A Report On The Translation Project Of Only Time Will Tell(Excerpts)

As a communicative tool, language’s principal purpose is to deliver information in various linguistic environments. In his book The Theory and Practice of Translation, Nida states that the process of translation consists of reproducing the closest natural equivalent of the source-language message in the receptor language,first in terms of meaning and second in terms of style. Literary works contain a rich variety of cultural background knowledge, which functions as an important means of learning a new language and promoting the communication and interaction between people living in different language environments, and in order to achieve this purpose,emphasis needs to be put on both meaning and style to make the translation as natural as possible for the target readers. Translating foreign literary works contributes not only to expanding the horizon of Chinese readers and helping them perceive foreign cultures, but also to improving readers’ taste in literature and languages. With regard to international cultural exchange, translating foreign literary masterpieces can also advance a certain amount of international cultural exchanges.This translation report is based on the translation project in which the translator is entrusted by the Chongqing Daily Press. The translator’s translation task includes the even chapters in Only Time Will Tell written by the British translator Jeffrey Howard Archer. This report is focused on two aspects: one is the translation of rhetorical devices in English literature and the other is the translation of special and complicated sentence patterns in English literature.