On Translating Auxiliary Verb Phrases Of "Hui(?)" Into English

Chinese auxiliary verb phrases are very commonly used in both spoken and written Chinese.However,since the "hui(?)" phrases are context-dependent polysemy,they do not have equivalences in each context of Chinese into English translation.This thesis mainly discusses two categories of translation cases of the "hui(?)" phrases in the CCL corpus and a parallel comparison is made between The Yangs' and Julia Lovell's translations to explore their translation principles.Finally,two translation principles are proposed for the "hui(?)”phrases based on the differences between the Chinese and English languages,which brings enlightenment for C-E translation practice.In this thesis,the study is made under the theoretical framework of Verschueren's theory of linguistic adaptation.Both quantitative and qualitative analyses are made in the case study of two translation versions of Selected Stories of Lu Hsun in order to verify the findings derived from the investigation of translations in the CCL corpus.According to the study,two categories of translation cases exist in the CCL corpus.They are the category of Omission(An Omission refers to the case of translation in which the meaning of the "hui(?)" phrase is left linguistically invisible in the translation.)and the category of Condensation(A Condensation refers to the case of translation in which the meaning of the "hui(?)" is linguistically represented in the target text.).The translation of the "hul(?)" phrases by condensation can be divided into two types:Condensation with English modal verbs as correspondences(similar to but different from the traditional notion "equivalence")and condensation with other linguistic forms as correspondences(similar to but different from the traditional notion "conversion").After the comparison between the TT made by translators with different mother tongues,two principles are proposed for the translation of the "hui(?)"phrases:The Principle of Omission and The Principle of Condensation.It is found that the differences between English and Chinese in thinking mode,aesthetic view,ethical value and pragmatic principle at the macro level leads to their differences in textual,syntactic and lexical choices at the micro level.Generally speaking,both the Chinese translator the Yangs and the English translator Julia Lovell make adaptation in their translations of "hui(?)"phrases.But the adaptation degree of Julia Lovell is higher than that of the Yangs,which is revealed from two aspects:A.Julia Lovell tends to employ the Principle of Omission more frequently and omit more linguistic forms.B.The percentage of Julia Lovell's condensation with English modal verbs as correspondences is lower than that of the Yangs and she chooses English linguistic forms more flexibly.Based on the study above,this thesis makes two suggestions for the translation of the"hui(?)" phrases:Firstly,based on different contexts and language differences,translators should follow The Principle of Omission and omit more language units.Secondly,translators should use the Principle of Condensation with English modal verbs as correspondences less frequently and choose other linguistic forms more flexibly instead.From the studies above,this thesis brings enlightenment for C-E translation theories and practice and encourages further researches on the relationship between language forms at the micro level and thinking modes,aesthetic views etc.at the macro level.