| The20th century has witnessed great development of children’s literature in China,during which translation of foreign children’s books has made tremendous contribution. In thenew millennium, more children’s books have been translated into Chinese as the publishinghouses have put unprecedented importance on importing foreign children’s books. HunanChildren’s Publishing House is a case in point. To provide Chinese young readers with a feastof world classical and contemporary children’s books, Hunan Children’s Publishing Houselaunched the project of publishing a “Collection of International Children’s Literature” in2008. Winners of important prizes on children’s literature in the world are included in thiscollection. Thanks to my tutor Prof. LIU Jianbo, I have had the opportunity to participate inthe translation project, and was assigned to translate Chapters8-17of the British novelFrozen in Time by Ali Sparkes, the winner of Blue Peter Book of the Year Award2010.As a novice translator of children’s literature, I have gained a lot from this translationpractice in terms of arranging translation process and translation skills. Proper arrangement oftranslation helps control the quality of translation, with which a translator is able to translatemethodically and stays in track while translating. Before translation, a translator is suggestedto establish the translation principles and read the source text. According to my practice, Ihave read the novel for three times and got a firm grasp on the meaning of the novel at thesurface level (words, phrases, idioms, and culture) and at the underlying level of deepersignificance. My translation principles have been set on the basis of careful study of thetranslation contract in which the publishing house has attached great importance to theeducational function. Since no translation can be done overnight and in one single draft, myrendering of Frozen in Time has gone through constant revisions and proofreading before thefinal draft. For any green-hand translator, proper arrangement of translation and how to staycalm while translating are the main two objectives one has to achieve.The rendering of the book title and the children’s tone are the two things that I caredabout most throughout my translation. The book title is the name card of a book and is one of the most effective ways for a reader to understand a book in a short time. With careful studyof the connotation of the Chinese words “冷冻” and “冰冻” as well as “时间” and “时光”, wethink that “冰冻时间”and “冷冻时光” are both possible renderings of the book title “Frozenin Time”. However, by taking into account of the theme of the novel, we believe that “冷冻时光” is a better translation.Children’s tone is often considered as one of the characteristics that differentiate it fromadult literature. Though strategies on how to render children’s tone are applicable to mytranslation, they are not the guarantee of a successful translation. Strategies like employmentof modal particles, short phrases, simple sentences and onomatopoeia, are not rigid rules at all.When employing these strategies, I have taken the overall tone of the source text intoconsideration and with the flexible use of the strategies I have been able to achieve the goal ofpursuing dynamic equivalence. Besides, since it is a book to be published, its influence on thereader’s literacy, or the educational function of a book, should not be ignored. Hence, carefulwording is a must.This report is the summary of my translation practice. Chapter One is an introduction tothe whole report. Chapter Two introduces Frozen in Time, the author, main characters, and thechapters I have been assigned to translate. Chapter Three introduces the process of mytranslation. Chapter Four discusses two problems I have encountered during the translation:one is the rendering of the book title and children’s tone. Chapter Five summarizes thediscussions in the translation report. |
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