Translating Attributive Clauses From English To Chinese

The text chosen to be translated is "Mary Church Terrell--Captivating Crusader", the third chapter of Giving a Voice to the Voiceless--Four Pioneering Black Women Journalists. There are lots of attributive clauses in the original text which present some challenges in translation. Therefore, this paper would like to discuss methods for translating English attributive clauses.Based on the translation methods put forward by Chinese scholars like Sun Zhili, Zhou Ye, Zhang Peiji and Zhong Shuneng, the author has analyzed the translation of the attributive clauses in the original text, summed up the translation methods adopted during the translation process, and discussed the application of these methods through specific examples. Four main translation methods have been adopted in this translation practice. They are as follows:to translate an attributive clause into a prepositive attribute; to translate an attributive clause and its main clause into coordinate clauses; to integrate an antecedent into its attributive clause, and to translate them into a sentence; to translate an attributive clause into an adverbial clause. Two other methods have also been used. Through this translation practice and the study of the translation methods of attributive clauses, the author has realized that when translating attributive clauses, the translator should first accurately understand the meaning of the original text, figure out the structure of the whole sentence, and then choose appropriate translation methods according to the context to make sure the translation not only delivers the original meaning, but also accords with Chinese expressions.