A Report On The Continuation Translation Of COVID-19 Related Articles From The Economist

The articles published by the Economist are known for distinctive views,unique vision,penetrating analysis and a sharp style of writing,which are well admired for unadorned narratives for accurate wording and phrasing,as well as loyalty to the facts.As one of the most influential political and business journals in the world,the Economist has gained dozens of Chinese readers.The magazine serves as a medium for readers to get to know and understand the world,as well as an excellent study and practice text for English learners and translation enthusiasts.Since the Covid-19 swept the whole world,people’s life has been deluged by an overwhelming majority of news coverage associated with it.The Covid-19 related articles in the Economist have shown the world pandemic dynamics to readers from a global perspective,promoting the understanding of political,economic,and social changes in various countries.In addition,during the fight against the epidemic,countries around the world implemented new policy initiatives.Leaders made representative speeches many times,and some opinions and expressions were also included in relevant articles.Therefore,the practice of translation focusing on covid-19 related articles not only has distinct epochal character and strong time effectiveness but also can strengthen the research on the translation of related terms and expressions,which is equipped with certain application and reference value.The xu-argument is a recently developed approach to second language learning,which emphasizes that language is learned through xu(Wang,2016;2019;2020),a Chinese word bearing the meaning of continuation,and language-related skills such as translation ability can also be improved through xu(Xu,2016).The core concept of the xu-argument is “creative imitation” and the application of xu,or continuation,to translation practice prerequisites careful observation and thoughtful imitation of excellent translated works.Continuation translation,therefore,can be done in the following steps: 1)read the source text and its excellent translation works;2)conduct an in-depth study of high-quality translations and analyze their linguistic features,strategy application,and stylistic features;3)find source texts with similar themes,imitate splendid translations,and start to translate.Through a large number of continuation translation practice,learners can improve their abilities of translation,thus produce high-quality translations while aligning with excellent translations.This paper reports on a translation practice guided by the xu-argument,of which the source texts for translation are singled out from the covid-19 articles published by the Economist.The specific practice process is as follows:First,the author tries to have a grasp of the core of continuation translation theory applied to translation skill training and practice through a detailed reading about xuargument theories and their relevant applicated literature.In rapid sequence,the steps,processes,methods and matters needing attention in the practice of continuation translation are well clarified.Second,an official account specialized in the learning of Economist-alike foreign periodicals has been singled out,with excellent translated materials being collected appropriately.Then the author conducts an intensive reading and study of the text with reference to exceptional explanations.Third,the present author studies and makes a tacit translation of the source text of the imitated learning materials,deeply reads the corresponding high-quality translation,makes a comparative analysis of the source text and the translation,and finally accumulates relevant knowledge as below: accumulate the extended meanings of vocabulary and collocation of phrases;analyze long and compound sentences;learn writing and translation skills;imitate excellent wording and phrasing.Lastly,the author finds and reads articles concerning the covid-19,and imitates the excellent translated works and conducts multiple continuation translation practices.Through the analysis of the process of the gradual levelling of the style and level with the excellent translation,the author carries out case analysis and makes a practical summary to continuation translation works.On such a basis,case study and translation practice will be carried out.During the process of translation,the author analyzes the quality translation from two aspects: language characteristics and strategy application.Typical cases from three aspects of vocabulary,phrase and sentence are sorted out as the objects of the case study.This paper explores how to apply the translation skills and strategies mastered in the learning process of excellent texts to solve the problems and difficulties encountered in the process of continuation translation.This practice under the guidance of continuation translation shows that through source text comprehension,translation skills learning,translation style imitation,and continuation-oriented practice,the author’s translation ability has been enhanced and her translation efficiency levelled up.The continuation translation practice ushers a new path for translation teaching and learning and brings enlightenment to second language acquisition learners as to how to upgrade their translation skills,both of which illustrate the great pedagogical implication of continuation translation.