Text Typology And Chinese-English Translation

The purpose of the thesis is to study how text typology affects translation and on what basis a translator solves translation problems. The thesis provides an overview of traditional, linguistic and functional translation approaches in terms of text typology. According to functional approach, especially Christiane Nord's model of basic text functions and her documentary and instrumental translation strategies, we take four types of translation from Chinese to English as examples to analyze their functions, contents and conventions. The analysis illustrates that different text types need different translation strategies. There are many factors to be considered when we have a text translated, but the determining factors reside in the target system. These factors include the function or purpose of the target text, the conventions in the target culture, and the manner of target language. The focus within translation studies is shifted from traditional and linguistic approaches to functional approach, from the source text to the target text. It is no longer the source text that sets the sole standard for the translator's decisions, but the intended receivers of the translation and their communicative needs. The thesis also discusses the general process of translation and develops top-down model from the perspective of functional translation theory.