A Report On E-C Translation Of The Introduction In Fabrizio Pregadio's The Seal Of The Unity Of The Three

This is an E-C translation report on translation of The Seal of the Unity of the Three,a study and translation of Chinese Daoism classic Zhouyi Cantong Qi written by Italian sinologist Fabrizio Pregadio.The source text is from the Introduction of that book,which describes Fabrizio Pregadio's unique understanding of Chinese Daoism and analyzes various views on Daoism.Catford's translation shifts theory states that meaning can be transmitted across languages,and by shifts mean departures from formal correspondence in translation process.Combining literal translation and free translation,the translation shifts theory seeks equivalence between source text and target text at the lexical,grammatical and textual levels and strives to reproduce the original meaning of the source text.Underpinned by J·C Catford's translation shifts theory,the reporter argues the practicability of this theory in translation using concrete examples.On the lexical level,syntactic level and textual level,according to the context and the alchemical background of Cantong Qi,the reporter adopts class shifts,structure shifts and unit shifts respectively to ensure a concise and clear translation.Combining with the translation methods of literal translation and free translation,the reporter attempts to produce a clear and easy text that in compliance with the reading habit of Chinese readers.Catford's translation shifts theory enables the reporter to comprehensively understand the feasibility of class shifts,unit shifts and structure shifts based on the inherent laws of vocabulary use,syntactic structure and expression in English and Chinese,providing theoretical basis for this translation practice activity.The main content of this report is divided into the following four parts: Part one is the description of the translation task,including introduction to the author and his book,project significance,structure of the report,pre-translation preparations and the procedure of translating.The pre-translation preparations and the procedure of translating introduce the work done by the reporter from the preparation of the translation to the final stage of the task,and the problems and solutions in the translation process.Part two is the description of translation shifts theory,containing the introduction to translation shifts theory,borrowing and extending of translation shifts theory at home and abroad and a brief summary of Catford's theory.Part three is the core of this report—case study,including the difficulties encountered while translating and how to settle those problems through various translation strategies.Part four concludes with the lessons,enlightenments and unsolved problems in the translation project.