A Comparative Study On The Translation Of Humor In Two Chinese Versions Of The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

The humor in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which is the masterpiece of Mark Twain, is used as research material for Cooperative Principle or Speech Act Theory. However, a few studies are conducted from the perspective of Functional Equivalence Theory.This thesis takes Functional Equivalence Theory, which proposed by Eugene A. Nida, as the theoretical framework and the two Chinese versions of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as examples. The thesis aims at exploring what features each version contains while reproducing the humor in source text. In the thesis, comparison on the translation of humor is illustrated from two aspects:semantic equivalence and natural equivalence. Semantic equivalence contains descriptive and narrative examples of humor. Natural equivalence includes situation, receptors’response and culture.Based on the comparison, the conclusion is drawn that both versions reproduce the effect of humor in this novel. Zhang’s version is more sensitive to the cultural images and children readers’response, leading readers to understand the humor better. While Cheng emphasizes the language features of characters and stylistic equivalence, presenting the aethestic value of this novel. At last, this paper presents some suggestions for the translation of humor. First, translators should be aware of particular types of audiences, for instance, the example novel in this paper as children’s literature. Second, translators are supposed to form a solid foundation of literary skills, thus, to be equivalent to the source context in the style. Third, translators should master a rich knowledge of cultural background and imagination to fulfill cultural equivalence of humor.