On C-E Translation Of Political Texts From The Perspective Of Manipulation Theory

With the rapid development of globalization and the overall implementation of the policy of reform and opening-up, China has taken an increasingly significant position in international communication. Accordingly, a growing number of people and organizations at home and abroad become interested in China from various aspects, involving political and economic conditions, educational situation, cultural background, science and technology development, etc. Meanwhile, the central government of China is also keen on effective and timely foreign publicity to enhance mutual understanding and international communication. However, due to the fact that countries do not share a common native language and culture, there must be a medium to promote mutual understanding, and that is translation. In this view, an effective translation of political texts is not only the transformation of language, but also a bridge between countries which can make contribution to a better communication and build a more harmonious society.This thesis is aimed at studying the translation of political texts, including issues such as how to enhance the understand-ability and acceptability of the translation in the target culture, how to avoid misunderstanding and misleading between countries, and how to achieve foreign exchanges, etc. What is more, the thesis will probe into the influences of Manipulation Theory in the process of translating political texts, especially those of the three factors under the theory, i.e. ideology, poetics and patronage. In particular, the thesis will take the Government Work Report 2014 as corpus to examine the validity and applicability of Andre Lefevere’s Manipulation Theory in the translation of political texts from a practical point of view. On the one hand, as a typical political text, the Government Work Report effectively reflects the situation of China’s politics, economy, culture, science and education, etc. over the past year. On the other hand, it is not only an evaluation of previous political policies and guidelines, but also a prospect for development and promotion in the future. Therefore, in this thesis the Government Work Report is a representative example of China’s political texts, based on which the following problems can be explored specifically. Firstly, the applicability and validity of Manipulation Theory in the process of political translations. Secondly, the influential elements in political translations, especially some extra-linguistic ones. Thirdly, beyond the traditional viewpoints of translation, the essence of translation from the angle of Manipulation Theory. Fourthly, how the manipulative mechanism works in the translation process. Finally, the strategies that should be applied in order to produce an effective and acceptable translation.In this thesis, the author will bring a new perspective to translation of political texts. Under the influence of Manipulation Theory, translation activity will seem different from what used to be in our mind. In traditional thinking, translation is just an intra-linguistic activity whose essence is the transformation from a certain language to another language. However, with the continuous improvement of translation studies, translation is gradually considered to be a complicated process, during which various elements both intra-linguistically and extra-linguistically interact with each other so as to manipulate the production of translation. In this view, intensive and in-depth studies should be conducted on translation studies. In particular, as a special type of text, political texts have recently aroused extensive concerns from scholars and researchers, but compared with researches on literary translations, those in this field are still rather limited. This thesis is designed to study the C-E translation of political texts from the perspective of Manipulation Theory, which will demonstrate the regulation and governance of the theory on the translation activity, involving impacts of factors such as ideology, poetics and patronage, appropriate principles and strategies of translation.This thesis involves six parts:Chapter I is an overview of the whole thesis, including the background, significance, purposes and research methodology of the study. The second chapter is literature review, which will introduce some basic information about political texts and their translations. Meanwhile, previous domestic and overseas researches on translations of political texts and Manipulation Theory are also involved in this chapter. In addition, the author will make an evaluation on these studies. In Chapter III, the overall theoretical framework will be presented. In general, the research is conducted under the guidance of Andre Lefevere"s Manipulation Theory, which expands the research scope of translation studies and manifests the significance of political translations. Chapter IV is devoted to the case study on the C-E translation of GWR 2014. In this chapter, some typical examples will be exacted from the C-E translation of GWR 2014. so as to analyze how Manipulation Theory and the three factors regulate the production of translation and how they coordinate with each other in the translation process. The fifth chapter is an evaluation on the achievements and limitations of the translation of GWR 2014. Accordingly, under Manipulation Theory, the author will put forward some strategies for political translations. Chapter VI is the conclusion of the whole thesis, which will present majors findings and limitations of the study. In addition, some suggestions will be proposed for explorations in the future.In general, it is hoped that the thesis can provide theoretical and practical supports for studies on C-E translations of political texts, and can be valuable for future studies.