On The Translation Of Humor In Fortress Besieged

According to dynamic equivalence theory, only when the TL receptors respond to the TT in substantially the same manner as the receptors in the SL do to the ST, can a translation be considered as qualified.The main task of humor translation is to reproduce pleasant feelings and evoke laughter among the TL readers. In other words, humor translation also takes seriously the receptors'response, a feature that explains clearly why dynamic equivalence theory can be applied in guiding humor translation and serves as a more practical criterion for judging translation quality. Taking it as a criterion whether the TT successfully reproduces the humorous spirit of the ST and evokes the TL receptors laugh in the same way that the SL readers do, this thesis analyzes how linguistic and cultural factors effect the humor translation in Fortress Besieged, and what kind of translation methods are adopted to overcome these factors.Through the analysis of the abundant humor examples in Wei Cheng, the author of this thesis finds that the translators successfully retained the humorous spirit of the ST so as to achieve dynamic equivalence in Fortress Besieged. Thus, she draws the conclusion that it is feasible to adopt dynamic equivalence in evaluating humor translation and in guiding humor translation practice. Absolute equivalence can never be found because of the great linguistic and cultural discrepancy between the ST and the TT. However, dynamic equivalence can always be achieved in proximity. So to speak, if a humor translation can not make the TL readers laugh or perceive the humor of the ST substantially in the same manner as the readers in the SL do, no matter how faithful it is to the ST, it can not be regarded as an adequate translation.