A Report On The Translation Of The Language Of Evaluation:Appraisal In English (Chapters1-2)

This report is based on the E-C translation of The Language of Evaluation:Appraisal in English co-authored by James R.Martin and Peter R.R.White.As a work of discourse semantics,this book combines systemic functional grammar(SFG)with discourse analysis,and introduces appraisal systems to readers.Due to the fact that there is no official translation on the appraisal theory published in China,this translation practice is helpful to improve domestic readers’ understanding of SFL and the appraisal system.As an academic monograph of linguistics,the ST is the most difficult text the translator has ever encountered.It boasts unique linguistic features,such as the abundance of terminologies,the prominence of nominalization and the frequent use of passive structures and complex sentences,which defy grammatical parsing.Based on Catford’s translation shift theory,level shift,class shift,unit shift,and structural shift are conducted in this report to illustrate the flexible shifts between forms and vocabulary,between parts of speech,between the ranks of words,phrases,clauses and sentences as well as between the passive voice and the active voice.According to this translation practice,shifting parts of speech is necessary to deliver a natural and fluent translation.Besides,unit shifts and structural shifts are helpful in coping with complex sentences and the passive voice in English can be concluded that in E-C translation equivalences straddle across the rank scale and they tend to be at higher ranks.Some translation techniques such as addition,division,and inversion are employed in the translation process.In addition,unfamiliar meanings of familiar expressions will be presented to show the influence of context in translation.It is hoped that this report can provide some help and reference for the future translation researchers and scholars who are interested in applying translation shift theory to the study of academic texts...