Representation Of Defamiliarization In Literary Translation

Literary translation distinguishes itself from non-literary translation by the distinctive nature of literature,which,according to Russian Formalism,is literariness, that is,what makes specific works become literary works.Literariness usually comes from the form of the work,especially the defamiliarized form.For this reason,writers prefer those unusual narrative techniques and original expressions.Defamiliarization is not only what writers seek for but also what readers expect.At the same time,it is a force to put forward the history of literature.In this sense,the success or failure of literary translation depends on how translators deal with the defamiliarization devices of the source texts into their translations.Russian formalists believe the form itself can function as a signifier to convey meaning.But the leading translation theories either abroad or at home all accord privilege to content rather than form.Translators with this idea accordingly give priority to content,ignoring the significance of form,which can present meaning by itself. However,there have been some theorists who begin to pay attention to the form of literary works and call for the representation of original defamiliarization devices.This thesis incorporates this view and elaborates the necessity and possibility of the representation of defamiliarization in translation.The necessity is determined by two factors:the characteristic of literature and the responsibility of the translator,while the possibility comes from similarities among different languages and readers' capacity for accepting new expressions.Defamiliarization can be found in literary works at all levels,from phonetic sound, diction,syntax to the whole structure.This thesis takes the novel The Kite Runner as an example to analyze the defamiliarization devices and their representation in translation.The Kite Runner is written by Khaled Hosseini,a contemporary Afghan American writer.Since its publication it has been spoken highly of by numerous readers.The book was the first bestseller for 2005 in the United States.Now it has been published in 48 countries.Its Chinese version Zhui Feng Zheng De Ren,translated by Li Jihong,has been reprinted 22 times by now,achieving great success too in China.The novel creates defamiliarized effect at the level of discourse through a special point of view and ingenious narrative time.In addition,the author makes use of some Afghan language to add more exotic atmosphere as well as some fresh expressions to help achieve literariness for the book.This thesis makes a comparative analysis of both the original and the target texts from the aspects of point of view,narrative time (flashback and narrative duration),and modes of expression,and then draws a conclusion that the translation has,generally speaking,succeeded in representing the unusual narrative techniques and modes of expressions of the original and achieved thematic and aesthetic equivalence with the original.This thesis is an attempt to explore defamiliarization in a literary work and its representation in translation both at macro and micro levels,which is a field scarcely dealt with in China today.It is hoped that this attempt can invite other people's valuable ideas on the criticism of literary translation.