Application Of Catford's Translation Shifts Theory In Translation From English Into Chinese

In 1965, Catford put forward the term "translation shifts". He examined translation shifts on and below the level of sentence in translation process, including level shifts and category shifts which contain structure shifts, class shifts, unit shifts and intra-system shifts. In addition, he also discussed the application of translation shifts in the process of translation. With logical discussion and good use of the theory, he introduced new elements into the study of translation theory.Coal Creek is written by Australian writer Alex Miller. In translating parts of the book, this thesis found that formal correspondence can not render a smooth translated version due to the differences at lexical and grammatical levels between English and Chinese. For example, formal correspondence into Chinese can not convey whether the word in English is plural or singular. Meanwhile, English and Chinese also have differences in the use of passive voice and attributive clause. Therefore, with the guidance of Catford's translation shifts, this thesis intends to discuss whether translators can avoid the phenomenon of "translationese", so as to render a target-reader-oriented translation.This thesis chooses examples from Chapter One and Chapter Two from Coal Creek. Based on the differences at lexical and syntactical levels and ways of expression between English and Chinese, this thesis discusses the application of Catford's translation shifts from the perspective of level shifts and category shifts. After analyzing specific examples, this thesis concludes that Catford's theory is of good use in guiding translation so as to render a smooth translated version.