A Report On C-E Translation Of The Commentary Of《毛泽东遗物的故事》

With the increase of cultural communication between China and other countries in the world, more and more documentaries, among other types of films and television programs, are accessible to international viewers via translation. Undoubtedly, high-quality translation of documentary commentary is crucial to good effect of reception on the part of the viewers.This report is based on the translation of the commentary of the first three episodes of the historical documentary《毛泽东遗物的故事》(about 12,000Chinese characters).These three episodes vividly describe Mao Zedong from three aspects:a son,a husband,and a father.The translation project is accomplished by the author with the help from my mentor,Professor Wang Jianping.The report analysizes the source text and describes the pre-translational preparation and the review of the translation in detail. Then it concludes the basic principles of the C-E translation of documentary commentary: conciseness, popularity and culturalness. Guided by these principles and the theory of translation as adaptation and selection, the report makes case studies from three perspectives: language, culture and communication.As the report reveals, the translator should take full account of the constituents in the translational eco-environment, such as language, culture and communication, and dynamically adapt the environment and make his or her choices. Only by satisfying various needs on the part of the viewers can the translator or his/her translation works “survive and thrive”.It is hoped that this report will be of some referential value for the analysis and translation of documentary caption.