The Translation Of The Excerpt From Educated: A Memoir In The Perspective Of Catford’s Translation Shifts Theory

This is an English-to-Chinese translation practice report.The source text is taken from the Educated: A Memoir written by American writer Tara Westover.It is an account of the struggle for self-invention.It is a tale of fierce family loyalty,and of the grief that comes from severing one’s closest ties.Taking Catford’s Translation Shifts Theory as the guiding theory,and the translation of the excerpt from the Educated: A Memoir as a research text,the translator analyzes and discusses the guiding role of Translation Shifts Theory in translating inspirational autobiography text in this report.With specific cases,the translator illustrates the guidance and application of level shifts and category shifts respectively in this report.It shows that in the process of translating the excerpt from the book,Catford’s Translation Shifts Theory provides feasible methods and important guidance in translating lexis,grammar and sentences.Under the guidance of Catford’s Translation Shifts Theory,the translator has produced a smooth and readable translation.Nevertheless,there still exist limitations of this theory,for it is confined to the shift that takes effects only on or below the sentence level.Therefore,the translator will continue to accumulate and explore in subsequent translation practices to find more suitable strategies.