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5.2 Limitations and Expectations ............................. 29

Chapter Ⅳ Case Analysis under Catford’s TST

4.1 Level Shifts

In the light of Catford’s methodology, a level shift means at one kind of language unit can achieve translation equivalence at a different level. Only shifts from grammar to lexis are regarded as the level shifts in translation and of course, such shifts are quite common. 

A change exists in Chinese and English between tense, aspects or plurality. Tense and aspect belong to grammatical categories in English. There are two main types of information in the form of the verb in English. Time relations relate to locate an event in time, especially past present and future is usual distinctive. The temporal distribution of an event means the aspectual difference such as its completion or non-completion, continuation or commentaries and so on. Chinese has no distinctive formal category of tense or aspect. In terms of particles and adverbials，it is essential that time reference can be indicated. 

In English, the verb “done” typically indicates that an action has been completed in the past, while the verb “do” is often used to indicate present tense. However, in Chinese, verb tenses are often expressed through the use of time markers rather than by changing the verb form itself. Chinese uses a variety of time markers, such as “yesterday,” “tomorrow,” or “now,” to indicate when an action is taking place. 

Chapter Ⅴ Conclusion

5.1 Contributions and Findings

Different translation theories emphasize different translation principles and methods. For instance, functional equivalence translation theory focuses more on the acceptance and understanding of the target language and culture. In this translation practice, the author strengthens the study of TST. In order to make the translation better accepted by the readers, the translator needs to make different degrees of adjustment in the process of translation, due to the lack of in-depth understanding in the past, the author did not grasp this kind of adjustment very well, but after this translation practice, the author understands the specific conversion methods and applicable situations and the shift of information structure and logical hierarchy from the source language to the target language. This involves modifying sentence structures, reorganizing paragraphs, and accurately conveying the essential information to target language readers. Catford’s level shift and category shift offer unique perspectives for the translation of technical texts, as he systematically elaborated on the micro-process of translation transformation and analyzed the emotional process of translation from a rational perspective. 

The entire translation process not only increased the author’s theoretical knowledge of translation, providing more scientific theoretical support for future translation of technical texts, but also made a small contribution to introducing an excellent foreign language work to Chinese readers. 

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