A Comparative Analysis Of The Discourse Translation Of The Solitude Of Self From The Perspective Of Systemic-functional Grammar

Translation is not confined to grammatical level only but belongs to a broader range of meaning selection and socialization process. On the base of Halliday’s Systemic-Functional Grammar, this paper attempts to find out the importance of textual cohesion analysis in translation activities by comparing and contrasting two Chinese versions of The Solitude of Self by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, one translated by Professor Lin Dajin and the other by the writer of the present thesis. It is found out that it is very important to bring out the meaning of the original text and that great attention should be paid to the transformation and implementation of the communicative meaning of the original text. Cohesion, as one of the main devices to realize coherence, establishes semantic relation in a discourse to achieve its coherence and intended rhetorical effects. This paper starts from a discourse perspective and probes into translation tactics and skills in the course of semiotic transformation with emphasis on translation as a dynamic tactical choice. Textual cohesion analysis can help translators to better catch the meaning of the article and improve the quality of translation. The study of Systemic-Functional Grammar has important theoretical guiding significance in the further development of translation theory and lexical selection from the discourse perspective.