A Sociolinguistic Approach To The English Translation Of Kinship Terms In Shiji

Shiji, the first comprehensive biography in China, ranks the highest of the“Twenty-Four Histories”. Due to the meticulous research on the vocabulary of severalimportant ancient works by its author, Sima Qian, Shiji has laid a solid foundation forthe study of Chinese vocabulary history. The language in Shiji fully reflects the realsocial life, cultural traditions and humanistic psychology of the Han Dynasty.The kinship term systems in various ethnic groups are relatively stable, containingthe social hierarchy, marriage institution, family structure and other cultural features inone nation, which attract many sociolinguists to carry on related studies. Owing to thedifferences in social structure and interpersonal relationship between China andwestern world, the respective kinship term systems are not the same. Therefore, thisthesis, from the perspective of sociolinguistics, explores the similarities anddifferences of the two systems through a comparison of two English versions ofkinship terms in Shiji, with the aim to promote the translation of Chinese classics.This thesis makes a descriptive comparison between two English versions of Shijiaccomplished by Yang Xianyi with Gladys Yang and Burton Watson. It aims atanalyzing whether the translation strategies used in the two versions can realize thetransmission of social and cultural functions in kinship terms. Through comparativeanalysis, the thesis in the end draws an objective conclusion and makes possiblecontributions to the translation of Chinese classics and the spread of Chinese culture.Chinese kinship term system belongs to Sudan Relative Appellation System with ahigh degree of descriptiveness, while English kinship term system to Eskimo System,a typical representative of fractional classification. Therefore, in the process oftranslation, the differences in the systems between the two cultures should beconsidered carefully to achieve success in cultural exchange.