A Discussion on the Translation of Popular Science Articles on Nuclear Fusion from the Perspective of Functional Equivalence

Chen　LIN

【Abstract】 Eugene Nidas Functional Equivalence focuses on target readers， stressing fluency and naturalness of translation. This provides a practical guidance to translation strategies and translation criticism. Excellent popular science articles on nuclear fusion， represented by the ones on ITER （International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor） website， feature vivid and common language. This article will make a brief analysis of the translation of these articles from the perspective of Functional Equivalence.

【Key words】 Functional Equivalence; nuclear fusion; popular science articles

【作者簡介】Chen LIN，  Southwestern Institute of Physics.

Fusion energy research is at the forefront of human scientific endeavor. The official website of ITER offers lots of excellent articles on nuclear fusion for the general public， which are pleasant to be read and easy to be understood. It is of great significance to translate and convey the meaning and spirit of the original text in English in an effort to raise the Chinese general publics awareness of new energy.

1.A brief introduction to Functional Equivalence

At first Nida divided Equivalence into Formal Equivalence and Dynamic Equivalence （later he changed the name of Dynamic Equivalence into Functional Equivalence）. Nida believes that translation is the production of the interaction between the author of the original text， the translator and the target reader. It is a dynamic process which is constantly improved in a certain system consisting of three phases： analysis， transfer and restructuring. The translator should be given more room when making choices in translation so that the meaning of the original text can be fully conveyed.

The basic requirement for Functional Equivalence is that “the readers of a translated text should be able to understand and appreciate it in essentially the same manner as the original readers did” （Nida， 2001： 87）. To be more specific， “translation is to reproduce the semantic and stylistic information of the original text in the target text in the most appropriate， natural and equivalent language” （Guo， 2000：65）. In Nidas opinion， more emphasis should be put on the content rather than on the form in the translation. Different from Formal Equivalence which generally carries the content from the original text in a mechanical manner， Functional Equivalence requires the translator to convey the original meaning of the text through necessary transfer or restructuring of the original form. To that end， Nida proposed four basic requirements for translation： （1） making sense; （2） conveying the spirit and manner of the original; （3） having a natural and easy form of expression; （4） producing a similar response. （Munday， 2010： 42）

2. A brief discussion on the translation of popular science articles on nuclear fusion

The general features of popular science articles on ITER website are： 1. Short articles with single theme; 2. Rhetorical devices like metaphor， personification， comparison， alliteration and quotation are frequently used. In view of Functional Equivalence， the translator should try to produce similar response in the target reader with the original reader based on a thorough analysis of the text. The author will discuss in detail by taking two short texts as examples.

Example 1：A tokamak must breathe——When plasmas ten times hotter than the core of the Sun begin pulsating inside the ITER vacuum vessel， the combined mass of the Tokamak and cryostat （25，000 tonnes） will need a bit of breathing space. （https：//www.iter.org/newsline/-/2466）

The translator should make a thorough analysis of the original text and try to figure out the emotion and tone in the context. The author of the original text uses the word “breathe” in the title， personifying the tokamak device; the word “pulsate” is a pun as it means both “evenly vibrate” and “exciting”. Considering these vivid images， it is inappropriate to literally translate the last part of the sentence into “總重达25000吨的托卡马克和杜瓦需要呼吸的空间”， being too formal and not in accordance with the tone of the context. The authors translation is as follows：

托卡马克也要呼吸——当比太阳中心温度高10倍的等离子体在ITER真空室里跳动的时候，总重达25000吨的托卡马克装置和杜瓦要有地方喘口气才行。

The translation uses oral language to imitate the vivid tone of the original text. This example illustrates that the translator needs to have an accurate grasp of readers response， producing a natural and fluent text.

Example 2：The ballet of the Titans——The stage is ready， some of the props are already in place， and the show will soon begin. It will be a grand production served by an international cast of highly skilled performers. The central theme？ Twin Titans， in the form of giant tools dancing a mechanical ballet to contribute to the assembly of one of the most complex machines ever conceived. （https：//www.iter.org/newsline/-/2868）

With his extraordinary imagination， the author of the original text compares the giant tools to Titans. The precise movement of the tools is like dancing ballet dancers. The authors translation is as follows：

巨人跳芭蕾——舞台就绪，道具就位，演出马上开始。由国际顶尖演员阵容打造的鸿篇巨制即将上演，本次的主题是——巨人双子穿上巨大的工装，跳起“机械芭蕾舞”，组装人类史上最复杂的机器之一。

Three short sentences are used at the beginning of the original text， stressing the urgency that all relevant parties are in position， with the aim to attract the readers attention. Therefore， the language of the translation is as precise as possible， like the clear-cut order from the director of the show. “Mechanical ballet” can be literally translated into “机械的芭蕾舞”， but it feels blunt. If “的” is deleted， “机械芭蕾舞” becomes a phase of oxymoron： 机械舞or popping is a style of street dance featuring robotic movements. Such masculine modern dance is in clear contradiction with graceful classical ballet， demonstrating the find combination of hardness and softness of the giant tool， making the translation as attractive and enchanting as the original text.

3.Conclusion

According to Nidas Functional equivalence， good translation is produced in the process of analysis， restructuring and transfer of the original text which conveys the original meaning， tone and spirit. The translator， when analyzing the original text， is thus required to have a clear understanding of the text functions in the target language， and make necessary shifts to the structure of the original text. Excellent popular science articles on nuclear fusion， represented by the ones on ITER website have their unique stylistic features that can instantly attract the readers attention. Translators of this type of articles need to stick closely to these features while not being constrained by the form.

References：

[1]International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor. A tokamak must breath. https：//www.iter.org/newsline/-/2466， 2016.

[2]International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor. The ballet of the Titans. https：//www.iter.org/newsline/-/2868， 2017.

[3]Munday， Jeremy. Introducing Translation Studies： Theories and Applications[M]. New York： Routledge， 2010： 42.

[4]Nida， Eugene A. Language and Culture： Context in Translating[M]. Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Languages Education Press， 2001： 87.

[5]郭建中.當代美国翻译理论[M].武汉：湖北教育出版社，2000：65.