A Report On The Translation Of Contemporary Perspectives On Rhetoric

The translation material is chosen from the fifth chapter of Contemporary Perspectives on Rhetoric. This book, recognized as a significant theoretical work on rhetoric, discusses eight famous western rhetors’ rhetoric theories and ideas, including I. A. Richards, Ernesto Grassi, Cha?m Perelman, Stephen Toulmin, Richard Weaver, Kenneth Burke, Jürgen Habermas and Michel Foucault.What makes Contemporary Perspectives on Rhetoric unique and different is that each chapter starts with the theorist’s life experience, so as to help with the understanding of the relevant rhetorical ideas. Moreover, in each chapter, the authors conduct manifold discussions over each rhetorical theory by introducing different scholars’ critical perspectives, which provides helpful references to the future study and research on modern rhetoric.The whole process of translation is described in detail in this paper: from the selection of the translation material, to the preparation before the start of the translation(such as reading the material many times, consulting the encyclopedias for knowledge on argument and rhetoric, and checking rhetorical terms and collecting parallel corpus), to the selection of translation strategies, and to the analysis and solutions of the difficulties in the process of translation. During the process of repeated checking and polishment, the author has become more proficient in the application of translation skills and strategies. In addition, the author profoundly realizes a translator’s arduousness and the greatness of his responsibilities.