. Brief Introduction of Eugene Nida Dr. Eugene A. Nida (1914--) is one of the most distinguished contemporary translation theorists in the west. During his past fifty years of study in translation theory and practice, he has achieved great success in this field. His translation theory has exerted a tremendous influence on the translation studies not only in western countries but also in Asian countries, especially in China. He is generally recognized as the most influential one among all the contemporary translation theorists. He develops the communicative translation theory put forward by Newmark, who is a famous translation theorist of England. The communicative translation theory not only emphasizes language meaning transform, but also functional equivalence. Spreading and becoming popular in China in early 1980s, Nida’ s translation theory is the debut for most of Chinese translators to contact the western systematic translation theories and has deeply influenced the translation theory research in China. In spite of the doubts on his theory appearing in late 1980s and early 1990s, it is certain that Nida’ s translation theory gives significant inspiration to translation researchers. With the research fruits of modern linguistics, Nida has carries out a descriptive research on translation and contemplated deeply on the major problems of the practice and research of the translation theory. With an active mind, he frequently renews the translation theory and keeps rectifying and developing his thoughts and ideas about translation theory. His translation theory is mainly on the basis of the developments of contemporary linguistics, communication theory, information theory and semiotics. 2. Nida’ s Function...
