A Report On The Translation Of Chemistry And Technology Of Petroleum(Excerpts)

Translation is not only the process of one language being changed into another language,but also a means of communication,in which an accurate transferring of the original text is of paramount importance,especially for the translation of scientific texts.During the process of translation,the author finds that translation should transfer the meaning of the source text,meanwhile the version must be smooth and fluent,and cater to the target reader's habits.However,due to the huge differences between English and Chinese,which belong to different language systems and have different language features,it is nearly impossible to achieve absolute equivalence in E-C translation.As a result,the author resorts to the translation method of shift which departs from the formal correspondence.The concept of "translation shifts" is proposed by Catford in 1965.The author has translated parts of the book Chemistry and Technology of Petroleum under the guidance of this theory.This report consists of four parts: the first part task description shows the main content of original text;the second part process description introduces the process of translation;the third part case analysis,the author strives to examine the “translation shifts” on the level of vocabulary,syntax and grammar in the translation process,including level-shifts,structure-shifts,class-shifts and unit-shifts,with the assistance of Catford's shift model;the last part is the conclusion of this translation project.After analyzing specific examples,this thesis testifies that Catford's theory is highly applicable in guiding scientific text translation.What's more,it's worthwhile to notice that translators do exert a great influence on translation shifts.It is suggested that translators should adopt pro per translation strategies in order to achieve a reader-friendly translation.