Translation Strategies Of Non-Predicate Verb Phrases In Social Science Texts Under The Guidance Of Translation Shifts Theory

This translation report is based on Chapters Three and Four of the book The Future of Change: How Technology Shapes Social Revolutions,written by Ray Brescia,a law professor at Albany Law School.This book examines a series of movements in American history that have utilized communication technologies to achieve positive social change.It explores the complex interplay between these technologies,social movements,and social change,and offers valuable insights into how to effectively use communication technologies to maximize their impact,both now and in the future.When reading and understanding the source text,the translator found that the author frequently used various forms of non-predicate verb phrases.Non-predicate verb phrases are commonly used in English and pose challenges for both English learners and translators due to their complexity and diversity.The flexible shifts proposed by the Translation Shifts Theory could be suitable for overcoming this difficulty.Catford categorized two major types of shifts occur: level shifts and category shifts.Category shifts can be further classified into structure shifts,class shifts,unit shifts and intra-system shifts.By applying the Translation Shifts Theory,sentences containing non-predicate verb phrases can be made more concise and clear,resulting in translations that better align with Chinese expression habits and reducing readers’ difficulty and confusion.This translation practice report focuses on the application of Translation Shifts Theory to the translation of non-predicate verb phrases,summarizing the translation strategies used to improve the quality of translations.It offers readers valuable insights for future research on the application of Translation Shifts Theory and the translation of non-predicate verb phrases in social science texts.The report is organized into five chapters.Chapter One provides an introduction to the source text,report structure and research significance.Chapter Two outlines the entire translation process,including pre-task preparation,while-task translation and post-task modification.Chapter Three briefly introduces the theoretical framework,including Translation Shift Theory and the non-predicate verb phrases,and examines the applicability of theory to translation.Chapter Four analyzes the translation strategies utilized for different categories of non-predicate verb phrases,including structural shifts,class shifts and unit shifts.Chapter Five provides a summary of the research findings and limitations.