A Translation Project Report On Gesture In Sign Language Discourse

Sign language is such a language that expresses meaning by gestures, body movements and facial expressions without any speech. Gestures play a major role in many aspects of human life such as chatting, describing a route and negotiating prices in a market. Gesturing is probably universal and there has been no report of a community that does not gesture.This is a translation report based on Gesture in Sign Language Discourse, a research article from Journal of Pragmatics. The translator selects its four parts as the source text:deictic gesture, mental space theory, the narrative and constructed theory.The report mainly focuses on the problems and difficulties during the translation process. The author uses Peter Newmark's “communicative translation” and “semantic translation” theory to guide her practice and some methods and strategies to solve the problems. For instance, addition is applied in the translation of elliptical sentences according to the context and the passive voice is converted into an active voice due to the different ways English and Chinese express themselves.The translation practice is of both practical and theoretical value. It has helped develop the translator's abilities and skills and enabled her to gain a better understanding of the importance of gestures in sign language discourse. In addition, it will be of value to those who are interested in gestures, sign language and their deeper significance, say,Chinese scholars or researchers.