A C-E Translation Practice Report On Tourism Texts Based On Parallel Texts

In the 1950 s,Canadian translator Jean-Paul Vinay proposed that parallel texts refer to different texts that are independent in language units and produced in identical or similar contexts.Later,Austrian lexicographer and applied linguist Hartmann(1980:37)divided parallel texts into three categories: the original texts and target texts that are quite consistent in forms;the original texts and target texts that are not identical in forms,but share the same functions;the original texts and target texts that are different in forms,but produced in identical or similar communication situations and share identical functions.As efficient translation tools,parallel texts are widely applied in translation practice,especially in applied translation.Tourism translation,a typical kind of applied translation,is all-inclusive in contents and flexible in forms,mainly involving the translation of introductions of tourist attractions,tourism advertisements,albums and commentaries of tourist attractions.As China‘s tourism industry continues to heat up,many Chinese attractions are highly appreciated by foreign tourists.Therefore,qualified English tourist texts are now in bad need.Due to cultural and linguistic differences between the two countries,mistranslation is quite common in the translation of tourism translation.The reference to authoritative and efficient parallel texts enables translators to grasp the target language‘s style and diction and adopt corresponding translation strategies with flexibility so as to improve the target text.Based on parallel texts,the author adopts the tourism materials of Jing‘an as the source text in this translation practice.Located in the northwestern part of Jiangxi Province,Jing‘an County is endowed with jagged peaks,beautiful mountains and rivers,abundant rainfall and mild climate.The San Zhualun Forest Park in the county is the only national demonstration forest park in Jiangxi Province.Besides the fantastic natural environment,Jing‘an County also embraces a long history and profound culture.In recent years,the local tourism development has flourished,attracting a large number of foreign tourists.Unfortunately,English tourist texts of Jing‘an have no trace.As a window for foreign tourists to know this town,the lack of English tourist texts makes Jing‘an lose many development opportunities.Therefore,it is urgent to acquire efficient and qualified English tourist texts of Jing‘an.Born and brought up here,the author cannot shift the responsibility to others.Combined with translation examples,this report analyzes the role of parallel texts in the translation of tourism texts and the conclusions are reached as follows.First,the effective use of parallel texts can improve the efficiency of translation.Tourist texts often involve many proper nouns.Resorting to parallel texts saves the translators the time spent in consulting relevant materials and producing an effective translation.Second,referring to parallel texts can improve the quality of translation.It can avoid some mistranslations and cultural defaults.And it also provides the translators a model of good discourse style and diction.Third,based on parallel texts,the common adopted translation strategies are imitation,borrowing and conversion,among which borrowing and conversion are most frequently used.However,it must be noted that parallel texts can maximize its function in translation process on the premise of its accuracy and relevance.