Research on the Training of Agricultural English Translation Talents

Shubo Liu

College of Foreign Languages,Jilin Agricultural University,Changchun,China

Email:34655807@qq.com

Huai Yu

College of Foreign Languages,Jilin Agricultural University,Changchun,China

Email:bevanyu1980@163.com

[Abstract] With the rapid development of China's economy,China's trade with neighboring countries has gradually increased,especially in agriculture.The development of agricultural trade has an increasing demand for agricultural English translators.However,the shortage of translators is a major problem facing agricultural trade.This paper starts with the current situation of agricultural translation talent training,analyzes the existing problems,clarifies the ideas,and tries to find reasonable solutions to provide new ideas for the training of agricultural English translation talents.

[Keywords] Agricultural English Translation;agricultural English characteristics;Translation problems;Teaching Mode;

INTRODUCTION

The concepts of"mutual learning"and"mutual benefit"are the foundation for the prosperity and development of the world economy.This concept plays a very important role in promoting the"going global spirit"of Chinese enterprises and deepening the connections with other countries and regions in certain aspects,like economy,trade,culture,politics,and education etc.

In order to speed up economic construction,we must strengthen the training of interdisciplinary translators.Agricultural trade is the main economic pillar of many countries.The development of agricultural trade will inevitably require sufficient reserves of agricultural personnel.Thus,the demand for agricultural English translators is increasing,and the level and quality of agricultural English translators are also increasing.However,the current training and teaching of domestic agricultural English translation talent still have some problems,which cannot fully meet the needs of social and economic development.Therefore,it is necessary to carry out the teaching reform in college English majors to increase the quality and efficiency of translation talents and provide excellent agricultural English translators for the country.

PROBLEMS IN AGRICULTURAL ENGLISH TRANSLATION TEACHING

Judging from the current situation of the agricultural translation industry and the ever-changing international trade situation,the current agricultural English translation teaching is still unable to meet the complex market needs.The problems are multifaceted,mainly focusing on the following points:

Inadequate Implementation of Agricultural English Characteristics

Agricultural English is highly professional,and its language characteristics are different from other texts,not only in terms of vocabulary and grammar,but also in terms of style.(Liu,2020,p.87)

Specifically,in terms of vocabulary,agricultural English involves a large number of professional terms,derived words,acronyms,compound words,vacant words,etc.Only when agricultural English translators are fully familiar with these types of English vocabulary can they be able to understand,master and proficiently use the agricultural English quickly.However,the current agricultural English translation teaching for English majors generally has less learning hours,and can only touch the basic characteristics of agricultural English.It is not enough for the learning of a large number of proper nouns and the Latin vocabularies involved in agricultural English.At the same time,with the development of agricultural science and technology,a large number of new acronyms,derivative words,compound words,and vacant words have been widely used.The teaching materials in agricultural English have lagged behind the time and cannot keep up with the latest developments and fail to help students grasp the latest vocabulary timely and effectively.

In terms of syntax,agricultural English has the common syntactic characteristics of scientific English,which mainly includes the characteristics of long sentence structure,complex structure,large amount of information,and many passive voices.Agricultural English often uses long sentences with inserted sentence structure and large amount of information to express information logically and more clearly,and to enhance the professionalism,standardization and rigor of agricultural English.Because of these characteristics of agricultural English,the translators should carefully analyze the composition,voice and overall structure of sentences and accurately express what is contained in agricultural English corpus.However,to master these syntactic features and apply them accurately to translation practice,the translator needs to fully understand the translation theory and do plenty of translation practices.The current agricultural English translation teaching still have a long way to go in increasing the translation time and the number of translated texts.Only in this way can the future translators avoid the misunderstanding of sentences,the pragmatic functions and pragmatic effect in agricultural English.

In terms of stylistic aspects,the style of agricultural English is mainly based on scientific literature,such as the scientific papers,the news etc.It is an argumentative style.It will not use too much rhetorical techniques such as metaphors and personifications,but will interpret the facts,phenomena and results in agricultural research through accurate and rigorous expression to ensure that the research and development status of agriculture can be truly and objectively restored.In the current agricultural translation teaching,insufficient attention is paid to the agricultural English style,which leads to the features'vagueness and poor readability of the translated text.

