Strategies For the Translation of Official Document

Yang+Chunxiang

【Abstract】The paper aims to explore and improve some strategies of translating the official document on the basis of some translation theories through the translation of the source text， The Outline of China Tumen River Regional Cooperation Development Plan. The author has tried many skills and approaches to translate it. By analysis， some experience can be shared and discussed with colleagues.

【Key words】strategies； official document； translation； analysis

Introduction

The Outline of China Tumen River Regional Cooperation Development Plan， issued in 2009， as an official document， enjoys many typical characteristics in syntax， style and semantics. In translating it， the author has tried different approaches so as to conform to the meaning of the source text. What the translator does is to offer another kind of information in another form. According to Chestermans Translation Norm Theory， The value to constrain relation norm is not “faithfulness”， but “truthfulness”. Relation norm， as linguistic norm， involves the nature of the relationship between source-text and target-text. In accordance with the features of the source text， the author tries to transform the text truthfully by means of different translation strategies.

1.1 Conversion of Sentence Structures

Since sentence structures of Chinese and English are quite different， it is inevitable to adjust the Chinese sentence structure in doing Chinese-English translation. Eugene A. Nida， ever said：“…certain rather radical departures from the formal structure are not only legitimate but may even be highly desirable.” he advocates that when translating， the translator should reproduce the source-text with the most appropriate and closest natural equivalents both in semantics and stylistic features. In translating the source-text the author also deals with some long sentences in the same way. For example，

A. Changing active voice into passive voice：

……窗口功能顯著提升，……開放前沿功能進一步完善，……腹地支撐能力進一步提高，……明顯提升。

“In C- E translation， the conversion behavior of thought pattern is that in the stage of understanding， the translator is based on Chinese thought pattern， while in the stage of presentation， the translator is based on English thought pattern”. In the source text， active sentences play a leading role. When dealing with the above sentences， the author put them into passive ones so as to make the English version more faithful .

B. Changing sentences without subjects into the ones with subjectsendprint

適時推進……，盡快打通……，逐步建成……。

In the source-text， sentences without subjects are often seen. However， in English such pattern is never used apart from in imperative sentences. So being added subject “we” at the beginning of the sentence， the English sentences becomes better and more natural.

C. Turning sentences into phrases

When long English sentences are put into Chinese， the strategy of turning sentences into phrases is frequently used. However， translating Chinese sentences can also employ this way， for example， “……對外運輸?shù)缆吠ǘ粫常?產(chǎn)業(yè)國際競爭力不強，腹地與前沿聯(lián)動不夠，窗口地區(qū)經(jīng)濟總量不大，體制機制創(chuàng)新不足等” is put into... inconvenient foreign transportation routes， not strong international competitiveness of industry， not close linkage between the hinterland and the frontier， insufficient gross of economy in openness frontier area and lack of system and mechanism innovation， etc. In this way the English translation becomes so short and concise that the target-text may be more smooth and readable.

1.2 Handling of Run-on Sentences

Chinese coordinated run-on sentences form many long and complex sentences， due to the characteristics of parataxis. Thus the tough problems entail some effective strategies to cope with.

1.2.1 Determining the Sentence Structure

Because of the different syntactic features between Chinese and English， in dealing with long sentences sentence structure should be analyzed so as to find the main idea of what the text conveys. On the basis of the understanding of the source-text， It seems very necessary to determine the skeleton of the long sentence and review the logical relations among clauses. For example， 牢牢把握……，統(tǒng)籌……，在東北地區(qū)加快培育……，有利于增強……，不斷提升……；有利于……，加強……，實現(xiàn)…，進一步營造……。

In the above long sentence there isnt any connective. However， it implies the conditional relationship between clauses. So when it is put into English， such relations should be taken into account so that the translation seems more coherent and exact in accordance with English expression， such as as long as， and， so that， etc.

