On Annotation In Translation Of Documentary Works On Historical Subject

In the translation of literary works, there stand a gamut of aspects that are unfamiliar to target language readers, including foreign culture, local conditions, and linguistic features. These might generate an impediment to understanding, so it is necessary for translators to add some explanatory annotations to help readers understand the source language.This author's translation project involves the first three chapters of Pearl Harbor—Japan's fatal blunder, a documentary works written by a Canadian writer Harry Albright. In the book, there are lots of historical events, names of people, places and ships, of which translators need to figure out the translation via the help of the Internet and dictionaries. Moreover, it may also be difficult for readers who have limited historical knowledge to grasp the content of this book. Therefore, it is necessary to add explanatory annotations about the relative background knowledge. This thesis attempts to discuss when to add such annotations.This thesis reviews relevant studies by Chinese scholars, particularly the fourteen principles raised by Yuan Kejia, and draws conclusions about when to add annotations. According to the conclusion, annotations are necessary when translating the following 6 categories:1)names of places; 2)names of important figures; 3)historical events; 4) military terms; 5)organizations; and 6)cultural features.