Inaccurate Grasp of The Translation Principles of Agricultural English

Agricultural English translation is an important link in the practice of agricultural English.Only by scientifically and accurately translating agricultural English corpus can we better promote the modernization and international development of agriculture.The translation of agricultural English should mainly follow the three principles,but in actual teaching,there are still problems to be solved.(Yuan,2020,p.261)The specific analysis is as follows:

First,the principle of objectivity.Agricultural English belongs to the category of English for science and technology,and the basic feature of which is objectivity.The objectivity of scientific English style is mainly reflected in the use of data charts,the application of passive voice and the careful use of rhetoric.The same is true of agricultural English style.The passive voice in agricultural English is usually to enhance the objectivity of the discussion.In the translation process,literal translation method is the most common way to use and translators should better not change its passive voice and rhetorical expression.Otherwise,although the meaning is the same,the pragmatic effect is completely different.In short,agricultural English translation must be objective and true to reduce the loss of meaning and ambiguity caused by language translation,so as not to affect communication and cause disputes.

Second,the principle of accuracy.The principle of accuracy is the basic criterion of translation,especially for agricultural English.Agricultural English involves a lot of agricultural and economic information.If the translation is not accurate enough,the impact will be huge,at least it will hinder communication and understanding,and at worst,it will cause major economic losses.

Third,the principle of simplicity.The common feature of English for science and technology is that the language is concise and standard,and the same is true for agricultural English.The purpose of agricultural English is to convey information,not to show off.Therefore,agricultural English translation needs to uphold the principle of conciseness and fluency,avoid the unfamiliarity and complexity of words,which may affect readers' understanding and acceptance,and reduce the efficiency and quality of cross-language communication and cooperation.

Insufficient Grasp of Agricultural Knowledge

There are two main types of personnel engaged in agricultural English translation,one is professional translators who are mostly English majors;the other is agricultural scientific and technological talents.The main problem facing agricultural science and technology talents is that although they have rich agricultural knowledge,their English level is mostly not high enough which may cause translation errors.Professional translators graduated from English majors are the main body of the agricultural English translation industry.And they face the problem of insufficient knowledge of the agriculture.Although they can translate accurately in most cases,still some difficult industry knowledge will cause great distress to them and affect the quality of translation.

Insufficient Teachers

The translation courses offered by most schools are translations in a broad sense,including all aspects of translation.Agricultural English translation is usually a course under scientific English translation discipline,and a teacher is responsible for explaining relevant knowledge.The lack of sufficient hours and teachers for the training of agricultural English translation talents will inevitably affect the teaching effect.

Lack of Chances to Practice

Cultivating a professional agricultural translation talent requires a lot of translation practice.However,with the short class hours colleges could provide and the limited investment in teachers,it is difficult for schools to offer sufficient translation practice for students.The lack of practical environment for students will inevitably lead to jerky and difficult translation processes.

SUGGESTIONS TO REFORM AGRICULTURAL ENGLISH TRANSLATION TEACHING

At present,China's agricultural English translation talents are mainly from college English majors.There is almost no separate college for agricultural English translation at the undergraduate or graduate level,but many English major colleges have opened agricultural English translation courses once a week lasting for one or two semesters.Agricultural English translation personnel obtain preliminary agricultural English translation theory,knowledge and skills through such courses.Later,they will improve their agricultural English translation level through a large number of translation practices.However,with the rapid economic development,the market's demand for translators has increased.Taking a few years for students to become mature translators after graduation seriously hinders the development of agricultural economy and trade.Therefore,helping English majors master proficient translation skills in school and reducing the running-in period after translators enter the market is the biggest challenge for schools.

To better improve the teaching environment and the level of agricultural English translation practitioners,we should focus on the following aspects:

Keep up with the trend of the times and effectively adjust the talent training model

International competition is becoming increasingly fierce,and the comprehensive training model of agricultural English translators has become a general trend.Agricultural English translators must not only be a good "translation tool",but also should understand the domestic and international situation and have a certain understanding of the Chinese agricultural import and export trade.They must not only be responsible for the quality of agricultural translation articles,but also understand the country's major policies and the International trade situation from a macro level.In order to cultivate comprehensive translators,English departments should not only limit their courses to English skills,but also should provide students with the knowledge of international trade situation.For example,they can open courses like international situation and international trade to English majors,or encourage students to obtain a second degree in international trade,etc.,to make up for the students'lack of international trade knowledge.(Zhong,2019,p.128)

