Translation Strategies For Nominalizations In English Social Science Literature

Nominalization is a type of structure frequently used in formal English writing.It is a useful tool to express ideas with greater precision and in a more concise and scientific way.However,in a nominalization,a concrete and active word becomes abstract and abstruse,hindering the process of understanding and translation.Nominalizations are noticeably favored in social science literature.The purpose of this thesis is to seek for translation strategies for nominalizations in English social science literature based on a case study.The definition of nominalizations discussed in this thesis is put forward at first,following which the three features of vagueness,abstruseness and lifelessness of nominalizations are discussed.On that basis,three translation strategies for nominalizations in English social science literature are figured out.Firstly,for those nominalizations with abstruseness generated by omission of relevant information during the process of turning a clause or phrase into a noun,context and background information provide a useful tool for translators to ensure a precise understanding of the source text,and to supplement the omitted information in the target text.Secondly,for those with obvious abstractness,good responses would be converting them into more direct verbs or adjectives,or translating them into more vivid and detailed expressions in the target language.Thirdly,when translating nominalizations that are lifeless due to the overuse of prepositions and agential nouns,it is advised that translators use more active and lively verbs.