On English Humor Fictions Translation From The Perspective Of Functional Equivalence Theory

What is Humor? This is a hard-to-define word which means so many different things to different people. The definitions of humor in many dictionaries are different from each other, yet in general, they all include one factor, namely, evoking laughter. Laugh can be deemed as the result and the goal of humor, and even the criterion for judging the humorous effect.It not only finds expression in everyday talks in ordinary life, but also penetrates into the world literature, especially the fiction, which is a kind of plot-driven literary genre.However, due to their different geographical environments and historical backgrounds, the countries and regions of the world tend to understand humor differently, and the techniques for creating humorous expressions also vary from people to people. Besides, humor can be classified into three kinds (?)cording to the features of humor translation, namely, common humor, verbal humor and cultural humor.As English and Chinese belong to different language families, there exist great differences in their respective cultures, leading to different interpretations and expressive forms of humor in the two languages. The definition of humor in English culture is more comprehensive:any factor making people laugh can be classified as humor, no matter what the humorous method or style is. What’s more, English humor not only means being funny or laughable, but also signifies the quality which appeals to a sense of the ludicrous or absurdly incongruous; the mental faculty of discovering, expressing, or appreciating the ludicrous or absurdly incongruous; and it also implies an ability to perceive the ludicrous, the comical and the absurd in human life and to express these usually without bitterness. While the definition of humor in Chinese culture is narrower, seeing humor not only in terms of achieving the result of "laugh-making", but of generating specific aesthetic connotations.O·Henry was a famous humor master in America, and also created his exclusive humorous style--laugh with tears."The Cop and the Anthems" is a magnum opus among his humorous fiction, which is noted for its unique humorous writing techniques and artistic styles. This paper compares the two Chinese versions translated respectively by Li Wenjun and Pan Mingyuan, Proceeding from Eugene Nida’s Functional Equivalence Theory, analyzing each’s gains and losses in transmitting humorous effects during translation, and discussing issues about translating English humorous fiction in general.