A Report On E-C Translation Of Component Maintenance Manual-Vacuum Toilet Based On Katharina Reiss’s Text Typology

The civil aviation maintenance manual is a necessary technical documentation to ensure air safety,and the basis for doing scientific aircraft maintenance and inspection.Thus,the translation of such material has practical significance.The maintenance manual is a typical informative text according to Reiss’ s classification and definition of text types.The translator thinks that translating a maintenance manual should focus both on the professionalism of “maintenance” and the readability of a “manual”.Reiss proposed that the target text should have the equivalent effect as the source text and create a familiar language environment for target readers.Given this,Reiss’ s text typology theory is suitable to guide this translation practice.Reiss put forward two translation methods for the translation of informative texts:“plain prose” and “explicitness as required”.However,these two so-called “methods”are not concrete and operable translation methods in the traditional sense,but are two text effects the target text should achieve.Therefore,in case studies,the translator matches the six text features,including terminologies,abbreviations,table-related materials,short sentences describing steps,vigilant imperative sentences and passive sentences,obtained from the analysis of the text characteristics with the translation effects they should produce,analyzing the matching reasons and explaining in detail the feasibility of the translation methods adopted.The translator has learned the following two points from this translation practice:first,when translating professional texts,in the absence of relevant professional knowledge background,the appropriate supplements of professional knowledge in the pre-translation stage,and a large reserve of parallel texts and verification tools are vital,which can not only significantly improve the efficiency of the translation practice but also guarantee the quality of the target text.Second,as a translator,the actual needs of the trustor(if any)should be fully taken into account maximize the practical effect of the translation.Hopefully,this report could provide useful ideas for translating the same type of text.