一外国翻译史和翻译名家西方翻译史可大致归纳为四种主要的翻译研究方法:①语义学翻译法(philological approach)②语言学翻译法(linguistic approach)③交际学翻译法(communication approach)④社会符号学翻译法(socio-semiotic approach)社会符号学翻译法：源于美国翻译理论家，《圣经》翻译家尤金.奈达(Eugene A.Nida)创导的社会符号学翻译法语言学翻译法:着眼的基本问题是原文的字面意义(the literal character of the source text)篇章的主题结构和风格(the thematic structur and style of the discouse).这种方法强调直译。
(公元前一世纪,古罗马翻译家兼演说家西塞罗:翻译不应拘泥与原文的词语而注重原文的思想,坚持不可逐字死译而要符合译文的语言规则与特性)。
18世纪中叶,爱丁堡大学的历史学教授泰特勒在《翻译的原则》一书中提出著名的三原则：①译文应完整的再现原文的思想内容——That the translation should give a complete transcript of the ideas ofthe original work。
②译文的风格，笔调应与原文的性质相同——That the style and manner of writing should be of the samecharacter with that of the original)③译文应像原文一样流畅自然——That the translation should have all the ease of the original composition.）语言学翻译法:现代语言文学发展的产物,它主张在对比语言学(contrastive linguistics)的基础上制定的一系列规则以实现等值（equivalence)这一学派的代表人物：英国语言学家卡特福特catford,法国的穆南和前苏联的巴尔胡达罗夫等人。
双语对应规则对翻译的可译性与实现词句对等提供了可靠的依据与手段。
在这种对应规则只适用于语言表层结构的转换，涉及到语言的蕴涵义时便无能为力；该方法也忽视了篇章的交际功能，只注意到语言语境（linguistic context),没有考虑社会文化即非语言环境（non- linguistic context),用于进行科技翻译有较好的效果，若用于文学翻译，原文的文学性和艺术性便难以再现。
这种方法有十分明显的局限性。
交际学翻译法：转换生成语言学和信息论的发展，导致了交际学翻译法的诞生。
交际学翻译法视翻译为交际活动，认为翻译的基本问题应从1.信息源（source）,2.信息（message）,3.信息接受者（receptor）,4.反馈（feedback）,4.干扰(noise),5.信息渠道(channel)6.媒介（media）等角度进行研究。
该方面注重以何种形式才能最大限度地将原文信息传递给信息接受者（译文读者）并得到他们的理解与欣赏。
译文读者作为交际（翻译）的终极目标，其作用受到高度重视，译文的等效程度与可接受程度被视为翻译的最高标准。
同时，原语与译语所反映文化的异同也从交际学的角度得到研究。
较之语言学翻译法，交际学翻译法将翻译研究向前推进一大步。
但由于它对语言学和文化关系的研究未与社会构造紧密相连，也不够全面。
社会符号学翻译法着眼于跨文化交际。
奈达将符号学的意义观作为该方法的核心。
他认为世界是由各种符号系统组成的，语言只是其中的一种符号系统。
但语言是最重要，最复杂，最全面的一种符号系统。
语言可用来解释其他符号的意义.该方法不仅在跨文化的交际环境中: 1.研究词 2.句 3.篇章的意义，而且研究:4.篇章所涉及的主体或客体在特定的社会环境中的象征意义。
它强调任何与信息有关的符号都有意义。
这种方法将前述三种方法的特征都包含其中，大大拓宽了翻译研究的领域，是一种比较全面的研究方法。
二翻译概念翻译：是跨语言（cross-linguistic）,跨文化（cross-cultural）,跨社会（cross-social）的交际活动。
翻译的过程不仅是语言转换的过程，而且是反映不同社会特征的文化转换过程。
翻译是科学也是艺术，是译者对原文（source text）进行再创作的过程。
译者在理解原文信息（意义，神韵，风格等）和作者创作意图时不可避免会带上主观色彩，在克服语言和文化差异再现（to reproduce）原文信息时，可能会采用独特的处理方法，体现自己的风格，也就是独创性。
翻译是技能(craft),因为译文（target text）的信息需用译语(target language)以恰当的方式再现。
在再现的过程中由于译语和原语（source language）的差异，译语和原语所在的文化氛围的不同。
译者和作者对语言的认识和使用语言的习惯不可能一致，甚至有不同的价值观，信息的遗失（loss）,不可避免。
就会出现欠额翻译（undertraslation）或过载翻译(overtransla-tion)的行为。
三翻译的可能性与局限性翻译的可能性，建立在文化的共性上；翻译的局限性，建立在文化的个性上。
文化是人类物质文明和精神文明的总和。
文化分类1.物质文化(人类创造的一切物质)2.制度文化(社会制度,家庭制度,生活、教育制度,宗教文化,生活方式,风俗习惯，礼俗规范、语言等)3.心理文化(思维方式,信仰,价值观念,审美情趣)物质文化是显型文化,制度文化和心理文化，有些属显型文化,比如个体价值观念和审美情趣。
存在于微妙的自我意识深处,具有极少的共性特征，属隐型文化，不易认识和了解，是构成文化内容多重性的基础。
语言属制度文化，语言是一种特殊的文化，它是文化的重要组成部分，也是文化的载体，可以用来解释、描述一切现象，是表达和传播文化促进文化发展的重要工具。
1.1The Origin, Development and Function of TranslationTo some extent we can say that translation has existed since people began to use different languages to communicate with one another.“Translation is almost as old as original authorship and has a history as honorable and as complex as that of a ny other branch of literature” -- Theodore SavoryThe origin of translation:•In Europe the liberated Greek slave Livius Andronicus rendered Odyssey into Latin verse in about 240 B.C.•In China the record of translation dates back to Zhou Dynasty (1066 B.C. -- 256 B.C.) when translators were called Ji in the east, Xiang in the south, Didi in the west, and Yi in the north (东方曰寄，南方曰象，西方曰狄鞮，北方曰译).The development of translation (in China):•Sutra translation in China 佛经翻译•Scientific translation in late Ming Dynasty 明末科技翻译•The translation of western sociology works 清末西学译介•Translation in the 20th century (２０世纪２０年代起，西学东渐风气日炽，翻译事业进入了蓬勃发展时期。
