A Report On The Chinese-English Translation Of China Discourse In American Orientalism:A Study Of Pearl S. Buck’s Sino-American Transnational Writings(Chapter Two)

This report is based on the Chinese-English translation of Chapter Two of China Discourse in American Orientalism: A Study of Pearl S.Buck’s Sino-American Transnational Writings.As an academic text,the source text has rigorous language,strict logic,and professional diction.Four-character phrases(hereafter called FCPs)appear frequently with various formations and rich connotations.With the aim of expanding academic influence,more emphasis should be placed on the analysis and conversion of schema in academic translation.This report explores the structural features and translation methods of the FCPs with semantic transparency,the FCPs with semantic opaqueness and FCPs in the juxtaposition.It is found that FCPs with semantic transparency own clear morpheme constitution so the correspondence of schema can often be achieved.The common translation methods are literal translation,combination and omission.FCPs with semantic opaqueness are vague,or difficult to understand,which often leads to the absence of schema.Overcoming semantic opaqueness requires clarification of the meaning,providing context or background information,and using concise language.The common translation methods are free translation and corresponding translation.As for FCPs in the juxtaposition,it is critical to analyse the semantic relations between individual FCPs,and preserve the structure and rhythm of the original parallelism.The common translation methods are free translation and omission.Guided by schema theory,this report summarizes the translation methods of different types of FCPs in order to improve the efficiency and quality of the translation.This report is expected to provide a reference for future research on FCPs in academic texts.And the translation is expected to promote Western readers’ understanding of Chinese history and culture.