A Report On The E-C Translation Of References In The Dream Town Based On The Discourse Cohesion Theory

Since the publication of Halliday and Hassan’s Cohesion in English,the reference has widely received various scholars’ attention.It can be utilized to refer to all things,persons,or time.Many scholars have already studied the similarities and distinctions between English and Chinese references and their classifications,but there remains room for further discussions about reference translation in suspense novel.So the translator chose to discuss the detailed reference translation in this kind of novel.This report is on the practice of translating David Baldacci’s suspense novel Dream Town.Based on Chapters One to Seven,the translator finds that this novel has lots of characters and dialogues,and their relations are relatively complicated.To achieve textual cohesion and coherence,David uses a large majority of different ways of cohesion schemes.And the most noticeable one is the utilization of diverse referential cohesion,which requires the translator to accurately understand the meaning of the source text after fully factoring into the dissimilarities of English and Chinese references.Therefore,the relevant translation methods can be employed.In this report,the translator adopts the methodology of case analysis to study the translation of references in a suspense novel.Combining the novel Dream Town and drawing on the reference classification of Professor Hu Zhuanglin,the translator emphasizes studying personal references,demonstrative references,and comparative references.The translator also analyzes the corresponding reference examples and their translation methods after recourse to the study of Professor Liu Miqing,including omission,substitution,literal translation,etc.This report is to recapitulate a series of translation methods of references,providing effective guidance for future English reference translation in the suspense novel.Through analyzing this practice report,the translator finds that the typical feature of suspense novels is the verisimilar scenes,achieving their cohesion and coherence through environmental depictions and various referential devices.Under the guidance of the discourse cohesion theory,the translator brings forth some practical ways while translating this text.The two general principles should be noted during the translation of this phenomenon,that is,recognition of the real meaning of a source language based on semantic meaning within and beyond sentences and adjustment of the wording so as to deliver a more idiomatic and smooth target language.Meanwhile,the five concrete methods are also available for translators,including omission,literal translation,substitution,amplification and verbalization.After having a basic understanding of the two overarching and five specific translation methods,translators should also notice that translation methods are not fixed in the cohesion category.The examples,even under the same kind of reference,could be translated with more than one method.Translators should adjust their corresponding ways of dealing with diverse references on the basis of different pragmatic situations so as to render the verisimilar scenes,vivid characters and plot links to the target readers.The translator hopes that this report can offer a fresh perspective for reference researches in the future and attract more scholars to study translation in suspense novels.