许多学子负笈欧美，译著颇丰，门类包括诗歌、小说、剧本等，译著按国别划分为苏俄、美国、英国、法国、德国、日本等等。
) •Translation after 1949•Translation since reform and opening upFunctions of translation•to help people better communicate with one another•to facilitate the development of culture and civilization of all nations•to promote global economic and cultural development•to enrich the ideas and expressions of the target language1.2Definition of TranslationAny interpretation is translation. Translation thus defined includes intra lingual rewording, inter lingual translation and inter semiotic transmutation.Translation is the expression in one language (or target language) of what has been expressed in another (source language), preserving semantic and stylistic equivalences. -- DuboisTranslating consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style.--Eugene NidaTranslation is a craft consisting in the attempt to replace a written message or statement in one language by the same message and/or statement in another language. -- Peter NewmarkTranslation or translating is a communicative activity or dynamic process in which the translator makes great effort to thoroughly comprehend a written message or text in the source language and works very hard to achieve an adequate or an almost identical reproduction in the target language version of the written source language message or text.--Our definition of translationTranslation: science or artTranslation is both an art and a science as well, since it calls for a good command of at least two languages, a flexible application of their rules, and some knowledge of at least two cultures, as well as a good grasp of the necessary translation theories.1.3Principles or criteria for TranslationPrinciples for translation and criteria for translation are actually identical in essence, the only difference between the two terms lying in the fact that the former is observed from the perspective of the translator, while the latter is examined from the angle of the translation critic.1.3.2 Yan Fu’s Triple Principle for Translation•Strictly speaking, a translation theory in its true sense in China originated from Yan Fu (严复). He proposed the famous triple principle for translation: faithfulness(信), expressiveness(达) and elegance(雅).•The original words of Yan Fu in this respect.1.3.3 Liu Zhongde’s Triple Principle for Translation•In 1979 Professor Liu Zhongde put forward another triple principle for translation, namely “faithfulness(信), expressiveness(达) and closeness(切)”,•This principle is suitable for translation of all types of texts with different styles.1.3.4 Alexander Fraser Tytler’s Three Point Translation•1) The translation should give a complete transcript of the ideas of the original work.•2) The style and manner of writing should be of the same character with that of the original.•3) The translation should have all the ease of the original composition.•From Essay on the Principles of Translation (1790)•Original word of Tytler1.3.5 Eugene A. Nida’s Functional Equivalence•“dynamic equivalence” was put forward first. Later on, it was modified into “functional equivalence”.•“Translation consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalence of the source language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style.”--- Eugene A. Nida and Taber。