A Report On The Translation Of Field Of Blackbirds From The Perspective Of Translation Shifts

The translation shifts have been studying for a long time.Catford used the term‘shift'for the first time in his book A Linguistic Theory of Translation in 1965,and he divided translation shifts into two main types:level shifts and category shifts.Level shifts mean a SL item at one linguistic level has a TL translation equivalent at a different level.Category shifts are departures from formal correspondence in translation and involves four shifts:structural shifts,class shifts and unit shills and Intra system shifts.This report is based on 3 chapters of the book,Field of Blackbird.v,which is a historical tlction and belongs to literary text.Therefore,literariness is the most indispensable language feature of this text.Through perusing the tlclion,the language features of the fiction are summarized as follows:first,distinctive characters' language embodies the image of different protagonists;second,the lilitary language is widely used in this fiction;third,the diversity of narrative perspective;last,the author adopts many kinds of rhetorical devices.The report consists of six chapters:Chapter l is task description;Chapter 2 records the whole translation process of Field of Blackbirds;Chapter 3 introduces translation shifts;Cliapter 4 is a literature review of translation shifts,both at home and abroad.Chapter 5 is case analysis,the main part of this report,summarizes its empirical models through a large number of detailed examples.Chapter 6 summarizes difficulties during the translation process and implications after the translation practice.Through the translation practice,the tralslator has learnt that translation cannot accomplish overnight,full prerpaation,flexiblc translation strategics and translation skills,and careful proofreading are essential method to guarantee the translation quality.In addition,due to its literariness and aesthetics,it is very necessary to collect relevant historical background,cultural characteristics,and customs and traditions in literary translation.The translator needs to translate on the basis of understanding the relevant national culture.In the process of translation,the translator can look for the information and solve the problem or ask the professional to make sure the information is correct.It is hoped that this translation practice report can provide reference for the translation of historical fictions and an alternative for historical literature amateurs.