A Report On The English-Chinese Translation Of Art World From The Perspective Of Peter Newmark's Translation Theory

This translation practice report is based on the English-Chinese translation of the excerpts from Art World.Art World,founded in 1979,is the earliest and most influential comprehensive art magazine in China,which covers the columns such as character interview,new media,and review of art exhibits.The major task of the author of this report is the English-Chinese translation of the review of art exhibits.In the translation process,the author encountered a lot of difficulties both at the lexical level(translation of terminologies and abstract words)and at the syntactical level(translation of long and difficult sentences,and passive sentences).This translation practice report will begin with an analysis of the characteristics of the source text of Art World,which include professionalism of the vocabulary,artistic language,unique aesthetics,and cultural differences.Then,under the guidance of Peter Newmark's “semantic translation” and “communicative translation” theory,case studies will be made on the basis of the translation difficulties manifested both at the lexical and syntactical level.Several translation methods,namely,annotation,extension,division,combination and conversion,have been proposed to resolve those difficulties.From the present author's perspective,apart from fully conveying the content and emotional feelings of the original text,it is essential that the translator should take into consideration the implied reader's response.Following the readers-centered principle,the translator should try to avoid ambiguities and obscurities in the target text and help target readers obtain the aesthetic experience similar to that of the original readers.It is hoped that this report can be of some use to the translators who translate the texts of the same kind.