科技英语翻译实践报告--以Nature文献翻译为例.pdf

AbstractAbstractOur scientific communication with foreign countries is getting more and more frequent as science and technology advance.Science texts include a wide range of natural science areas and have become an essential medium for international scientific communication.As a result,English for Science and Technology(referred to hereafter as EST)translation is critical for Chinas acquisition of international scientific and technology advances,as well as its connection with other nations.The translation project is to assist doctoral students at the The Institute of Urban Environment,Chinese Academy of Sciences in translating some supporting documents to assist them in understanding the current research direction and existing achievements in experiment design of some different fields,hoping to give them support and enlightenment.This report mainly analyzes the language and text structures of some Nature articles that describe the research situation of viruses and microorganisms.Most of the original text for this practice is from the Review and NPG series.These texts are characterized by professional terms,long and difficult sentences,objective arguments,precise wording and good logic.In order to accomplish this task of translation,firstly,I investigate lots of literature and select the appropriate translation aids for the initial translation.Then,I proof read on the basis of the initial translation,focusing on checking the accuracy of various professional terms and scientific research data.After that,the translated texts are sent to the doctoral students who would provide their feedbacks for me.This translation practice project uses Newmarks semantic translation theory and communicative translation theory as its guide.According to the characteristics of scientific and technical texts,different translation methods are adopted in the translation process for vocabulary,simple sentences and long and difficult sentences,such as:the cutting method,the inclusion method and the restructuring method.After the translation was completed,the translation was reviewed again with the guidance of communicative translation theory to ensure the accuracy and readability of the translation.Through the practice of this project,I have accumulated a lot of knowledge about English for science and technology,such as some professional vocabulary and medical knowledge.I also understand that in the process of translation,a single translation theory and method cant make the translation complete,accurate and fit the target language,so it is万方数据河北大学硕士学位论文necessary to combine different translation methods.I have improved to a certain extent after completing this project,but still need to sharpen my skills to become a qualified translator.Hopefully,this report can provide some reference for scholars in the field of science translation.Key words E-C Translation Practice EST Texts Semantic Translation Communicative Translation万方数据摘要摘要随着科技的发展，我们和国外进行的科学交流也越来越频繁，科技类文本涉及自然 科学的各个领域，成为各国进行科学交流的重要工具。因此，科技英语翻译对国内获取 国外的科研技术成果以及跟国外进行科学技术交流有着重大的意义。笔者所进行的项目是帮助在中科院厦门城市研究所的博士生翻译一些辅助文献，协 助他们了解当前某些领域国外的研究方向及成果，作为他们设计实验以及研究方向的参 考。本实践报告的分析对象是笔者翻译的Nature期刊部分文献的内容，主要是关于病毒 及微生物的研究。本次实践中翻译的原文大多来自He沅e堆和NPG系列。这些文本具有 专业术语、长难句、论点客观、措辞严谨、逻辑性强等特点。本次项目的流程是通读文 献，选取合适的翻译辅助工具进行初次翻译；在初次翻译的基础上进行校对，重点检查 各种专业术语及科研数据的准确性；发送给实验员研读，得到实验员的反馈。本次翻译实践采用了纽马克的语义翻译理论和交际翻译理论作为指导。针对科技文 本的特点，在翻译过程中对于词汇、简单句和长难句采取了不同的翻译方法进行翻译,如：分切法、包孕法、重组法等。翻译完成后，在交际翻译理论的指导下，再次对译文 进行了审阅，以确保翻译的准确性和可读性。经过这次项目实践，笔者积累了很多关于科技英语的知识，比如一些专业词汇和医 学知识；笔者还意识到在翻译的过程中，单一的翻译理论和方法不能够使译文完整精确 又贴合目的语，需要将不同的翻译方法结合起来。在完成此次项目之后，笔者获得一定 的提升，然而距离成为一位合格的译者还需要多加磨砺。同时笔者也希望通过本篇实践 报告为其他想要接触科技文本翻译领域的人提供一些思路和经验。关键词翻译实践科技文本语义翻译交际翻译in万方数据河北大学硕士学位论文ContentsChapter 1 Introduction.11.1 Research Project Sources and Main Content.11.2 Significance of Research Project.11.3 Domestic and Foreign Research on EST Translation Status.2Chapter 2 Pre-Translation Preparation.42.1 Translation Plan.42.2 Translation Theory and Translation Tools.42.2.1 Newmark-Semantic Translation and Communicative Translation Theory.42.2.2 Semantic Translation and Communicative Translation in Practice.52.2.3 Translation Tools.5Chapter 3 Translation Process.73.1 Characteristics of EST Text.73.2 Difficulties of EST Text.73.3 Criteria of EST Translation.73.3.1 Accurate and Standardlized.73.3.2 Fluent and Understandable.83.3.3 Concise and Clear.83.4 Post-Translation Revision.8Chapter 4 Case Study.94.1 Translation of Scientific Terms.94.2 Translation of Simple Sentences.114.3 Translation of Long and Difficult Sentences.124.3.1 Cutting Method.134.3.2 Embedding Method.144.3.3 Restructuring Method.164.3.4 Adding Method.184.4 Translation of Passive Voice.19Chapter 5 Conclusion.215.1 Main Findings.21IV万方数据Contents5.2 Limitations.225.3 Recommendations.23Bibliography.25Appendix I 26Appendix II 63Acknowledgements.79v万方数据Chapter 1 IntroductionChapter 1 Introduction1.1 Research Project Sources and Main ContentThis translation practice mainly involves articles on Nature,and