A Report On The Translation Of Parnassus On Wheels (Excerpt) From The Perspective Of The Theory Of Literary Stylistics

In fictional translation,the translator is not only supposed to truthfully convey the content of the original text,but also in duty bound to present the writer’s style.If the translator fails to fully perceive the connection between the language in the source text and the thematic meaning,an inarticulate translation is inadequate to avoid the appearance of “deceptive equivalence”,let alone the loss of stylistic value.Fortunately,literary stylistics pays great attention to the thematic meaning and aesthetic value of literary texts as artistic works and the stylistic features of literary language,advocates appropriate stylistic analysis of the characteristics of literary language to clarify the literary value of texts.This analytical method contributes to better appreciation of the literary techniques that cause the separation of literal meaning and deep meaning.This translation practice was based on the translation of the first five chapters of Christopher Morley’s Parnassus on Wheels,which verifies the applicability of literary stylistics in fictional translation through case studies.From the perspective of literary stylistics,the translator focused on stylistic analysis in terms of lexical expression,syntactic structure,illogicality,and rhetorical devices.In translation,the translator was committed to making a thorough inquiry to the aesthetic meaning of the source text on the basis of faithfully conveying the original content.Therefore,the translation had to the greatest extent retained the stylistic value of the text without falling into the trap of “deceptive equivalence”,and achieved similar artistic effect and thematic meaning of the source text.