The Translation Of Children's Literature: A Dual Carrier

In this thesis, the lexical devices used in the Chinese version of The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe which was translated by Chen Liangting and Liu Wenlan and published by Yilin Press in 2005, are the main research subject.After a comprehensive review of previous studies on the translation of children's literature and on The Chronicles of Narnia, research findings concerning children's literature and children psychology including the historical development of the two, the discovery of the child, the functions of children's literature, child language and children's imagination, are introduced as the theoretical bases of this thesis on account of their close relationship with the reading and comprehending process of a child reader. Then through textual comparison between the original and the translated, four distinctive lexical devices are found: the use of Chinese duplicative phrases, the use of interjections, the use of Chinese four-character idioms and phrases and the use of mysterious words and phrases. In addition to the generally acknowledged vividness achieved by these devices, the former two contribute a lot to lowering down the pace of the development of the story in the translated version by providing longer and stronger emotional pauses so that child readers can keep up with the progress of the story more easily when faced with a strange culture, a strange country and a strange story; the use of mysterious words and phrases serves to create a mysterious atmosphere and arouse readers'curiosity so that readers'imagination may be provoked. On the other hand, the use of Chinese four-character idioms and phrases also reflects the didactical view of the translators or of the culture they belong to. These four lexical devices as a whole make the translated version a cohesive and coherent piece to be read, understood and enjoyed by Chinese child readers. In conclusion, because the translation of children's literature take in most cases children as its main target readers if adults are not supposed to be the primary readership of the translated version, then to hold an attitude of child-orientation, to use child-directed language and to promote children's imagination, are three significant guidelines in the translating process which make the translated version easier to be understood by children and to grow popular among them. However, since most translators are adults, the image of a child in adults'mind may differ from a real child; in this way, adults'ideas slip inevitably into translations. It is in this sense that the translation of children's literature is compared to a dual carrier which is far more complicated than the translation of adults'literature.