A Translation Project Report On Default Semantics:Foundations Of A Compositional Theory Of Acts Of Comm Unication (Chapters 7-8)

This is a project report on the translation of chapters 7&8 excerpted from the academic monograph Default Semantics by Kasia Jaszczolt.Jaszczolt is a professor of philosophy of language and linguistics from University of Cambridge.In chapter 7,Professor Jaszczolt gives detailed introduction to aspects related to presupposition/anaphor such as binding,accommodation,partial match and principles on choosing anaphors.In chapter 8,Jaszczolt introduces relative contents to sentential connectives.During the translation,the author has discovered that there are many long sentences in Default Semantics,which is one of most standard characteristics of academic monograph.Under this circumstance,the author chose the functional equivalence theory by Eugene A.Nida as the main translation guiding theory.The author uses literal translation,free translation,addition and omission to reach the four equivalences of the theory and to maintain the utmost style and expression of the original text in the translation.After this translation,the author has realized that preparation is vitally important,especially in academic translation.Apart from that,preparation is also a process not to help the translator deepen the understanding of the translation material but to improve the translation efficiency.Besides,translation is not a simple transformation process,for it requires careful consideration and reflection.Because of different perspectives of thinking,the translator shall get different translations;the translator is required to choose the most suitable translation after thoughtful thinking and comparison.In the meantime,translation methods should be changed according to different situations.At last,the author has done a little contribution to the relative research of semantics in China by participating in the translation of this monograph.