A Study On The Translation Of Emma From The Perspective Of Register Theory

With the development of translation study, scholars try to apply linguistic theories into translation study. As a branch of linguistics, register theory draws people’s attention. For the past few years, more and more scholars and researchers use various register analysis methods to explore translation from different aspects, all their efforts contribute a lot to translation study.The novel, Emma, is a masterpiece of Jane Austen’s. It is regarded as one of her finest achievements. By using lively language and vivid description, Austen portrays a series of classic characters in Emma. Since its first publication, it has received warm welcome at home and abroad. In2001, the translated version of Emma by Sun Zhili was published by YiLin Publishing House. The success of Emma and its translated versions have drawn many scholars to carry out their researches on the novel. They have mainly focused on the translations of Emma from the aspects of aesthetics, domestication and foreignization, literary stylistic, translator’s subjectivity. However, it seems that few researches have been carried out from the perspective of register theory.Register is a variety of language distinguished by what the speaker is doing socially. It is determined by three parameters, namely, field, tenor and mode. This thesis attempts to analysis and evaluate the translated version of Emma by Sun Zhili from the perspective of register.This thesis is composed of six parts. In the introduction, the author briefly describes the research background, research questions and research significance.The first chapter is literature review. The author reviews precedent studies of the Chinese versions of Emma from the perspective of domestication and foreignization, the perspective of translator’s subjectivity, the perspective of feminism, the perspective of style, and other perspectives. Based on previous studies, the author points out the limitations of previous studies and emphasizes the significance of this study.The second chapter is the theoretical framework. At the beginning of this chapter, it mainly introduces the historical development and definition of register theory. In the following parts, it discusses register markers between English and Chinese, the relationships of the three variables of register.Chapter three is the text analysis of Emma. Under the theoretical framework, the author analyses Sun’s version of Emma from the three parameters of register respectively.On the basis of Sun Zhili’s translation, the fourth chapter summarizes three translation methods under the guidance of register theory.The last part is conclusion. In this part, the author illustrates the significant findings, limitations and implications of this study.