The Application Of The Functional Equivalence Theory In English-Chinese Translation

This thesis reports the main ideas of the functional equivalence theory and its value in English-Chinese translation.The author chooses The saga of Sydney Opera House as the source text for translation and demonstrates the rules and strategies of the application of the functional equivalence theory in English-Chinese translation.The first part of the thesis is a brief introduction to the theory applied in the thesis,including the formation and development of the functional equivalence theory,and its two levels,i.e.,the "maximal equivalence" and the "minimal equivalence".It also illustrates the rules for the theory to be applied in the translation practices.Considering the linguistic and cultural differences between the source language and the target language,we should improve the theoretical research and its application in the translation practice,in order to accurately reproduce the meaning and cultural connotation of the source language in the target language.The second part of the thesis analyses the application of the functional equivalence theory in the translation of The saga of Sydney Opera House.Based on Nida's principles of target language readers priority and information equivalence priority,it illustrates by detailed examples the strategies to translate the source text from the perspective of vocabulary,syntax and style,allowing the target language readers to acquire the same or similar understanding and appreciation of the text with the source language readers.The final part of the thesis summarizes the core principles of the functional equivalence theory,which are the "reader's response theory" and "content over form theory",and their applications in the translation practice.