A Dialogue Between Children And Adults

This thesis aims at a discussion of the English-Chinese translation of children's literature, based on the exemplification of two Chinese versions of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. With children as the target readership, children's literature differs from literature in general, hence the particularity of translation for children. Recognized to be in a dialogic relationship with child readers, the translator should try to identify himself with children and enters a world as in the children's eyes. Therefore, a kind of 'empathy' is required of the translator, namely, the interest, abilities, and language habit of children should be the foremost concern of the translator. Through the case study, this thesis addresses the translation of children's literature from the viewpoints of cultural difference, temporal distance and style of language. The influence of literature on children is not merely literary, nor is the translation for children a word-for-word rendering. Children's literature is to serve its readers, herein lies the final goal of translating for children.