfer stage,translators are expected to shift the mode of thinking from the source language (SL) tothe target language (TL) and work out a preliminary solution by borrowing or creatinga translation. At the third stage, translators need to determine if the transformation ofdeep structures in the SL to surface structures in the TL is acceptable to the targetlanguage system. Restructuring may be needed in form or in content. Finally, thereader factor should be taken into consideration at the testing stage because readerresponse is the most practical criterion by which to evaluate the quality of atranslation. This paper is expected to shed some light on the translation of Chinesepolitical neologisms and also inspire further interest in this area of study.