Academic Literature Translation

The development of China’s national power and economy has been connected with the academic translation tightly. And more and more scholars and presses have been joining the waves of academic translation. However, present publications of academic translation are intermingled with the good and the bad. Based on the Chinese translation of A Companion to Narrative Theory, a seminal work in narrative studies, this thesis attempts to discuss the skills and methods with a view to introducing ways of the academic translation. The motivation for the author’s decision to choose this book for analysis is his great interest in narratology, the creative art of telling stories. This thesis introduces the major features of academic translation after explaining the backgrounds of the academic translation and narratology at first. The academic translation in Chinese modern times has reached achievement as well as limitation. Meanwhile, each phase of the western academic translation has connected with the natural science, philosophy and religion tightly. And this thesis explains the major characteristics of the academic translation texts. These characteristics can be summarized as scientificity, technicality and readability. On these characteristics, the methods of academic translation literatures can be concluded as translating the key points, restructuring the original texts, connecting the key points, the supplements of the key points, the summaries of the key points, the summaries of the comments and translating plus interpretation. Then, based on the Chinese translation of A Companion to Narrative Theory, this thesis attempts to explain the specific uses of above-mentioned features through scientific veracity, profound understanding of backgrounds, strictness in translating terms and the reader-friendly style. Scientificity means that the academic literature translations should be scientific and accurate. Profound understanding of backgrounds means the translator should have profound understanding of the originals. The strictness in translating terms asks the translators to have the professional quality. And the reader-friendly style proceeds from the aspect of readers, to make them understand easily. At last, the author finds that the above-mentioned four features play very important roles in academic translation.However, the author of this thesis also finds out some inappropriate translations and gives his own translations from the three sides as follows: being unintelligible, being unfaithful and being unnatural.At last, the author concludes that the translation features of A Companion to Narrative Theory indeed follows the scientific veracity, profound understanding of backgrounds, strictness in translating terms and the reader-friendly style. And it provides feasible guides to relevant academic translations.