A Report On English-Chinese Translation Of Europe From War To War:1914-1945 (Excerpts)

Modern European history and social cultural history during the wars have always been the research hotspots in Chinese academic circles,which can be used to promote cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries so as to encourage the exploration and development of Chinese culture.At the same time,the translation of historical texts helps domestic readers to know more about the European culture,promoting culture exchanges.In this translation practical report,the translator chooses Chapter 9 of Europe from War to War:1914-1945 as translation materials.This chapter mainly describes the development of European culture,religion and mass media between 1914 and1945 and their influence on all walks of life in Europe.The source text contains abundant cultural information,focusing on the dissemination of facts.Based on the features of the chosen text,the translator uses Peter Newmark’s communicative translation theory as the theoretical guidance to carry out specific translation case analysis in order to find suitable translation methods to solve problems in the translation process.This report introduces the translation task,the features of the original text and the translation theory.By reviewing the translation process,including preparation,individual translation and the post-reviser,the translator finds that the language of the original text is communicative,and it contains many complicated sentences which causes problems to the translator.Based on these features,the translator analysis the difficult points from words,sentences and contexts.The translator applies addition,extension and annotation to supplement the meaning of words,and introduces translation methods used in translating words about historical figures,religion and war.Some translation strategies,such as voice transformation,positive and negative transformation,and structural separation and reorganization,are used to adjust the sentence structure.The translator specifies and reappears some words in order to achieve textural cohesion.Finally,the translator summarizes several translation methods about historical text,the significance of communicative translation and translator’s position in the translation process.The significance of this translation practice is mainly reflected in the following aspects: this translation practice helps readers to understand the British social history and its development context,and provides effective ways for readers to know more about the two world wars.At the same time,the chosen part introduces the cultural development during wars,so readers can understand the influence of wars on culture.Finally,according to Peter Newmark’s communicative translation,which pays more attention on the contents rather than forms,the translator concludes some translation methods to provide more theoretical references for the translation of similar texts.