A Case Study Of Political Document Translation:How To Achieve Functional Equivalence

This thesis is guided by Nida's Functional Equivalence Theory.Based on the case samples from 30 students' translation assignments,the author analyzes the language features and translation strategies of political documents and studies how to achieve functional equivalence at word,sentence and paragraph levels in order to improve translation quality and readability.Through research,the author finds that China's official approach to translation has gone through a progressive period,from rigid word-for-word translation to flexible rendition of the meaning.However,a survey shows our translation can still be improved to become more natural.Nida's Theory stresses equal response between source text and target text readers.Though a complete equivalence is nearly impossible,translators can still use the Theory to enhance the translation's readability and acceptability.The author has compared students' versions in light of the reference version,summarized their common problems,and discusses how to achieve functional equivalence at word,sentence and paragraph levels.The conclusion is that functional equivalence is ultimately achieved through comprehension,expression and adaption.Comprehension is fundamental.Translators have to first comprehend the text's structure,logic,paragraphs,sentences and words,and then consider their expression and adaption.Students,as translation learners,make mistakes not because of language incompetence,but insufficient research.Therefore,in translating political documents,translators should prioritize comprehension and then consider how to improve readability and achieve equal response.In this way can we truly achieve functional equivalence.