Practical English-Chinese Translation Tutorial

Author: Shen Yiping
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: This book is designed as a translation course textbook for English major students in their third and fourth years, but it can also be used by general readers. The authors compiled this book with the following considerations in mind:
1. From the perspective of content, we strive to include as many new materials as possible to enhance the readers' interest.
2. In terms of genre, we aim to offer a diverse selection.
3. One distinctive feature of this book is that it deviates from the traditional approach to translation textbook writing. Instead of focusing on isolated "translation techniques," we take a broader, more holistic perspective, addressing general methods within larger contexts. We believe this approach aligns better with practical realities. Each unit includes reading materials and exercises that primarily consist of complete passages, supplemented by a small number of targeted sentence-level exercises. This design is rooted in practicality, as translation tasks typically involve coherent, lengthy texts. Excessive practice with individual sentences may lead students to develop a superficial understanding, focusing only on isolated clauses while neglecting the context, resulting in poorly connected translations.
4. We also pay attention to the volume of practice materials.
5. Each unit includes comparative reading or pre-translation exercises. This helps students learn from others (especially experienced translators), quickly identify their strengths and weaknesses, and integrate learning with practice, thereby accelerating their progress.
6. The book does not provide answers to sentence translations or translation exercises in each unit.
7. Each unit includes summaries of discussions by renowned Chinese translators. This is intended to help students (particularly those aspiring to further studies in translation practice and theory) gain a foundational understanding of Chinese translation and theory through hands-on practice, which may motivate them to pursue advanced learning.
8. The book consists of 26 units, suitable for two semesters, and can be used alternately with its companion volume, A Practical Handbook of Chinese-English Translation.
9. If any inaccuracies or shortcomings are found in this translation textbook, we sincerely welcome feedback from users and experts.
10. During the writing process, our editor-in-chief, Ms. Ji Qun, provided valuable suggestions on both form and content, for which we express our heartfelt gratitude.