mainly focuses on research on viruses and microorganisms.My literature projects involved in translation include:Defective viral genomes are key drivers of the virus-host interactions,Phages puppet masters of the marine microbial realm,Phages and their potential to modulate the microbiome and immunity,etc.This project involves one article,with the original word count of about 80,000.The main contents of this article are as follows:the potential of bacteriophage as an anti-antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection is great.The texts aim to highlight the latest advances in bacteriophage biology and how to understand the mechanism of bacteriophage-bacteria-host interaction better,which may promote the development of new bacteriophage therapies.We have outlined the challenges facing the therapeutic use of bacteriophage and how to address these challenges to enable bacteriophage to serve as specific modulators of the human microbiota in a variety of infectious and non-infectious human diseases;bacteriophages are capable of altering the metabolism of infected bacteria by assisting in the expression of metabolic genes and the redirection of expression patterns of host genes.Presenting hypotheses as a framework for assessing the specificity and ecological consequences of phage-host kinetics;the ubiquity and diversity of defective viral genomes produced by the replication of RNA viruses and their effects on human and animal health,as well as their potential as antiviral tools.1.2 Significance of Research ProjectNowadays,economic globalization provides a way for exchanges between countries,especially knowledge related to science and technology.After analyzing,it is found that science and technology texts have high professional characteristics and play an important role in international communication.There is no doubt that accurate EST translation can help China learn and use foreign scientific and technological achievements and promote its communication with foreign countries.Many translators find it confused when they dealing with scientific and technological texts,for it covers various fields including astronomy,microbiology,medicine,and quantum mechanics and so on.The problem could be solved with some translation aids.The science1万方数据河北大学硕士学位论文and technology text vocabulary is more scientific and professional than other kinds of English.When a translator meets a professional noun and is familiar with the other meaning of the name in the professional field,he/she must use an authoritative dictionary to make inquiries or read the translation examples of other experts,or even consult the experts in the professional field to ensure the accuracy of the translation.In this practice,I used tools such as Oxford English-Chinese Dictionary and Wikipedia,and also consulted professionals in related fields,thus ensuring the quality of the translated text.In the process of using these tools,I once again reviewed the use of auxiliary tools learned from class,by doing practical exercises,the understanding of translation progress is enhanced.At the same time,I chose Peter Newmarks communicative translation theory as a guide to solve the difficulties in the process of translation practice.By putting theory into practice makes my translation more abundant and more accurate and it is no longer a rigid state of word-to-word and sentence-to-sentence.I hope to complete the translation task of this project through the translation skills and knowledge learned at the masters level,and generates a complete practice report by summarizing and analyzing the problems in the translation process through repeated reviews.After that,through continuous practice,I will improve my familiarity with this field,accumulate more knowledge about the translation of scientific and technological texts,expand my corpus and knowledge,and realize the promotion I long for.At the same time,I will provide some ideas and experience for other people who want to contact with the field of scientific and technological text translation.1.3 Domestic and Foreign Research on EST Translation StatusRelated studies have arised in scientific and technological translation since 1960.However,compared with literary translation,theoretical studies on EST translation are far behind.At present,the practicability and pertinence of sci-tech translation are relatively strong,and its theoretical research is always limited to translation skills and operability.China*s EST translation has roughly gone through three stages,which started in the 1970s,prospered in the mid-1980s and has been in a relatively stagnant period in recent years.From the initial exploration of stylistic features,i.e.,grammatical word formation of the text,the analysis of the features of sentence structures and the interpretation of their corresponding translation techniques,the research has expanded to a theoretical and systematic study of relevant issues in scientific and technological translation guided by modern