Li Juan

Research methods include scientometric and content analysis, clustering. The research materials are represented by monographs, scientific papers and publications in periodicals on the topic of the communicative-functional translation theory by Chinese authors. The study sample consisted of 6209 scientific papers extracted from the CNKI database. They were divided into three clusters, viz. review, theoretical and applied research. In each cluster, the author identified the key words of the direction and carried out a quantitative assessment of the structure of publication activity with an assessment (a % share of the total sample size).

As a result, the predominance of applied research into the communicative-functional theory in the works of Chinese researchers over theoretical ones was found, which proves the author’s hypothesis about the emphasis Chinese scientists put on the pragmatic tasks of the development of translation studies. It is concluded that studies of the communicative-functional approach in Chinese translatology are generally characterized by the breadth and coverage of various areas of translation, but from the perspective of theoretical depth there is still room for their further development.

In this study, the author made an attempt to review the current state of the study of translation from the standpoint of the communicative-functional approach, but found that this approach still needs further theoretical understanding, further adaptation and integration with traditional ideas of Chinese translation studies. It was also revealed that it is promising to deepen the theoretical basis of the communicative-functional approach for applied research of the Russian-Chinese and Chinese-Russian approach and to develop didactic issues of teaching translators based on this approach in order to achieve better results in the translation of texts and improve Sino-Russian communication.

Object. The purpose of the article is to study translation solutions in the Russian translation of Xi Jinping’s speech at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Methods. The analysis of translation decisions in Chinese leader’s speech Russian translation is carried out using the translation-oriented method, which allows us to study the main processes occurring in the translator’s language consciousness when choosing a translation solution by translation text’s analysis. In addition, the study used general scientific methods, incl. descriptive analysis, deduction and induction, and generalization. Using a random sample, we selected speech utterances in text of the Chinese leader Xi Jinping report at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. At first, we searched ideologemes, set expressions, idioms, political terms etc. in original Xi Jinping’s speech. After that we were subsequently extracted from the translation text and compared them. The translation method analysis chosen by the translator was carried out, the assessment of the correctness of the translation solution in accordance with the requirements for the quality of the translation, as equivalence and adequacy. Findings. As a result, it was found that translation decisions in the transfer of the speech of the political leader of China most often come down to direct translation, especially in cases of interpreting metaphors, ideologies and political terms with Chinese characteristics. In some cases, the direct transmission of such vocabulary does not make it possible to make the translation adequate and understandable for the Russian-speaking recipient, and therefore casts doubt on the correctness of the translation decision made and poses a threat to effective international political communication between the two countries. Conclusions. Improving the skills of choosing translation decisions will improve the quality of translation of the speeches of Chinese political leaders into Russian, which requires a deeper study of cognitive decision-making mechanisms in Chinese-Russian political speech’s translation.