Reconsidering Peter Newmark s Theory on Literal Translation

Even though Translation Studies has undertaken a cultural turn and made fruitful achievements, Peter Newmark, whose theory bears a strong tint of applicability, should still be considered as one of the most important figures in the field of translation studies, especially among those who are devoted to translation practice or translation teaching. Therefore, it is not out of season here to discuss Peter Newmark and his seemingly dated theory in the present academic atmosphere of Translation Studies. Mainly based on A Textbook of Translation, in which the great translation theorist strongly advocates literal translation, this paper has taken a further consideration on to what extent his theory can be applied to Chinese-English and English-Chinese translation, which would be beneficial to translation practice and translation teaching. The aim is not to put forward something new, but rather to serve as an attempt to rectify the academic extremity after the cultural turn in Translation Studies.