The Rendering Of Tenor In Docudrama Transcripts

The standard of translation equivalence has been the focus of translation studies for long.According to the register theory proposed by M.A.K.Halliday,context is composed of three variables(field,tenor,mode).The theory offers practical reference standards as well as analyzing perspectives for the choice of translation strategies.Based on Halliday's register theory and with examples from Scars of Nanking:Eighty Years After,this thesis explores how the theory is suitable for guiding the translation of tenor in the text.The thesis consists of two major parts:the translation project(with the original juxtaposed with the translation)and the translation commentary.The original text is a docudrama transcript with simple but rigorous words,which coincides with the general features of historical documentaries.It is written in the style of recreational documentaries,showing the historical facts of foreigners who chose to stay in Nanjing to protect Chinese refugees during the Nanjing Massacre.The commentary part focuses on tenor in the original text and by classifying the dialogue in the transcript according to the status,communicative purposes and intimacy of the participants,it analyzes the choice of translation strategies in dealing with specific translation problems like the translation of salutations,modal verbs and interrogative sentences.After the comparison of different translation versions,the thesis finds that tenor plays a key role in the analysis of the dialogues of the transcript and to better understand the tenor of the original text in the course of translation can help translators achieve the equivalence of tenor in the target text so as to help the audience better enjoy the film.