A Report On Translation Of Alex Rider:Secret Weapon(Excerpt) Based On Relevance Theory

This report is based on the first seven chapters of Alex Rider: The Secret Weapon,written by British writer Anthony Horowitz.It is the twelfth book of the “Young James Bond” series,which is a collection of thriller,mystery,and encyclopedic knowledge,telling a series of adventurous stories met by Alex Rider.It is a bestseller in Europe and America.The source text has distinct features.Firstly,at the lexical level,it uses a large number of measuring units,adjectives,and words which implying sounds.Secondly,at the syntactic level,passive voice,with/without-structure,and sayings are frequently used.Thirdly,at the textual level,part of the sentences are arranged loosely and the logic is implicit in the source text.Based on the above features of the text,the translator adopts the Relevance Theory proposed by Wilson and Sperber,reviews the whole translation process,analyzes typical cases based on the ostensive-inference model,and explains the guidance of the theory in the translation practice.In order to simplify the inferential process,restore the full context,and make readers spend the least effort achieving full cognition,the translator strives to achieve the optimal relevance through the translation strategies such as division,conversion,and addition.This report mainly includes five parts: Chapter One introduces the translation project,the translation process and the significance of the project;Chapter Two provides a detailed analysis of the source text from the level of lexis,syntax,and text;Chapter Three briefly describes the theoretical foundations,including the development of the Relevance Theory and its application in the field of translation;Chapter Four combines the Relevance Theory and selects representative cases for analysis to illustrate the specific application of the Relevance Theory in this report.Chapter Five summarizes the full report,describing the main findings of this translation project and some limitations.This report believes that the Relevance Theory has specific guiding significance for the translation of adventure novels,and through this translation project,the translator hopes that this report can provide a translating reference for other translators when dealing with the same type of the text.