| Over the past years the civil aviation industry of the United States has been taking the lead around the world, being noted for its advanced technologies in aircraft manufacturing and extensive experience in flight operations. After sixty years of development, China’s civil aviation system has become the second biggest air transport system in the world after the United States. However, its flight technologies and operating experience still lag behind the US. In this respect, China should learn from the US.As an agency of the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) is the national aviation authority of the United States which has the authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of American civil aviation.The Aeronautical Information Manual(AIM) provided by FAA, which altogether has746 pages, is an official guide to the basic flight information and air traffic control procedures, making it a valuable reference for pilots and other people in the civil aviation industry of China.Due to time limit, the author chose to concentrate efforts on the translation of the most valuable part, that is, Section 4, Chapter 5 of the AIM, with accuracy as the translation principle and with the Aeronautical Information Publication(AIP) –the international version of AIM–and the Chinese AIP published by CAAC as the parallel texts. She finished the translation by using tools such as the English-Chinese dictionary, the Civil Aviation English-Chinese Dictionary, the Youdao Dictionary, and the Internet. During the translation process, the main difficulties encountered were the recognition and translation of semi-technical terms and the handling of structural ambiguity in sentences. By consulting professional dictionaries and experts as well as by logical analysis on the basis of professional knowledge, the author solved thesedifficulties.After this translation practice, the author realized that abundant professional knowledge was indispensable for the recognition and translation of semi-technical terms as well as for the analysis and handling of the structural ambiguity in sentences,and thus was helpful for translators in improving the accuracy of translation.Translators should read as many technical materials as possible, learn the latest technologies in the industry, and accumulate professional knowledge so as to improve the translation of technical texts. This is not only the aspect where technical translators should make continuous efforts but also the goal and direction for beginners of technical translation. |
