On The Translation Of Young Adult Literature From The Perspective Of Reception Theory

The core concept of Hans R.Jauss’s reception theory is the horizon of expectations,which stresses readers’ knowledge and experience as the prerequisite for accepting new things.Without pre-understanding,any reading will become impossible.According to reception theory,readers will truly understand and accept the works only when their horizon of expectations are fulfilled during the reading process.The concept of horizon of expectations can also be applied to the translation of young adult literature,whose ultimate goal is to find its acceptance by young adults and realize its value.Young adult literature has its own target readers--young adults aged from 13 to 18 years old.In order to meet their reading expectations,translators need to take into full consideration the aesthetics,reading habits,language features,psychological characteristics and the life experience of young adults.In this thesis,the E--C translation of Chapter 22 to 24 of Trouble Tomorrow will be analyzed in the light of reception theory.Specifically,its translation strategies will be examined from three aspects--diction,syntax,and figures of speech,so as to make the translated literary work more accessible to target readers.Lexically,the use of colloquial expressions,four-character phrases,and reduplicated words will make the translation vivid and easy to understand.Syntactically,the use of short sentences,exclamatory sentences,and rhetorical questions will help the readers experience the emotional changes of the characters.Rhetorically,the use of metaphor,personification,and parallelism will make the text humorous and arouse the readers’ interest in reading.