A Translation Project Report On How To Master The Spoken Word:Designed As A Self-Instructor For All Who Would Excel In The Art Of Public Speaking(Excerpts)

This is a translation practice report on How to Master the Spoken Word:Designed as a Self-Instructor for All Who Would Excel in the Art of Public Speaking,which was written by Edwin Gordon Lawrence,an American author.The book consists of ten chapters,which mainly include the significance of public speaking,the famous speeches,the ways to construct orations,and some helpful methods for practice.The Preface,Foreword and Chapter 6 of the book are chosen as the source text.They mainly describe the structure of this book,the distinctions among other similar books,the importance of speech-delivering,and some skills in breathing and producing voice.Written in a formal style,the book provides some effective exercises and physiological information on vocal organs,which makes it easier for readers to deliver speeches.In order to guide readers to know about the relevant background and master public speaking by scientific methods,the target text should share the same information and style with the source text.Moreover,the target text can help readers to broaden their horizon,develop logical thinking and make friends.Therefore,the Skopos Theory is taken as the guiding theory.The Skopos Theory was proposed by Hans Vermeer,a German translator.It allows the translator to use different ways to translate the source text based on the purpose of the target text and the task of the translator.The theory contains three principles,namely,the skopos rule,the coherence rule and the fidelity rule.The translator must first ensure that the target text can achieve its intended aim,then the coherence within the target text,last the faithfulness to the source text.This report first introduces the background,the significance and the author of the source text book,second illustrates the preparation before translating,the translating process,and review after translating.The third part is the solution to some difficult problems under the guidance of the Skopos Theory.Translation involves at least two languages.Therefore,the mastery of the differences between languages and the understanding of the background knowledge can help the analysis of the source text.Knowing the characteristics of the target language can make the translated version closer to the target language in expressive style.Under some special circumstances,some modifications to the source text are needed.As for different problems,the writer adopts different translation skills,ranging from conversion,extension,division,amplification,to annotation.The final part is the enlightenment and experience gained from the translation practice.Through the translation practice,the writer has obtained a deeper understanding of speech delivering,known about some professional knowledge,and enhanced translation skills.To some extent,the translation can provide reference for other scholars to study speech making.