A Report On E-C Translation Of The Pleistocene Social Contract (Excerpts) Under The Guidance Of Functional Equivalence Theory

The translation material is taken from the book titled The Pleistocene Social Contract: Culture and Cooperation in Human Evolution(2021),authored by Kim Sterelny.Drawing on extensive ethnographic and archaeological evidence,as well as fossil materials and arguments presented by numerous scholars,Sterelny presents the latest research findings on cooperation,cultural acquisition,and social evolution in human history.As a work of philosophy of biology,this text is an informative piece with objective and scientifically rigorous content.Notably,the book contains abundant specialized terminology,long sentence structures,passive voice constructions,and parenthetical clauses.Due to its valuable content and characteristics,the text serves as an excellent resource for translation study,particularly when analyzed under the framework of functional equivalence theory.The translator conducted a comprehensive analysis of the source text and selected the functional equivalence theory as a guiding principle to address translation challenges.This theory emphasizes the role of the TT reader and aims to ensure functional equivalence between the ST and TT by conveying information effectively.To achieve this,the translator employed various translation techniques.At the lexical level,techniques such as word-class conversion,specification,and four-character structures were used to achieve functional equivalence.At the syntactic level,the translator restructured sentences to convey meaning accurately,altered passive voice constructions to active voice,and changed the structure of parenthesis.Additionally,logical lexicons and conjunction words were added to achieve functional equivalence at the discourse level.By applying the functional equivalence theory as a guiding principle,the translator successfully produced a TT that is both readable and engaging,thus attracting more readers to explore the themes of cultural learning and social cooperation in early hominin evolution.Moreover,this translation project serves as a valuable reference for other translation works in the field of philosophy of biology,highlighting the effectiveness of functional equivalence theory as an approach.