Mediating intensity in political discourse: a corpus-based analysis of adverbs of degree in Chinese-to-English translation

Adverbs of degree function to convey the intensity or degree of qualities and processes. Their use in political communication can reflect underlying ideological positions and communicative tactics. However, existing studies seldom examine how adverbs of degree are translated, especially within political discourse, where subtle shifts may carry ideological implications. Adopting a corpus-based discourse analysis approach, this article investigates adverbs of degree in Chinese-to-English translation of political discourse and the underlying factors affecting the translation. The data consist of The Governance of China IV, a compilation of spoken and written works of Xi Jinping, and political speeches from the website Interpret: China, which serve primarily as comparative materials. Adverbs of degree are analyzed in terms of their modifying categories, polarity, and intensity. The findings reveal significant translation shifts, despite the canonical principle of faithfulness in political discourse translation. Notably, positive up-scaling adverbs of degree modifying the Self-category in The Governance of China tend to be weakened in translation. By contrast, such weakening is rarely observed in the translations by Interpret: China. Several factors may have contributed to this weakening, such as differences in communicative conventions, typological distinctions between Chinese and English, and ideological considerations shaped by the international political context. The study provides an empirical framework for examining mediation in political discourse translation, offering practical guidance for translators and theoretical insights into methodological integration between translation studies and discourse analysis.