A Study Of Translating Foregrounded Language In Honggaoliang Jiazu

Literature is an art of language. The artistic value of literary works lies not only in theinformation they convey, but also in the way in which the information is delivered.Foregrounding is a writing technique that has been used by many writers and to some, ithas become their unique characteristic. The concept of foregrounding is rooted in theRussian Formalism. Professor Ye Zinan is the first to advocate the application offoregrounding theory in translation study and practice. Drawing on the concept of semanticdeviation---one of the eight deviations proposed by the English linguist Geoffrey N. Leech,the thesis makes a tentative analysis of Mo Yan’s novel Honggaoliang Jiazu and itsEnglish version Red Sorghum translated by Howard Goldblatt.The semantic deviations in the novel are mainly the deviant use of color words andmodifiers. By analyzing examples extracted from the novel, the thesis focuses on thedifferent methods used by the translator. Four methods are adopted in translating deviations:restoring the original colors’ images and the modifiers; partially reserving the foregroundedfeatures; sacrificing the foregrounded features; omission. The proportions of each methodare about53%,10%,27%, and10%respectively. Translator’s subjectivity and reader’sreception are considered as the two causes of why the translator chooses these methods.Meanwhile, both the positive and negative effects of the translation methods are analyzed.Through summarizing the proportion of the methods and analyzing the causes andeffects of using the methods, the author draws the conclusion that to translate foregroundedlanguage in novels, translators should pay adequate attention to the foregrounding effect ofthe original text, and give priority to reproducing the foregrounding effect as much aspossible. However, due to the differences between languages and cultures, translators oftenhave to make adjustments in order to convey both the original information andforegrounding effect. In some situations, they even have to give up the foregroundingeffect of the source text so as to avoid misunderstanding or incomprehension.