On Translating For Children

When translating for children is getting more and more appealing to scholars internationally, the domestic study on it is still lagging far behind even though foreign children's literature has been exerting a great influence on the development of children's literature in China since the late Qing period.On one hand, translation is a complex social activity affected by social and historical factors. On the other hand, children's literature has long been undervalued owing to the misconceptions people have towards children. The study of translating for children hence occupies a much lower position in translation studies. However, translating for children is not as easy as it seems. The translator should be an expert on both languages and be familiar with the characteristics of children's literature. In this paper then children-orientation and functionalist approaches are employed as principles of translating for children. After a comparative study of three Chinese versions of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, I point out the following aspects which need special attention: how to keep the language simple but vivid, how to translate culture-bound elements and visual elements, and the value of non-complete translation. I stress that the translator should always be aware that the Skopos of translation is for children and determines the whole translation process.