A Report On The English-Chinese Translation Of Signs:An Introduction To Semiotics(Excerpt)

As the essence of certain field,academic works play a crucial part in academic exchanges.As an interpretive science,semiotics offers a powerful analytical tool for the study of our perception of reality.In China,an upsurge in researches on semiotics is in making.For the dual reasons,the fourth chapter of Signs:An Introduction to Semiotics written by Thomas A.Sebeok is selected as the source text.With Nida's functional equivalence,this report gives an outline of the translation practice.By drawing attention to the analysis of lexical and syntactic characteristics,this report gives a statement of the main points of major translation strategies.For lexical translation,consulting professional dictionaries and etymologies are ways of term translation while part of speech and context are two major factors to determine the exact meanings of polysemy.The existing expressions and transliteration are frequently employed for the translation of proper nouns.At the syntactic level,linear translation and division are adopted to disentangle complicated relationships between sentences.As for textual level,addition and omission are intended for a more smooth translation to achieve closet natural equivalence.It is expected that this translation could make it easier for Chinese readers who are interested in semiotics to acquire more knowledge and serve as a reference for further academic translation.