Stance Mediation in Translating News: A Case Study of <i>The Paper</i> ’s Translation of Foreign News

This study examines translated news from foreign media published by The Paper, a Chinese news portal that features a column dedicated to translations of China-related reports released by foreign news agencies. The research aims to investigate how international news is transmitted or even manipulated through translation from the source texts, and to identify the changes made and how attitudinal positioning is realized through linguistic choices. The study adopts the Appraisal Theory proposed by Martin and White (2005) as the theoretical framework for analysis. Data are collected from the “Translating China” column in The Paper, with the source texts written in English. The study reveals that in the translated texts, changes are realized through various translation methods such as omission, amplification, generalization, specification, and diction. Possible factors influencing translation decision-making may include the selection of news reports, target readership, the stance of the news agency, and traditional Chinese thought. It is hoped that the findings of this study will shed light on news translation, particularly on how to examine stances and attitudes in the translation of media discourse.