本文是一篇英语毕业论文，译者选取该书的序言和前四章作为翻译素材，在翻译过程中，译者发现节选文本中存在大量的后置修饰语。后置修饰语是将修饰语放在中心词之后的表达方式，由于英汉语言习惯存在差异，后置修饰语在汉语中并不常见，这给汉译过程增添了一定难度。
1 Task Description
1.1 Background of the Task
The source text of this report is from Mark Batterson,Do it for a day-How toMake or Break Habit in 30 Days(Excerpts).
Habit is an abstract concept as well as an acquired mode of behaviour that hasbecome nearly or completely involuntary a behaviour pattern.It is acquired byfrequent repetition or physiologic exposure that shows itself in regularity or increasedperformance facility.The habit research lasted for a long time and involved in manybranches of learning such as education,psychology and law.A thoroughunderstanding of habit is of great significance to the development of individuals andsociety.Mark Batterson said,“Our lives are built on our patterns of behaviour:bothconstructive and counterproductive habits.Whether we attain the things wedesire—mental and physical health,financial freedom,fulfilling relationships—aredetermined by the things we do and the things we don’t”(Mark Batterson,2021,p.6).The author provides a new perspective for us to learn about habit formation.Therefore,it is necessary to understand habit systemically,and a book isindispensable to guide people on how to form or break a habit scientifically.
1.2 Choice of the Text
The book introduces a worldwide topic,making people understand the methodsof habit formation.There are mainly three reasons why the translator chooses thistext.
Firstly,a lot of postpositional modifiers are used in the text,and while suchexpressions rarely appear in modern Chinese;the translator tries to use literaltranslation but finds the target language inflexible and non-smoothly.As for thetranslation methods,they are disorderly and unsystematically used in differentsentences.It needs to classify the forms of postpositional modifiers and make sense ofthe translation methods.
Secondly,Mark Batterson finished this book in 2021,and the book has not yetto be translated into Chinese,so the source text provides a big challenge and thetranslator can learn and accumulate practical experience for the future career.Guidedby Nida’s functional equivalence,the translator has a chance to create a new Chineseversion and introduce the habit formation methods to the target language people.
Finally,the author’s religious and authentic expressions would confuse theunreligious readers.In order to solve the problems,functional equivalence plays anessential role because it provides a similar understanding for both source and targetlanguage readers.
2 Process Description
2.1 Preparation Before Translation
Preparation before the translation is divided into three stages,and there arecollecting the author’s information online,reading related paper and books,makingsure the translation theory are fully used.
As for the information online,several translation tools and search enginesprovide a big help such as Termonline,Google,America Amazon and CNKI.Termonline helps to search for religious and habit formation terms,and the searchengine Google is used as the bridge between Chinese and foreign websites.AmericaAmazon provides a sales status of the book and the author’s private website.The mostfrequently used is CNKI,a domestic academic website with many references andsuggestions.
It is mainly because the book is partly involved in the author’s real life,so it isnecessary to know his background from the Internet.The translator first went toGoogle and the author’s personal website to search for information about the author,Mark Batterson.Not satisfied by the domestic website,the author logged in AmericanAmazon and got the author’s brief introduction.
2.2 Translation Process
After the preparation was finished,the translator started translating thetranslation material.
The first step is to read the original text thoroughly and master the basicstructure,linguistic features and stylistics.Since the theory structure was identifiedbefore the translation,the translator considered the relationship between informativetext and functional equivalence,making sure they are worth researching.
The first time the translator read the material,the language seemed not smoothand the context was fuzzy.The translator realized that the source text should bedivided into several parts and take a separate understanding.After combining thereferences before translation,the second step is to make a scientific and reasonableschedule.In strict accordance with the translation plan,the translator couldundoubtedly finish the job on time.In the early translation stage,the translation wasscheduled to be completed within two months,about 300 words per day.By the endof 10th August,the first draft was completed.The second draft was scheduled to bewithin ten days.During the second draft,the translator revised and improved thetranslation to facilitate the subsequent revision and proofreading.At this stage,thetranslator has a deeper understanding of the text;instead of only focusing on thesurface meaning,the translator focuses on the thoughts of the author.
3 Case Analysis ........................ 9
3.1 Theoretical Framework ......................... 9
3.1.1 Functional Equivalence Theory ............................... 9
3.1.2 Feasibility Application in the E-C Translation of PostpositionalModifiers ................. 11
4 Conclusion ........................... 31
4.1 Major Findings ...................................... 31
4.2 Limitations ....................................... 32
4.3 Suggestions .................................... 33
3 Case Analysis
3.1 Theoretical Framework
As proposed by Nida,theoretical equivalence has developed in several stages.From“formal equivalence”to“functional equivalence”,this theory is widely appliedin the area of E-C translation.It provides a broad and profound influence in the pressof global translation(Li,2022).
3.1.1 Functional Equivalence Theory
With the development of linguistics since the 1960s,people began to studytranslation from the perspective of these two disciplines.Nida’s“functionalequivalence”became the most popular theory among them.
Functional equivalence theory is developed by the concept of equality ofdynamics.It represents Nida’s second stage of translation research(Yuan,2011).Inhis book Toward a Science of Translating(1964),Nida first believes that“Language consists of more than the meaning of the symbols and the combinations of symbols:itis essentially a code in operation,or,in other words,a code functioning for a specificpurpose”(1964,p.120).So he states,“There are fundamentally two different types ofequivalence:one which may be called formal and another which is primarilydynamic”(1964,p.210).
4 Conclusion
4.1 Major Findings
Initially,the translator finds a great deal of preparation helps the follow-up taskto be completed smoothly.Because the text belongs to the informative text andcontains professional expertise,the translator reads a lot of articles and psychologypapers,learns the influence of habit upon people in different fields.During thistranslation,in view of the classification and functions of postpositional modifiers,thetranslator mainly chooses three main translation methods:pre-position,division andconversion.The three methods are flexibly applied in the postpositional modifiers.
While translating the first time,the translator ensures the fidelity of thetranslation to the source text.At the same time,the translator marks words andsentences that are difficult to understand.For the second time,with the help ofparallel texts,classmates and supervisors,the classifications of the postpositionalmodifiers become more scientific and concrete,finally those problems are solved.
In addition,the translator uses network resources and books to understand thecharacteristics of information texts further,read parallel corpora,and have apreliminary grasp of the translation methods of information texts.In this process,thetranslator’s ability to integrate information has been improved,and the theoreticalknowledge of such text translation has been enriched.The translator sorts out theselected corpus,formulates the translation schedule,and strictly follows the plan.Inthis process,the translator’s execution has improved.
reference(omitted)