A Report On The English Translation Of Excerpts From The History And Culture Of Khams

In the recent years,with the support of China?s government,the Tibetan culture has attracted worldwide attention.Consequently,as a part of the Tibetan culture,the Khams culture is arousing increasingly more international interest.Thus,the English translation of texts about the Khams culture is essential in meeting the needs of the English-speaking world in achieving a better understanding of the Tibetan or Khams culture.Within such a setting,the present translator undertakes the task of the English translation of an excerpt from The History and Culture of Khams by Ren Xinjian.The source text is an introduction to the Khams culture and the history of the Tea Horse Road.Since there is no established English version of the source text,the translator?s work is both necessary and original.In spite of its complexity,the translator completes the task through a systemic procedure of various stages and steps and the complementary use of various translation methods and techniques in the treatment of culture-loaded terms,difficult sentences and longer textual fragments.In terms of the translation process,the translator carries out this translation task through a systemic procedure comprising four stages: preparation work,source text comprehension,target text expression,and follow-up work.In the preparation stage,the translator makes a full preparation by selecting necessary reference materials including parallel texts and compiling a glossary of culture-loaded terms and special words.In the source text comprehension stage,the translator achieves an adequate understanding of the source text by systemically analyzing it in terms of its function,meaning and form.In the target text expression stage,the translator produces a target text by systemically planning and designing it also in terms of its function,meaning and form.In the follow-up stage,the translator improves the quality of the target text by systemically proofreading and revising the whole target text.In terms of the use of translation methods,the translator complementarily applies various methods or techniques in the translation of words,sentences,and text fragments so as to guarantee the grammatical,semantic and pragmatic adequacy of the target text.On the word level,the translator mainly employs the method of literal translation realized through the techniques of transliteration,morphemic translation and annotated translation in the translation of culture-loaded terms and other special words.On the level of sentence,the translator chiefly utilizes the method of free translation embodied in the techniques of division(splitting sentences),amplification(adding subjects),and restructuring(reordering components or clauses)in the translation of long or complicated sentences.On the level of text,the translator applies free translation in the form of the flexible use of various cohesive ties in English(e.g.,reference,conjunction,and lexical cohesion)in the translation of longer textual fragments.The performance of this translation task is practically important.In terms of its cultural function,it may aid the transmission of the Tibetan or Khams culture to the English-speaking world.In terms of its implications to translation practice,it may facilitate later translation of cultural texts with its systemic procedure and complimentary use of translation methods and techniques.