A Report On The E-C Translation Of Philology(Chapter 1) From The Perspective Of Thick Translation

This translation report explores the strategies of translating the academic text – Philology(Chapter 1)from the perspective of thick translation.The object of this translation project is the first chapter of Philology,an academic monograph that introduces the development of Western philology from ancient Greece to circa 1400,which is further divided into four parts:ancient Greece,Roman,Christians,and the Middle Ages,with its content containing a large number of literary terms,names of ancient scholars and titles of works,and the like.It is noted that academic translation has an independent system of discourse.To translate this academic work,the translator is supposed to voice as a member of this system and enable the target reader to understand the translation directly.In view of this,the translator,with sufficient freedom permitted by the client of this project to decide the use of notes and annotations,strives to apply the methodology of thick translation to render the source text from English into Chinese.The application of various types of para-texts,as mentioned above,is expected to maximize readers’ understanding of the background and content of the source text.Considering the principles of loyalty,accessibility,and readability of academic translation,this report finds it practical to divide the strategies of thick translation into two categories in accordance with Cao Minglun’s theorization.First,explicit thick translation,which includes the application of footnotes,bracketed in-text notes,and appendices to explain the specific terms embedded in the source text.The other is implicit thick translation,including amplification and paraphrasing,which express the implied meaning of the original author’s text.This translation case is intended to serve as a resource for philology researchers and aids in translating philological materials.