A Report On The Translation Of Chapter Eight Of Contemporary Perspective On Rhetoric

The report on translation practice consists of four parts, mainly including description of the translation task, the translation process, analysis of the translation cases, and conclusion of this translation practice.First of all, the material of this translation practice is chosen from chapter eight of Contemporary Perspectives on Rhetoric, co-authored by Professor Sonja K. Foss,a famous contemporary American writer, her elder sister Karen A. Foss and Robert Trapp. This book mainly describes the life experience, main events and works of eight famous western rhetoricians. Chapter eight mainly describes Michel Foucault’s life experience, main events and works, interpreting Foucault’s main theories and opinions from perspectives of knowledge, power, ethics and analytic methods. Next,as the material of this translation practice is formal, involving many foreign names and rhetoric terms, the relevant auxiliary books are needed, such as Manual of English Name Translation and professional aids. Finally, the case analysis elaborates on the difficult points in the translation material from three aspects, including vocabulary, syntax and discourse. On the vocabulary level, the new words and polysemy, such as “feed” and “aseptisised”, in the translation material are analyzed.On the syntax level, some special sentence pattern, such as “loose sentence” and“inanimate-subject sentence”, are analyzed. On the discourse level, the analysis is made in respect of implicit cohesion and personal reference.Through this translation practice, the author has obtained a better understanding of the differences between English and Chinese languages, thus being able to apply the translation techniques and strategies more skillfully.