linguistic 2万方数据Chapter 1 Introductiontheories.After years of effort,researchers try to use multi-science perspectives and emphasized that translation should find its rules and logic and hermeneutic translation is widely applied.As far as concerned,many achievements and innovations in the field of science and technology have attracted people in the dissemination of ideas globally,the emphasis on scientific and technological translation is increasing.It has penetrated into many disciplines such as Chinese language and literature,and pedagogy,and derived multiple interdisciplinary themes.The research in the past ten years mainly involves six aspects:l.The concept and connotation of scientific and technological translation 2.The specific operation methods of scientific and technological translation 3.The characteristics of scientific and technological translation in terms of text expression 4.The scientific and technological translation for specific subjects 5.The application of scientific and technological translation in teaching activities 6.The feasibility of scientific and technological translation assisting method.There are countless studies on EST translation by domestic and foreign scholars.Scholars not only do researches on translation of words and sentences but also focus more on stylistic features.For example,Fan Wuqiu and Yang Shoukang have discussed the problem of the mutual transformation of deficiency and give the viewpoint that the extension of the word meaning is of vital importance,the changes of the conceptual connotation and extension,and correctly analyze some omnipotent“verbs,complex syntactic structures and discourses.Dong Min analyzes the problem of Chinese-English translation and restructuring of scientific and technological statements from the perspective of rhetorical structure theory;Alastair Seiinker et al.conducted the research from the perspective of discourse,and they found that compared with non-native-English-speaking readers,native-English-speaking readers were better at guessing the meaning in advance in their reading comprehension of scientific and technological texts.Louis Trimble attributed the core principles of EST in Science and Technology to the method of a Discourse Approach.EST is widely used in many categories of natural science.Meanwhile,it plays an important role in scientific papers and experimental reports and is a basic tool for scientific and technological exchanges between different countries.In China,the government advocates the cultivation of talents of EST translation and the improvement of the quality of EST translation,and our countrys EST translation still has a long way to go.3万方数据河北大学硕士学位论文Chapter 2 Pre-Translation Preparation2.1 Translation PlanMaking the translation plan is of great importance,the work usually concludes collecting materials and accomplishing organization tasks,as well as translation process,revision of translations and writing of practice reports.I received the project in February 2021,and began to read through the materials to conduct an overall analysis,summarizing the professional terms,proper nouns and abbreviations,etc.,and reading more relevant parallel texts to accumulate relevant professional vocabulary.Project content was formally translated and revised from March to August.The framework for the practice report was conceived in September and progressively developed,with completion expected in February 2022.After the translation plan has been made,the actual tasks will be carried out,and the original plan should not be modified on purpose.Making translation plans can not only help the translator to arrange and carry out the translation work systematically,but also effectively improve the efficiency of the translator in the process of translation.2.2 Translation Theory and Translation Tools2.2.1 Newmark-Semantic Translation and Communicative TranslationTheoryPeter Newark is a well known scholar in the field of translation,who published the famous book nApproaches to Translation in which the author put forward the concepts of semantic translation and communicative translation in the year 1981.In 1991,he gave brilliant ideas about translation by using A Correlated Approach to Translation”,emphasizing that“the more important the language of the original or the translated version is,the more closely the translation should be carried out to the original”.The author also put forward innovation methods in two ways for the translation works:communicative translation should provide readers with words that are closer to the ideas of the original.At the same time,it is necessary to ensure that the semantic and syntactic structures of the second language and the knowledge accumulation of translators can be well presented(Newmark,2001:39).On the basis of Newmarks research on translation theory,people should pay attention to the diversity of text types in both communicative translation and semantic translation.In the view of Newmark,any kind of communicative