Translation Of English Passive Sentences Under The Guidance Of Functional Equivalence Theory

The functional equivalence theory proposed by Eugene Nida,the distinguished translation theorist,holds that a translator should reproduce the original content with the closest natural equivalence on the basis of preserving the original form as far as possible.The translator should communicate meaning and spirit first,form second,and take reader's response into account while translating.This theory points out that for translation,form matters,whereas the translator may not rigidly adhere to form,which shows an important guiding significance for translation practice.The material here translated comes from Michael Bridge's "Good Faith in Commercial Contract".A large number of passive sentences were used in the text.English and Chinese bear great difference in passive sentences,and how to translate these English passive sentences into Chinese brings a great challenge to the translator.Under the guidance of functional equivalence theory,the translator completes the translation of passive sentences in the original text.Based on the translator's translation practice,this paper intends to explain the guidance of functional equivalence theory in translating English passive sentences.First,the translator preserves the original form when it can be preserved;that is,translating English passive sentences into Chinese standard passive sentences or semi-implicit passive sentence structure.Second,when preserving the original form would impair the original meaning,the translator adjusts original text by adding or subtracting words,adjusting word order,converting part of speech and using active words so that the meaning and spirit of the original text could be preserved.In short,the translator cares about form,but pays more attention to meaning.Under circumstances where the two cannot be both preserved,priority is given to meaning.By adjusting form,the translator tries to reproduce the original content with the closest natural equivalence as far as possible.