1.2.2 Reinventing Sentence Structure

As the saying goes， “The translator is the inverse.” Mostly the orders of some Chinese long sentences are completely different from those of English in the way of expression. Therefore sometimes translating against the original order should be a good way. Translating the back part of the sentence first can produce a natural translation. Sometimes the order of sentences need to be reorganized， for example， “長吉圖地區(qū)實現(xiàn)經(jīng)濟總量翻兩番以上，基本公共服務體系進一步完善，建成我國東北地區(qū)……基地，基本形成……”endprint

... the important growth pole of economic development in Northeast China will be basically formed by establishing in Northeast China the bases of ... and further improved basic public service system with the total economic output of Chang-Ji-Tu quadrupling.

1.2.3 Integrating the Structure

Sometimes the order of the sentence not only needs to be reorganized， the integration of the structure is also necessary based on the meaning of the sentence so as to achieve the effect of brevity. For example， “加快……打造……產(chǎn)業(yè)體系；發(fā)揮口岸群優(yōu)勢，擴大經(jīng)貿(mào)合作，建設……”The original of the second part of the whole sentence has been altered according to the requirement of translation.“發(fā)揮口岸群優(yōu)勢，擴大經(jīng)貿(mào)合作，建設延邊國家級經(jīng)濟技術開發(fā)區(qū)” seems to be parallel structure in form. However， logically in meaning the purpose of “發(fā)揮口岸群優(yōu)勢” is “擴大經(jīng)貿(mào)合作，建設延邊國家級經(jīng)濟技術開發(fā)區(qū)”. Actually they form the relationship of cause and effect.

1.3 Semantic Conversion

Syntactic analysis focuses on the structure of the sentence， while semantic analysis focuses on the contents of the sentence. In semantics， it is essential not only to put the meaning of a word or phrase into target language accurately， but also to have a good master of the feeling， part of speech and collocation of the vocabulary. So the translator needs to understand both the basic meaning and professional meaning of a word through the context to avoid literal translation. In translating the source-text， semantic problems are often met with. How to converse the meaning of the vocabulary exactly seems inevitable in translating the text. For example， “服務大東北”， here “大東北” refers to the whole northeast of China instead of “big northeast of China” literally. In“促進區(qū)域內各類城市層次清晰”， the author translates it into “... the regional cities with the characteristic of clear classification...”. “characteristic” is added here to make the translation more exact and fluent. And “層次” means “classification”or “l(fā)evel” instead of “l(fā)ayer”.

1.4 Handling of Terminology

The wide use of terminology is one of the features of official documents. In translating them， the author follows the principle of respecting authority to avoid literal translation.

1.4.1 Respecting the Authority

Respect for authority is an important principle in translating terminologies， for most terms are conventional. People cant produce optionally. Each term has its origin. Authority here refers to general dictionaries in the source and target languages， legal texts， specialized literature， colleagues specialized in the area of expertise， experts in the field， technical standards， etc. Nevertheless the first three are applied in translating the text. For example， when translating“經(jīng)濟增長極”economic growth pole， “合成樹脂與改性材料”synthetic resin and modified material， the author consulted different online dictionaries such as Youdao Dict and ICIBA and many example sentences in them trying to find the correct answer . As for some names of places， organizations， and exhibitions， its a good way to consult some legal texts or specialized literature. For example， “長吉圖開發(fā)開放先導區(qū)”Chang-Ji-Tu Development and Opening up Pilot Zone， 中國北車集團長客股份公司CNR Changchun Railway Vehicle Co.， Ltd .endprint

1.4.2 Avoiding Literal Translation

In addition to the principle mentioned above， another point should be noticed， that is， avoiding literal translation. Take”大中城市污水處理率達到100%”as an example. If “污水處理率”is put into English literally， it may become “waste water treatment rate” rather than “sewage treatment rate”. At first sight of “中俄互市貿(mào)易區(qū)”， the term “互市貿(mào)易” is hard to understand. After consulting some professional illustration， it means the trade with foreign nations. In translating “一次能源”， its most likely to put it into once energy or non-renewable energy rather than primary energy.

All in all， never translate some terms you dont know well literally. Remember to have a good and sound understanding first and then turn to some authoritative source or experts before translating those terms of which you are not sure.

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