Lexical Translation Strategies in Institutional and Cultural Discourses:

A Case Study of Bilingual Articles on the CATTI Thai Public Account

Abstract

            This study examines lexical translation strategies from Chinese into Thai within institutional and cultural discourse. The data comprise 91 bilingual articles from the CATTI Thai public account, covering topics such as politics, international cooperation, economy, education, technology, environment, and culture. The analysis is based on Newmark’s (1988) translation theory, together with the classification of translation strategies, methods, and techniques proposed by Venuti (1995) and Xiong (2014). A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining qualitative analysis with descriptive statistics. The results indicate that the most frequently used strategies are literal translation, hybrid translation and the use of established terminology, particularly in institutional texts containing policy-related vocabulary. Free translation plays an important role in conveying abstract concepts, while transliteration is mainly applied to proper nouns and internationally recognized terms. Cultural equivalence is found primarily in festival- and culture-related content. The findings also reveal a clear relationship between the level of formality and the choice of translation strategies: institutional discourse emphasizes accuracy, formality, and alignment with policy-oriented language, whereas cultural discourse allows more adaptive strategies to enhance clarity and contextual understanding. These findings reflect the professional nature of translation in the CATTI examination context, which requires a balance between terminological accuracy, formal register, and communicative appropriateness, and offer useful implications for exam preparation, Chinese–Thai translation pedagogy, and future research