A Study Of Hybridity Translation Of Lin Yutang's Moment In Peking

The word "hybrid", originally a biological term, is widely used in many academic disciplines such as linguistics, literary criticism and cultural studies. From the point of translation strategy, hybridity, a feasible way to end contention between domestication and foreignization, means the combination of domestication and foreignization at both the linguistic and cultural levels. Previous researches on hybridity in translation have produced influential enlightenment, but they are still unsystematic and lack theoretical support. In view of this situation, the author of this thesis conducts the present study of hybridity of translation strategy in the theoretical framework of the postcolonialism.According to the postcolonial translation theory, the works of some writers, who came from the Third world countries but lived in the First world countries, are mainly about what has happened in their mother countries although they write in English and most their readers are native English speakers. And their works are regarded as "translated text", for "the writing itself is a process of translation" (Prasad,1999:41). Lin Yutang's Moment in Peking is Chinese culture featured but written in English. In this sense, this English novel can be regarded as translation. This thesis, therefore, attempts to undertake a research into the hybridity in translation of Lin Yutang's Moment in Peking from the perspective of postcolonial translation theory.Based on a review of previous studies on the postcolonial translation theory, this thesis carries out both quantitative and qualitative studies on the hybridity in Moment in Peking by combining the category of cultural elements put forward by Peter Newmark. For quantitative research, the author finds out the distribution of the occurrence of the domestication and foreignizaiton in each culture category and the degree of hybridity. Qualitative research is undertaken to analyze how domestication and foreignization translation strategies are used in culture translation.Through the analysis of translation strategy in Moment in Peking, it can be concluded that hybridity of translation strategy is apparently applied to translating culture elements. To be specific, foreingnizaiton translation method is more frequently adopted in the first classification-ecology, while domestication translation method is more frequently used in the aspect of organization, custom, ideas, etc. The conclusion of the thesis indicates that hybridity in translation benefits the heterogeneous culture in the original text, which exerts a positive influence on cultural communications between countries, especially on the cultural transmission of the Third World countries, such as Chinese culture to the Western cultures.Through the study and analysis of the translation strategy of Moment in Peking, this thesis demonstrates that hybridity in translation organically combines domestication and foreignization, which is helpful to the target reader's comprehension and acceptance of the content of the original text. Moreover, it casts light on the transmission of Chinese culture to the West in the context of globalization.