Selected Translation Report On The Signature Of All Things

This report is a description and an analysis of the translation of the excerpt of The Signature of All Things. The author of the book is the popular American female writer Elizabeth Gilbert. The book was bought from a book shop.The Signature of All Things has been a worldwide bestseller since it was published in 2013 but unfortunately there's no official Chinese versions of it. The storytelling of Elizabeth is appealing and easygoing with detailed description of characters' emotions and internal struggles.This book depicts a strong and independent female scientist in 19 century which echoes with the new requirements for the role of women in the 21st century. Alma, the heroine, experienced ups and downs in her career and private life, yet she always kept hope and moving on. The thought-provoking story is conducive of the self-reflection of Chinese readers, especially Chinese female readers. The translator chose this book in the hope of making this book more accessible to readers who are not capable of reading English.As novel, the book takes the readers to the world created by the author with the heroine to share her joy and sorrow. As a result, the translator employs an approach of "localizing" some expressions with strong cultural symbols, making it easier for Chinese readers to take in. How to strike the balance between keeping the original flavor and localizing it is a focus of the translation report.The Introduction part includes overview of the author and a synopsis of the story. The Text Analysis covers two perspectives, one is character shaping and the other one is writing style. Preparation before translation and the criteria for translation are also discussed in this chapter.The Translation Process chapter offers analysis of dialogue translation and long complicated sentence translation, regarding them as two of the biggest problems in the translation of the book. Demonstrations of such strategies as addition, deletion, compensation and localization are also included with ample cases.Thoughts and Reflection is a summary of what the translator have learned from this experience. It is a tiring yet joyful, painful yet pleasant journey to translate. A eligible translator must have a deep understanding of English language and the western culture as well as a good command of Chinese language and culture. It's always a huge challenging task to keep the original flavor while bridging the gap between the source language/culture and the target language/culture for the readers of the translated versions.The last chapter serves as a conclusion of this report. Translation is a great job. A qualified translator should observe the code of conducts, enriching the common immaterial wealth of mankind.