A Critical Commentary On Selected E-C Translation Of Prodigal Son

This translation report is based on an English--Chinese translation of an excerpt from Prodigal Son,a novel written by an American bestseller Danielle Steel.It consists of two parts:a critical commentary,the source text and the translation.The translator translates part of the novel because it is themed on women struggling to break the bondage of a man-dominated society.In the story,Peter's wife Alana asks Peter for divorce due to Peter's unemployment,while Michael's wife Maggie was nursed by Michael because twenty years ago she was unfortunately hurt by an accident.The contrast between the two women enhances readability of the novel.Meanwhile,the novel is filled with a quantity of culture-loaded words.Their translation may help readers to know about Western culture.Another important reason for translating the novel is that it tells the weals and woes of middle-class American families during the financial crisis,thus allowing readers to see the impact of such a crisis on the life of ordinary Americans.Strategically,the translator has adopted both communicative and semantic translation in rendering the text,as he finds that a literary text like Prodigal Son may not always be expressive.Peter Newmark advises that semantic translation should always be the choice.One of the function of the novel is to convey information,therefore,it is necessary for translator to use communicative translation theory to translate novels as well.After accomplishing the project,the translator concludes that there is never a clear line between expressive and informative texts.In translating a text as complex as a novel,it is advisable for translator to combine communicative and semantic theories.