C-E Translation Of University Webpage Profiles:Problems And Strategies

With the development of networking and information of Chinese higher education, universities’international exchange and cooperation is increasing. Many Chinese universities have set up their own webpage profiles both in Chinese and English. Internet’s unique function is capturing more and more attention in our life. These university webpage profiles are playing an irreplaceable role in displaying the universities and providing various online services. However, most C-E translation of Chinese university webpage is not satisfactory, thus ruin the image and reputation of the university and even affect the international exchange and cooperation of the university.Under the influence of traditional equivalent translation theory, most C-E translation of university webpage profiles is word to word translation according to its profiles in Chinese. Translators fail to consider such questions as:Who are the prospective target readers? What are the expected purpose and function of the target text? For the target readers, there are some translation errors and redundant information which prevent the university webpage profiles from being well understood.The translation of university profile is not just a language to language transformation but rather a cultural shift. Due to the distinctive language systems and cultural differences between English and Chinese as well as a special functional stylistic of university profile, and translators generally meet great difficulties in achieving the translation criteria of equivalence. Skopos Theory offers a new theoretical basis for translators, which is suitably applied to the translation of such pragmatic texts as university profile with an intended purpose.According to Skopos Theory——any action has its purpose and so does any form of translation. The prime principle determining any translation process is the purpose of the overall translational action, and translation strategies and methods are determined by the purpose and the intended function of the target text. This thesis is focusing on the C-E translation of university webpage profiles under the guidance of Skopos Theory, by adopting the authentic selected bilingual versions of university webpage profiles in Hunan Province, a real reflection of situations on university webpage profiles translation, bearing scientific values in translation studies. First of all, this thesis will make an analysis on the text of university webpage profiles in English, and analysis its functions and characteristics. Secondly, the author analyzes its existing problems by selecting university webpage profiles in Hunan Province as examples, the accomplishment of which is through the web searching and the document collecting in their libraries. In addition, the author illustrates them with examples under the guidance of Skopos Theory, thus a new comparison of the new translations with the old ones shows marked improvements. At last, this thesis will provide some guiding strategies for the translation of university profile from both macroscopic and translation methods such as addition, abridgement, omission and adaptation, etc. And what’s more, the thesis provides a way of improving the C-E translation of university webpage profiles by establishing the digital library for translation of university webpage profile. On the basis of analyzing translation problems and solutions to problems, the author applies some implications for translators and authorities.Finally, it needs to be pointed that all the suggested translations in this thesis is offered by the author, by consulting to some translating methods guided by Skopos Theory and referring to famous pragmatic translation books.