Translation And Narrative Reframing

The Song of King Gesar was adapted by Alai.The work contains the unique Tibetan tribal culture and shows the charm of the Chinese epic.In 2013,Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-chun Lin translated the text.However,most studies have focused on translation skills,and few have explored narrative reframing in translation from the perspective of narrative reframing.Based on the narrative theory of Mona Baker,this study analyzes the narrative reframing in the translation of The Song of King Gesar from aspects of temporal and spatial reframing,selective appropriation,labeling,and repositioning of participants.A narrative reconstruction analysis of the English translation of The Song of King Gesar found that temporal and spatial reframing accounts for 22.13% of all reframing methods;selective appropriation accounts for 57.40%;labeling accounts for 8.32%;participants repositioning accounts for 12.15%.The study found that the spatial and temporal reframing in translation was mainly achieved through the deletion and addition of time and space background;reframing by selective appropriation was mainly achieved through deletion,extraction,and integration;reframing by the labeling was mainly achieved through re-labeling and de-labeling of characters;participants repositioning was mainly achieved through pronouns shifts.Among these four narrative reframing approaches,the most frequently used was the selective adaptation,through which the translators retained and highlighted the primary narrative,and weakened the secondary narrative.Among the linguistic strategies to achieve narrative reframing,the most frequently used were deletion and integration,by which narratives were simplified and clarified.The study has both theoretical and practical significance.Theoretically,the study has shown that the translation of epics is a travel of narratives as well.The differences in time,space,social and life experience,and culture will lead to narrative reframing.Translation studies should also set out from macro-narrative analysis to examine how translators reframe narratives.Practically,the translation of epic narratives is not simply a process of replication,but narrative reframing,like temporal and spatial reframing,selective appropriation,labeling and repositioning of participants is necessary also.In this sense,to translate epic texts means to screen,explain,weaken,highlight,and simplify different narratives.This study also has implications for translation teaching.In the process of translation teaching,the focus of teaching should not only be on vocabulary and syntax,but also on the macrodiscussion of the narratives,which can promote students’ understanding of the macro narratives and the understanding of its cultural background.