The Translation Of Foreign Vocabulary And Phrases In De Quoi Fut Fait L’empire

The materials on which is based this report are selected from De quoi fut fait l’empire:Les guerres coloniales au XIX~e siècle.The author,Jacques Frémeaux,concretized the project of his national thesis and extended it into a historical work which exhausts the worldwide colonial operations of the United Kingdom,France,Russia,The United States and Germany as well as the situation of their colonies.This mission was led by Professor Liu Chengfu.I participated in the translation of pages202 through 507,the final compilation and revision.It took approximately 9 months for the three drafts to be finished.The very subject of the book promises detailed description of the colonies,each having their special historical,geographical and cultural features,which inevitably led to cultural exchanges between the colonial empires and the colonies.Therefore,one of the most prominent characteristics of this book is the abundance of foreign vocabulary whose unfamiliar denotations and nuanced connotations posed great challenges to the Chinese translators.What’s more,the book covers diverse topics including military,politics,culture,customs,etc.and is supported by numerous documents in order to explain a wide range of historical events and phenomena,which necessitates the presence of vocabulary with specific purposes in those said fields.In fact,the translation of these terms and that of foreign vocabulary are not without intrinsical similarities.This report will be divided into three parts.In the introduction,we will explain the main causes of difficulties,the classification of the problems that involve foreign languages(non-French)and the theories and methods used in the solution.The main part will be divided into three chapters,with the first one discussing problems that are directly related to foreign vocabulary and phrases.The second and third chapters,based on the first chapter,will reveal the essence of foreign vocabulary and phrases,expand the experience learned from the first chapter and apply it to the translation of vocabulary with specific purposes and common words with special usages.The course of problem-solving will be related by citing specific examples in order to analyze and summarize different strategies and approaches to translating non-French texts in various circumstances.Through this mission,a better understanding of written translation has been acquired and precious lessons learned.In the conclusion,connections will be made in regards to the three categories of problems and thoughts will be shared on the theme of this report.By revising the original and translated texts,organizing thoughts and writing the report,a lot of problems and flaws are revealed.What’s left to be desired will be shared in the hope that they will provide inspiration and guide to the future work.