Translating The Melancholy Art(Excerpt)under The Guidance Of Faithfulness,Expressiveness And Closeness

Academic works that explain the theoretical thoughts and scientific research activities in diverse fields using specialised language are the important academic achievements that are well worth reading.With the deepening of Chinese academic exchanges with foreign countries,the translation of academic works has flourished.However,the study on the translation of academic works,especially academic works about art history,theories of art history,or the writing of art history,has not attracted enough attention.Therefore,considering the important role of the translation of academic works in the process of introducing western academic ideas and thoughts,this translation practice report is of great academic significance in promoting the studies on art history and the writing of art history as well as the communication between Chinese and western academic circles.The source text of this report is selected from The Melancholy Art,written by Michael Ann Holly,a renowned contemporary American art historian.It is an academic work that mainly explores how the art history,as a twentieth-century narrative genre,originates from,or even is empowered by,a melancholic connection to the past by its appropriation of the historical objects of art with the quotation,analysis,and interpretation of psychoanalysis,philosophy and the intellectual history of art history.This report describes the whole process of translator's practice,including the preparations before the translation,the challenges and corresponding solutions in translating,and the revision after completing the initial.Theoretically,the translation principle of faithfulness,expressiveness and closeness is applied to this E-C translation practice.This report analyzes some typical cases at the lexical,sentence and discourse levels,including specialized terms,complicated sentences and discourse cohesion,with an attempt to achieve the faithfulness,readability and academic nature of the target text through different translation strategies,specifically,the literal translation,the parallel texts for reference,the adjustment of words order,the restructuring of sentences,and the supplementation of elliptical information.Through this report,the author has obtained an intimate understanding of how to become a well-qualified translator,including the development of proficiency and the enrichment of interdisciplinary knowledge.Hopefully,this experience helps the author lay a foundation for the similar translation work in the future,such as the translation of academic books about art history or visual art.