A Report On English-Chinese Translation Of The Climate Of History In A Planetary Age(Excerpt)

The book “The Climate of History in a Planetary Age” explores in depth issues such as ecology,technology,resources,and modernity from the perspective of “the planet”,allowing readers to recognize the ecological crisis faced by both human and non-human communities.Translating this book is expected to spark widespread discussion of the ecological crisis,further promoting attention and research into global climate change and environmental issues.The book also offers profound reflections on the concepts of modernity and freedom,providing new perspectives and ideas for exploring the relationship between human civilization and the natural world.The perspective presented in the book is novel,the concepts are abstract,and the vocabulary and syntax are highly specialized,including many historical,philosophical,and ecological terms.By analysis within the context,the reporter can grasp the true meaning of the vocabulary and convey the author’s ideas.The sentences are complex and lengthy,and a literal translation cannot achieve semantic coherence.Semantic analysis can convey the reasonable connotation of the source text,reflect the author’s profound reflections on modernity and freedom,and grasp the author’s new perspective and ideas.The author’s use of philosophical and political concepts to analyze issues has strong logical reasoning.To catch up the author’s conclusions,sorting out the logical relationships is necessary.This report analyzes the translation cases from the levels of “words” and “sentences.”Based on the concept of semantic field,this paper handles vocabulary translation,by comparing the semantic differences of similar words within the semantic field,thus determines the meaning of words.The meaning of vocabulary can also be determined based on the same part within the semantic field.Based on the theory of back-translation in functional equivalence,long and difficult sentences can be analyzed by first breaking down the deep structure of the source text,then reorganizing it into an approximate kernel sentence that conforms to Chinese expression from the 4 techniques of shift,division,addition,and omission.Finally,modify the translation according to Chinese expression conventions.In the process of this translation practice and report writing,the translator found that the theoretical framework of “semantic field” and “back-transformation theory” was highly practical,operationally efficient,and easy to implement,significantly improving the accuracy and readability of translation.