Translation Strategies for Long Sentences in Public Speech, Using a Chinese Translation of a Public Speech by President Obama as a Case Study

In written language, English sentences are usually longer than Chinese sentences, while in the spoken language, people tend to prefer using short sentences in both languages. But how should long English sentences from public speeches be translated into spoken Chinese? This article will take some examples from a speech by US President Barack Obama as a case study. Firstly some characteristics of the English and Chinese languages will be compared and then three types of English sentences will be analyzed to see how they can be translated into Chinese.[1] The speech is from the Remarks by the President in State of Union Address delivered by Obama in 2010, which can be found on the official website of the White House.[2]