Institutional versus individual translations of Chinese political texts: A corpus-based critical discourse analysis

Abstract

The intricate relationship between institution, translation and ideology has always been an area of contention among translation scholars. This study aims to investigate the ideology involved in the translation practice of a Chinese government-affiliated institution — the Foreign Languages Publishing Administration (FLPA). Drawing on Fairclough's (1995) model of Critical Discourse Analysis, this study examines two series of Chinese political documents translated by the Chinese government-affiliated institution, through comparative analysis with those translated by an individual UK-based translator. Using both comparable and parallel corpora, the analysis reveals three types of shifts regularly made in the institutional translations, namely shifts in interacting with readers, in representing actions, and in identifying participants. In contrast, a rather literal rendition is discovered in the translations by the individual translator. Further analysis of institutional practice shows that these shifts by institutional translators are conducted in accordance with the institution's 'Three Principles of Adherence' for international publicity. This study ultimately argues that the mediation is framed closely within the institution's ideological purpose of 'presenting China to the world'.