Optimizing Science Museum Communications: Ecological Translation Strategies for Enhancing Public Outreach in Biotechnology

Abstract

This study explores the application of ecological translation studies to the translation practices of science museums in China, with an emphasis on enhancing international outreach and public engagement. The rapid expansion of China's cultural influence globally necessitates effective translation strategies that encompass not only linguistic accuracy but also cultural and communicative appropriateness. This paper adopts a framework from ecological translation studies to construct and analyze the translation processes of science museum publicity materials, which include pre-translation preparation, translation execution, and post-translation proofreading. A comparative analysis was conducted on three translation strategies: ecological translation, naturalization, and alienation. Utilizing a corpus-based approach, the study evaluates the effectiveness of these strategies in terms of audience comprehension and textual coherence. The findings reveal that ecological translation significantly improves audience understanding, with a 35.27 percentage point increase over the naturalization method. Additionally, the ecological translation approach produces texts with an average word length of 4.52, indicating a richer and more detailed expression compared to the shorter average word length of 3.01 achieved by the alienation method. By implementing an ecologically-informed translation strategy, science museums can produce more culturally and communicatively effective translations. This approach not only diversifies the museum's outreach materials but also significantly enhances their appeal to international audiences, facilitating a deeper global engagement with science and biotechnology. The implications of this study extend beyond museum settings, suggesting that ecological translation strategies can be broadly applied to improve the clarity and impact of biotechnological communication in various public domains.