E-C Translation Report Of East Asia From The Perspective Of Register Theory

This translation report is based on the present author's task in CASS(Chinese Academy of Social Science)of translating the selected parts of East Asia:A Cultural,Social and Political History(abbreviated as East Asia).East Asia is a work of Patricia Buckley Ebrey,a history professor in Washington University as well as a noted American sinologist.East Asia,a significant outcome of her study of East Asia,tells the history of China,Japan and Korea over the past thousands of years.From the perspective of a westerner and a female.Prof.Ebrey tells how the three countries moved on during such a long period in this book,giving the text a high academic and research value.The book belongs to introductory text.The selected parts for the present task and this report are all the introductory parts about Japan ranging from chapter 13 to chapter 29.This report takes "register" theory put forward by the contemporary linguist M.A.K.Halliday as its theoretical basis.By analyzing the three variables of Register(i.e.field,tenor and mode)and extending it,the present author explores and explains the translation techniques employed in the translation of this introductory text.The author also makes a conclusion about the main findings as well as the problems yet to be solved during the translating practice of this text.It is hoped that the present thesis could serve as a reference for other translators in their translating and researching of introductory text.The thesis begins with an introduction of the text from the aspects of research background,significance as well as the structure.Then it gives a detailed explanation of Halliday's register theory and its three variables(i.e.field,tenor and register).Then the thesis presents three translation processes which are preparation before translation before translation,translating process,and after-translation work.After that,the author gives a comprehensive analysis of the source text from the angles of language and style,and the rebuilding of the three variables of register in the target text with the help of some examples,as well as some translating techniques applied in her translation,such as addition,omission,division and shift.Based on the analysis,the author comes up with the conclusion that a comprehensive understanding of the three variables of register of the source text is a necessary step for producing the proper translation when it comes to the translation of cultural introductory texts.