"Jusha Professional Display User Manual" Translation Practice Report

In an age where Chinese companies go out frequently on the international scene,the requests for the translation into a foreign language are multiplying.The translation of the User Guide of Jusha Medical Monitors that I will use as example in this thesis was bom in the light of this background.The translation of this manual,from Chinese to French,which marks my first step in the field of technical translation,constitutes a rich experience in my career of translation.Even if I had evaluated the feasibility of the translation before accepting the task,I still encountered quite a few difficulties during the work:how to reproduce the style of a user guide,how to search the technical terms and how to understand and translate a legal text.All the questions are unavoidable in my translation.However,thanks to these difficulties,I was able to acquire some experiences for the translation of user guides.This is why I had the idea to share these experiences through this thesis in the hope of exchanging with others.This thesis is divided into four parts,including the description and the translation process of the mission,the description of the text's characteristics,the analysis of examples and the conclusion.The part intended for the description of the mission introduces the project background,the nature of the task,the requirements of the client and the process of the translation.The translated text makes up one of the documents for obtaining the North American Certification of Jusha Medical.Entrusted by Nanjing Jusha Display Technology Co.,Ltd,one of the companies of the group,this mission is to translate,from Chinese to French,the user guide in ten days.Since it is my first task of technical translation from Chinese to French,I searched and found a fair number of supporting texts and I am decided to translate by referring to the parallel texts.During the translation,I took the initiative to learn about the techniques from the staff of the company to help me better understand the terms.After having submitted the translation,I have followed the progress of the application for the certification.The part for the description of the text's characteristics explains the important elements including the terms,imperative sentences,high-frequency words,and the legal text.In the thesis,I have summarized the terms who often appear and analyzed the structure of the typical sentences in order to provide a direction for the analysis and the conclusion of the mission.The part on the analysis of examples is organized around the difficulties resulting from the terms,the characteristics of the user manual and legal text.I always took into consideration the reading habits of the Francophones whether it concerns the translation of terms or the translation of other parts.That is to say,a translation strategy based on the principle of functional equivalence.The analysis focuses on typical examples that cover the translation of words,sentences and paragraphs.Undoubtedly,there are both similarity and difference between the way of expression in Chinese and in French.For the similarity,I did my best to keep the form of the original text and express myself well in French.For the difference,I sought to find a French expression whose function is equivalent instead of finding an expression with a literal equivalence.When it is impossible to harmonize the form,the meaning and the pragmatic function of language,I gave priority to the meaning and the pragmatic function of language.The last part is a conclusion on this mission and a reflection on the current situation of the translation market.Through this mission,I realize that the translation of terms is never the only center of technical translation.We should also attach great importance to its goal for the communication of information.Moreover,the principle of functional equivalence of Eugene A.Nida applies well in translating functional texts.For the translation into a foreign language of a functional text,the imitation is a method that is proved effective.Moreover,in an age where the requirements for the translation have become increasingly diversified and accurate,translators are expected to further develop their professionalism and improve their skills.