A Report On The Translation Of The Illustrations Of Men And Things In Lingnan Region (Excerpts)

In 1832,Elijah Coleman Bridgman,a missionary of The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions,founded the Chinese Repository in Guangzhou,expecting to introduce China’s social condition and culture to the West.And he hoped that the newspaper could encourage those foreigners who lived or worked in China to support missionaries’ job.It is a valuable material which helps the research on the relationship between China and the West in modern times.The western missionaries,in the process of introducing China to the West,had made some effective cross-cultural translation strategies and techniques.Many scholars have done research on this by analyzing passages and making summaries.However,one of the subjects as The Illustrations of Men and Things in Lingnan Region had never been translated before.Therefore,the author excerpted and translated some passages of The Illustrations of Men and Things in Lingnan Region in the Chinese Repository.By doing so,the author strongly realized that the translation strategies made by missionaries played a vital role in their translation activities.Thus,the author analyzed the passages and finally found out that the missionaries mainly showed China’s men and things to foreigners by adopting four measures.The author concludes his translation strategies or methods in terms of missionaries’ translation strategies.The paper consists of four parts: task description,process description,case study and conclusion.In case study,the author lists his translation strategies or methods,which include literal translation,free translation,domestication and foreignization,based on the adaptation theory.The author hopes that his analyses and summaries can be guidance to similar translations,research and studies.