Increase the Proportion of Agricultural English Translation Subjects in The English Majors of Agricultural Colleges and Universities,So as To Cultivate Professional Talents

At present,there are a wide range of English majors in domestic colleges and universities,but most of them follow the same route in terms of talent training.The courses offered are basically language foundation courses like listening,reading and writing and traditional professional subjects like literature,linguistics,and translation etc.The proportion of scientific and technical English translation subjects is relatively small.Based on these circumstances,it is more difficult to increase the proportion of agricultural English translation subjects in the English majors of all colleges and universities.However,English majors in agricultural colleges have the advantage of agricultural talent reserve.Therefore,it is suggested that the English majors in some agricultural colleges and universities should take the lead in increasing the proportion of agricultural English translation in the construction of disciplines,and transform the training of extensive talents into specialized talent training,so that students can prepare early for entering the agricultural English translation industry and adapt to market demand in time.

Integrate School and Enterprise to Jointly Solve the Problem of Insufficient Agricultural English Teachers

At present,domestic agricultural English translation talents are still in short supply,and it is difficult to recruit a large number of qualified agricultural translation teachers in schools.Moreover,translation is a practical subject,which requires a lot of translation practice to improve the level of translation and translation guidance.Agricultural English translation is a field in the translation subject that requires a lot of professional knowledge and requires high levels of teachers.Based on this,it takes a lot of time and cost to train a qualified agricultural translation teacher in the school.In such a pressing market environment,schools need to cooperate with enterprises to hire experienced translators in enterprises to explain practical knowledge of agricultural English translation for students,which can make up for the shortage of agricultural teachers more quickly,and can better and faster meet the needs of the agricultural English translation talent market.(Wang,2018,p.128)

Re-plan The Subject Model and Adjust the Proportion of Theoretical Courses and Practical Courses for English Majors

In the current English major's teaching,theoretical courses still have a relatively large weight.Although there are corresponding practical courses,the proportion is small,and students have less contact with translation practice.The number of practical hours cannot meet the needs of agricultural translation for students'practical time.Based on this,English majors can consider reducing the proportion of theoretical lessons when carrying out teaching reforms.The combination of"MOOC plus offline courses"can actually increase the learning time and effectiveness of the theoretical part.At the same time,English majors can supplement the reduced class hours of theoretical courses to practical teaching.Increasing the proportion of practical courses,and giving students enough time to truly deepen the field of agricultural English translation can help students carry out a large number of translation practices,and improve their level of agricultural English translation.

Implement the Spirit of Independent Learning and Help Agricultural English Translators Establish Lifelong Learning Habits

Under the rapidly developing international situation,economics is also developing fast.The change of knowledge and the advancement of technology have posed great challenges for the training of talents in schools.How to make the training of talents keep up with the situation of the times and not make the knowledge obsolete after graduation is a problem faced by many disciplines,and the same is true for the training of agricultural translators.Therefore,the training practice of agricultural English translators needs to be guided by short-term,mid-term,and long-term learning plans to cultivate students'independent learning habits,and lay a solid foundation for students to adapt to industry changes in time when they are engaged in agricultural English translation work in the future.(Ma,2021,p.1726)

CONCLUSION

At present,there is a shortage of compound talents in the agriculture-related industries in China.English majors in universities and colleges should seize the opportunity,keep up with the domestic and international situations,carry out teaching reforms in a timely manner,clarify teaching goals,adjust teaching models,improve teaching methods,enhance teaching effects,and make up for the deficiencies caused by the current teaching process lagging behind the rapidly changing international economic situation.In order to promote the development of agricultural foreign trade and agricultural modernization process,college English majors should take the responsibility to provide translation talents for the society.At the same time,the training of agricultural translators can broaden the employment channels for English majors,release employment pressure,and benefit the sustainable development of college English majors.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks for the support of "13th Five-Year Plan" Social Science Projects of the Education Department of Jilin Province.The first project name is "Research on the Training Ideas and Teaching Reform of Agricultural English Translation Talents Development under the Background of "One Belt One Road" (Project number:JJKH20190953SK).The second project name is"A Practical Study on Smart Classroom Teaching of College English in Big Data Environment"(Project number:JJKH20200370SK).