A Critical Commentary On The E-C Translation Of Chapters 11 And 12 Of Secret Trades,Porous Borders

This translation report is based on the translation of chapters 11 and 12 of Secret Trades,Porous Borders written by Eric Tagliacozzo.These two chapters expound on the contraband of arms along the Anglo-Dutch frontier in Southeast Asia from 1865 to1915,disclosing a wide spectrum of arms traffickers and smuggled weaponry,ever-changing avoidance mechanisms and defective countermeasures of the colonists at that time.The chosen material provides ample historical accounts for researches on the history of illicit arms trade in Southeast Asia and offers enlightenment for governments,lawmakers and law enforcement personnel to crack down on arms smuggling.Besides,the translation of it can improve translators’ knowledge reserve,information retrieval capability and translation skills in the process of translation,as the original text covers several domains and abounds in technical terms.The report is comprised of introduction,theoretical framework,translation approaches and conclusion.Firstly,the report briefs on the translation material,the significance of this project and the translation process.Secondly,it elaborates semantic and communicative translations proposed by Peter Newmark and analyzes their feasibility in guiding the translation practice.Semantic translation aims to express the semantic meaning and preserve the linguistic form of the original text while communicative translation emphasizes on the transmission of information and the reader’s response.They are equally set as theoretical framework in this project to render the source text accurately,smoothly and effectively.Thirdly,examples of class shift,amplification,adoption of Chinese idioms,restructuring,division and conversion of voices are examined in detail.Lastly,the report draws a conclusion of the project and offers the translator’s enlightenment which are expected to be referential for future relevant studies.