China. com November 21st Recently, a news screen was updated: The second volume of "The Supreme Leader’s Talks on Governing the Country" was published in both Chinese and English. The book was edited by the Central Propaganda Department (the State Council Press Office) in conjunction with the Central Literature Research Office and the China Foreign Languages Bureau, and published in both Chinese and English by foreign languages press for distribution at home and abroad.
Three years ago, The Supreme Leader’s Talks on Governing the Country received rave reviews as soon as it was released, and it became a best seller of worldwide concern. What are the new highlights of the English version of the second volume that came out three years later? What are the unknown stories from preparation to publication?
Today, the reporter interviewed several experts in charge of the translation of the English version of the manuscript and listened to their stories behind it.
Bring together new ideas, new ideas and new strategies to show China to the world.
The second volume of The Supreme Leader’s Talks on Governing the Country contains 99 speeches, talks, speeches, instructions and congratulatory messages by the General Secretary of the Supreme Leader from August 18, 2014 to September 29, 2017, which are divided into 17 topics. Also received 29 pictures of the Supreme Leader General Secretary during this period.
Yang Li, the first-level translator of foreign languages press English Department, was deeply touched by the birth of this book. She said that in 2014, we published the first volume of The Supreme Leader’s Talks on Governing the Country, which provided a very important window for the world to understand China and state governance. After the first volume was released, it was welcomed by many countries in the world. It has been three years since 2014, during which General Secretary of the Supreme Leader has delivered many important speeches and put forward many new ideas, strategies and ideas. Many countries are also eager to know the latest development of China, so we publish the second volume. The second volume brings together many new ideas, ideas and strategies put forward by the General Secretary of the Supreme Leader in the past three years, such as the overall layout of "five in one" and the strategic layout of "four comprehensive".
Time is tight and the task is heavy. A team of 29 top experts creates a "luxury lineup"
The successful publication of the English version of the second volume of The Supreme Leader’s Talks on Governing the Country owes first to the strong translation team. Wang Mingjie, former deputy director and finalizer of China Foreign Languages Bureau, said that after receiving the task, China Foreign Languages Bureau organized an elite translation team including experts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Central Compilation Bureau. Although the time is very tight, the workload and difficulty are relatively large, all the translators are confident.
It is understood that this team consists of 29 translators who have been engaged in international publicity for many years, including 7 finalizers, 1 foreign manuscript revision expert and 2 foreign experts to assist in the work, which is called a "luxury lineup".
"These translators are all specialized in publicity work outside China. They have done a lot of long-term translation, such as the State Council’s white paper and national policy documents, and have more experience." Wang Mingjie told reporters.
Yang Li also said that the English translation of the second volume of The Supreme Leader’s Talks on Governing the Country has brought together many elites in the translation field, who are top figures in China in terms of political literacy and translation experience. "As an international publicity worker, translation is not only related to the career choice of personal development, but also means our responsibility to the country and the times, and this responsibility is also the driving force for our progress."
From translation to publication: proofreading and revising for more than ten times after three trials and three proofreading.
Liu Kuijuan, deputy director of the English Department of foreign languages press and a first-class translator, said that the process of English translation is very rigorous. Generally, works must be translated from Chinese into English first, and then foreign experts will revise and polish the manuscript. Then the finalization experts will check the Chinese and English manuscripts to see if there are any mistakes, and finally go through three trials and three schools. However, the English version of the second volume of The Supreme Leader’s Talk on Governing the Country has a stricter "treatment". "We pay special attention to this book and spend a lot of effort and time. In addition to the three trials and three schools and the previous process, it has gone through many times of reading and proofreading in the later period, about a dozen times. "
The biggest difficulty: accurately and vividly translating the essence of the supreme leader’s speech
David Ferguson, an expert on manuscript revision in the English Department of foreign languages press, said that it is very difficult to accurately and vividly translate the essence of the Supreme Leader’s speech. On the one hand, China’s political discourses are quite different from those of foreign countries at the cultural level, and on the other hand, they are also quite different in specific content. "One of the real difficulties is that the Chairman of the Supreme Leader likes to use China’s idioms and proverbs very much. In two different languages, there are sometimes ambiguities in the transformation between proverbs."
Liu Kuijuan said that Chinese and English are very different, and Chinese can express many meanings in one word because it is concise and profound. For example, the word "instruction" can be used in many occasions in Chinese, but there are several corresponding English words, which requires us to scrutinize and elaborate repeatedly to find the most accurate and direct corresponding words.
As a member of the translation team, Yang Li also said that we should have a deep understanding of the spirit of the speech of the Supreme Leader General Secretary, not just literally. "Translation may be the person who has the deepest understanding of the original text. Only a thorough understanding of Chinese can be effectively translated into the target language. "
“五位一体”怎么翻？7人定稿小组严把质量关
翻译质量是专家团队非常看重的事情。王明杰说，中文和英文是有很大区别的，为了让国外的读者看懂，我们必须要用恰当准确的语言把习总书记的著作翻译出来，所以准确性和可读性是关键。
“为了把这项工作做好，我们专门成立了一个7人定稿小组，每天开会研究疑难问题、重要词汇译法，体例怎么统一。特别是中国特色的词汇，比如‘四个全面’‘四个意识’‘五位一体’等，这些词汇的翻译都是经过中外专家反复讨论才确定下来的。
“比如‘五位一体’，我们讨论过好几次，外国专家斟酌了好几天，最后定为Five-point Strategy。
“再比如，‘高举和平对话旗帜’，直译是hold high the banner of peace and dialogue。为了使译文更地道，更容易为外国读者所理解，我们与外专讨论后，将其定为champion the cause of peace and dialogue。”
Foreign translation experts see the highlights: poverty alleviation, anti-corruption and "One Belt, One Road" initiative
David Ferguson told reporters that there are three parts in this book that will arouse readers’ interest. The first is poverty alleviation, the second is the fight against corruption, and the third is the "Belt and Road Initiative".
Why is poverty alleviation the most important? Over the past few years, China has made great achievements in poverty alleviation, more than any other country in the world. Other countries in the world should learn from China.
As for anti-corruption, it is a real struggle, which has a far-reaching impact on the lives of ordinary people. It is necessary for us to let more people in the world know that anti-corruption is really happening around us and has played a real role.
The Belt and Road Initiative is a proposal of international significance. Compared with the proposals put forward by other international organizations, the Belt and Road Initiative aims to help developing countries and some developed countries make common progress. If the Belt and Road Initiative really plays a corresponding role, it will change the future prospects of many poor and developing countries. So we must continue to strengthen communication and ensure that it can be understood by other countries.
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