A Study Of The Translation Of Characters' Names In Two English Versions Of Xi You Ji

Language and culture are closely related with each other. Any language is deeply rooted in the unique cultural land where it grows. However, because of different social backgrounds, political systems and geographies among nations, languages of different nations have their distinctive national features. As the development of cultural globalization, translation is not only a tool of language transformation, but also a vehicle for cultural communication.Xi You Ji vividly describes many characters from Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. These various characters'names of the characters embody numerous Chinese cultures like Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. Therefore, it is impossible to avoid dealing with these cultural factors when we translate these characters'names. How translators deal with these characters'names that are loaded with Chinese culture becomes a question we can not neglect. However, up to now few papers and articles touch on the translation methods of characters'names in Xi You Ji.In order to reveal the translation methods adopted to translate characters'names in Xi You Ji, the thesis categorizes Chinese characters'names in Xi You Ji into twelve types. The study does not include the type of Buddhist gods'names, because they are mainly translated by using Sanskrit words. This paper classifies, calculates and analyzes the translation methods used to deal with the rest eleven types of characters'names in the two English versions of Xi You Ji. It compares the similarities, and the differences and achievements and limitations of the translation methods adopted in the two versions. This study also explores the regularity of the translation methods the two translators adopt for their respective translations. This paper also tries to make an objective evaluation of the translation methods two translators adopt by using Skopos theory to explore whether these translation methods successfully achieve their respective translation Skoposi.This paper divides the translation methods adopted in the two versions into four parts:1. giving the pronunciations 2. giving the meanings 3. giving the pronunciations of some words and the meanings of others 4. giving both the pronunciations and the meanings. A comparative analysis of the original characters'names in Xi You Ji and their renditions in the two English versions reveals that ten types of translation methods are used in the two versions. Both translators try to be faithfully present the characters'names in the original novel. On the whole, more names are dealt with by using literal translation than free translation in each version. Comparing to Yu, Jenner prefers to explain the cultural meanings of names instead of showing the literal meanings to readers. Jenner likes to use intra-textual annotations, while Yu prefers to adopt footnotes. Instead of sticking to some specific translation methods, the two translators first grasp the structures and meanings of the characters'names, and then flexibly adjust their choices of translation methods on the basis of their translation Skoposi. The translation methods adopted by the two translators to deal with each type of the characters'names are almost the same. The cultural meanings of 77.6% of the characters'names in Jenner's version and 78.8% of the characters'names in Yu's version are shown to readers on various degrees. The majorities of the names in the two versions correctly reflect the original meanings and express cultural verve and language features of the original names. Generally speaking,most of the translation methods adopted by the two translators successfully achieve their respective translation Skoposi.