The Translation Methods Of The Nominalization Structures In Academic Writings

The text to be translated for the dissertation is Classroom Assessment and Educational Measurement,a collection of academic writings on education to be published by Routledge Press.The main focus of the book is on the theory and practice of learning assessment under classroom settings,with an analysis of the limitations of large-scale education assessment and relevant adjustments.Based on the translation of the eighth chapter,the author discusses the translation methods of the commonly-seen nominalization structures in academic writings in the hope of shedding some light on academic translation.This report serves as an introduction to the translation practice,as well as an analysis and a summary.Case study is adopted as the research method with the following steps.Firstly,identify the type of the source text and analyze its linguistic features.Secondly,collect and sort out the nominalization structures by referring the theories of Ronald Langacker,and of Wang Lifei and Liu Yingjie.Generally,lexical nominalization,phrasal nominalization and sentential nominalization are three main kinds.Derivation,“noun + noun” structure,verb nouns,gerunds and infinitives are forms of lexical nominalization,while phrasal nominalization takes on the structure of “noun+ preposition+ noun”.Nominal clauses are seen as a form of sentential nominalization.Thirdly,ways to deal with these structures are expounded with examples on the principle of keeping the scientific nature and conciseness of academic writings.When nominalization structures in English are translated into Chinese,their static and abstract features should be noticed and transformed due to the dynamic nature and concreteness of Chinese.Through analysis,the author finds that academic writings can be included in informative texts with the function of providing information,and nominalization structures are widely used in them.A clear classification of nominalization structures can be beneficial to the understanding of information and logic.Therefore,the quality of translation can be enhanced with different methods.Following techniques as literal translation,amplification and conversion can be employed to deal with lexical nominalization;conversion and omission to phrasal nominalization;and linear translation and division to nominal clauses.