《威尔士国家植物园游客指南》翻译实践报告

【Abstract】This translation report is based on the translation of the Visitor Guide of National Botanic Garden of Wales. Specific examples and corresponding theoretical analysis were given in each level. Besides the text types classification summarized by Reiss， other translation theories were also used in this report， such as， Nidas functional equivalence theory， Bakers explanation of translation strategies， Byrnes introduction of scientific and technical translation， and so on.

【Key words】text type; translation problems; translation methods

【作者简介】黄秦晋（1990-），女，汉族，陕西西安人，西安欧亚学院国际合作与学习中心，助教，翻译硕士，研究方向：翻译理论与实践。

1. Text Type and Translation Methods Analysis

The classification of text types would help to explain the different behavior of translators. The classification of text types is summarized by Reiss （1977） as informative， expressive， operative and audio-medial texts. Thus， the main translation method employed is transmitting the full referential or conceptual content of the ST and maintaining the “plain prose” style; in terms of the appellative part in the ST， I adopted the “adaptive” method and used imperative forms to achieve the equivalent effect among TT readers.

2. Translation Problems and Methods Adopted

2.1 Terminological Equivalence

According to Nidas （1982） theory of dynamic equivalence， the translator should translate so that the effect of the translation on the target reader is roughly the same as the effect of the source text once was on the source reader. “Waun Las” is a Welsh term which means “blue field” in English. The Welsh form keeps the original flavor of the reserve name， to achieve the similar effect among Chinese readers， I transliterated the name as “萬拉斯国家自然保护区”.

2.2 Grammatical Equivalence

2.2.1 Negation

Negation changes the semantics and point of view of the SL. For example， the sentence “The resonance of the Middletons， their seafaring exploits and their role in the Company would not have been lost on Paxton.” was translated as follows in through the method of negation： 与米德尔顿家族的投缘，他们的航海壮举，及其对东印度公司的重要影响都触动了帕克斯顿。

2.2.2 Voice

In Mona Bakers In Other Words， she mentioned that “in some languages， notably Japanese， Chinese， Vietnamese and Thai， the main function of the passive， or passive-like structures as in the case of Chinese， is to express adversity. In these languages， the passive is traditionally used to report unfortunate events.” （Baker 2011： 113）

ST： This was an unknown species until its fossil was discovered in 1941 and coincidentally， in the same year， a living specimen was found growing in China.

TT： 直到1941年人們发现水杉化石时才第一次认识该物种。巧合的是，同一年，在中国发现了水杉活标本。

2.3 Textual Equivalence-Cohesion & Coherence

Coherence is the network of conceptual relations which underlie the surface text. To make sure that the underlying semantic relations between different stretches can be perceived by the Chinese readers， the translator shall first comprehensive as precisely as possible the conceptual meaning as well as the lexical and grammatical meaning of the stretches， and then use proper cohesive markers to help the readers make sense of the text in question. Necessary amplifications， for example， are added in the translation of following extracts：

ST：

This aromatic terraced area of scree studded with boulders， features plants that echoes the Mediterranean theme of the Great Glasshouse.

TT：

这个由巨石包围起来的石子露台上种有芳香植物，与大温室里地中海主题的植物相呼应。

3. Conclusion

According to Reiss， the tourist guide is central in the text types triangle， which means it possesses features of informative， expressive and operative texts at the same time. Specific translation problems and methods were discussed respectively in terminological level， lexical-semantic level， grammatical level and textual level. Corresponding examples and theoretical analysis were given in the elaboration of each level.

References：

[1]Baker， M. In Other Words.（2nd ed.）[J]. London： Routledge，2011.

[2]Byrne， J. Technical Translation[M]. Dordrecht： Springer，2006.

[3]Byrne， J. Scientific and Technical Translation Explained. Manchester[J]. UK; Kinderhook， NY： St. Jerome Pub，2012.

[4]Munday， J. Introducing Translation Studies： Theories and Application[M]. London; New York： Routledge. 2001.

[5]Nida， Eugene A.& Charles R. Taber. The Theory and Practice of Translation[J]. Leiden; Boston， MA： Brill，1982.