Translation Strategies For Passive Voice In Social Science Texts From The Perspective Of Translation Shift Theory

The source text for this translation practice report is Artificial Intelligence in Education co-authored by Matthew Sadiku,Sarhan M.Musa and Uwakwe C.Chukwu(2022).The book describes the development of artificial intelligence at home and abroad and points out the benefits and challenges of AI development.As artificial intelligence is closely related to people’s lives and economic development,choosing this book as the material for translation practice is of great practical significance.The source text is from the field of social science and uses objective and accurate language.The passive voice is often used in social science texts to maintain objectivity.English places a great emphasis on form,while Chinese focuses more on semantics due to differences in thinking and language usage between the two languages.Therefore,it is important for translators to consider these differences and make necessary shifts regarding the use of passive voice in English.This report analyzes the translation strategies of passive voice in the first four chapters of the source text from the perspectives of level,structure,class and unit shift.Although the passivity is rarely used in Chinese,there are still also passive verbs and words with passive marks.In such cases,level shift can be used.Sometimes,the passive voice in English can be changed to the active voice.In this case,the passive voice in English can be changed to the active voice in Chinese by using structural shift.Verbs in the passive voice can also be converted into nouns,adjectives,and prepositions by class shift.Additionally,by using unit shift,the passive voice in English can be converted into Chinese idioms,or the passive voice can be divided into clauses.This translation practice report is divided into five chapters.Chapter one introduces the source text and explains the significance of the translation practice report.Chapter two describes the translation process.Chapter three introduces Translation Shift Theory and passive voice,and discusses the applicability of the Translation Shift Theory in the translation of passive voice.In chapter four,the translation strategies of passive voice are analyzed in detail from four aspects of Translation Shift Theory: level shifts,structural shifts,class shifts and unit shifts.Chapter five summarizes the findings and limitations of this practice report.In a word,this translation practice report focuses on the guiding significance of Translation Shift Theory in the translation of passive voice in Artificial Intelligence in Education,and summarizes the translation strategies of passive voice in social science texts to provide a reference for future translation of passive voice.