Translation Project Report On Research Methodologies In Translation Studies (Chapter Two)

This is a report on the translation of the academic monograph-Research Methodologies in Translation Studies. Published in 2014 by Routledge, this book is about empirical study approaches in translation, written by Gabriela Saldanha, a lecturer in the Department of English Language and Applied Linguistics, University of Birmingham, and Sharon O'Brien, a senior lecture teaching translation studies in Dublin City University. There are seven Chapters in this book, including principles and ethics in research, process-oriented research, participant-oriented research, product-oriented research as well as research report, specifically discussing the application of critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistics in translation studies, quality evaluation methods, quantitative method and qualitative method, the definition, usage and specific operation method of case analysis. The translator excerpts Chapter Two "Principles and Ethnics in Research" as the translation material. It contains many aspects such as ontology and epistemology, research terminology, types of research, research questions and hypotheses, the literature review, data, qualitative approach, quantitative approach, research operationalization, research quality and research ethics, helping readers have a general knowledge of methodologies in translation studies.Based on the English-Chinese translation practice, this report analyses problems in translation process and points out how to deal with them by utilizing text type theory, semantic translation strategy and communicative translation strategy, summarizing experience in the process of translation and hoping to offer some help for similar English-Chinese translation practice. This report is composed of five parts:Part one is the analysis of translation task, introducing the authors, content and basic characteristics of the source text as well as the purpose and significance of this task. Part two is the description of translation process, introducing preparations the translator has made for this translation task such as the selection of parallel texts and theoretical books, the timetable made for the first draft and revision, the selection of proofreaders and checking methods. Part three is the analysis of theorv. briefly introducing main ideas of Peter Newmark's text type theory, semantic translation and communicative translation as well as its application to this translation practice. Part four is case analysis. With the guidance of semantic translation and communicative translation, the translator utilizes specific examples to analyze problems encountered during the translation process from the aspects of words, sentences, discourse and demonstrate corresponding translation strategies. Part five summarizes the whole translation process and makes some suggestions for future study.The translator has learned a lot from this translation practice:firstly, translators need to improve their scientific and cultural qualities. As students major in translation, it is necessary to master certain translation theories and skills. However, it is of great importance to increase reading quantity so as to expand knowledge reserve and master some background knowledge of different disciplines. Secondly, translators should constantly improve their language proficiency in both Chinese and English. Good language competence is the basic quality for translators and the basis for better understanding and accurately expressing the source text. In addition, practice makes perfect. Translators should combine theory with practice and constantly improve their translation competence through practice.