An Inquiry On Translations Of Character Names In Three English Versions Of Hong Lou Meng

Hong Lou Meng is a Chinese literature classic written by Cao Xueqin in Qing dynasty which involves 975 characters.The complexity of character relationships and the usage of metaphors and homophones in character names brought obstacles for readers to enjoy the translation.In translation ecology,the cross-culture translation lies in the adaption and selection which translators adopt according to all elements influencing the translation.In the theory of Translation as Adaptation and Selection,the optimal translation is one with the highest degree of integral adaptation and selection.There are three reference values for evaluating the fittest translation in its translation ecology: the degree of multidimensional transformation,readers’ feedback and translators’ quality.The thesis focuses on the degree of multi-dimensional transformation and translators’ quality,and discusses the adaption and selection each translator adopts in their translations.Three English versions discussed in the thesis are A Dream of Red Mansion by Yang Xianyi & Gladys Yang.The Story of the Stone by David Hawkes & John Minford and Hung Lou Meng by H.Bencraft Joly.Yang’s and Hawkes’ version are two of the most popular versions in the market,while Joly’s version is the earliest abridged version with only former 56 chapters.All names in the former 56 chapters in three versions are classified into four categories according to their cultural meaning based on the Chinese HLM: Zhi Yanzhai Annotation.While listing the multi-dimensional transformations adopt in each translation version,the author concludes a ratio map of dimension transformation adopt in each English version.Then,the author further discusses the adaption to source text and selection to target text of translators based on the classification.In the discussion of translators’ quality,the author compares the publishing houses,social backgrounds,educational experiences,and translation principles of translators.By employing two of the TAS evaluation criterion,the degree of the multi-dimensional transformation and the translators’ quality,the author discusses the adaptation and selection adopt by each English version.At the end,the author draws a conclusion on the comparison of three English versions of translations on HLM character names.Each translator has adapted to the eco-environment so as to select the optimal target text.Hawkes achieved the highest degree of multi-dimensional transformation of 38.76 %.And the level of translators’ quality is Yang ≈ Hawkes > Joly.With concluding the two evaluation criterion,the degree of integral adaption and selection of each version is Hawkes > Yang > Joly.It indicated that according to the theory of TAS,the fittest survivor in its translation ecoenvironment among three versions is David Hawkes’ version.He ensured the readability and enjoyment of HLM translation of character names with his proficiency in translators’ quality and the highest degree of the multi-dimensional transformation.And Yang’s version is the second fittest survivor while Joly’s version has the weakest survival ability.