The Application Of Register In Translation

The translation of style has always caught the attention of translators. Some translators have proposed their principles involving translation of style, which usually demand that the "spirit" or "truth" of the SL be faithfully presented in the TL. Either "spirit" or "truth" will mainly focus on the translators' aesthetic feeling of the SL's style from a macroscopic angle. It is undoubtedly right that the translators should grasp the SL's stylistic features in a whole. But such macroscopic analysis generally derives from the translators' subjective (personal) impression upon the SL's style, and seldom analyzes those objective language forms (structures) that construct any text. Therefore, the subjectivity and vagueness resulting from such impressionistic analysis can not properly reflect the nature of translation activity: Translation is the replacement of textual material in one language by equivalent textual material in another language. The analysis of style can never be accomplished objectively without the analysis of those language forms (structures) constructing the textual material. After applying linguistics to translation study, quite a few translators have found it necessary to analyze the SL's style from linguistic angle, for after all any stylistic feature is concretely presented by those language forms.Based on linguistic study, Mr. Liu Miqing suggests "stylistic markers" which analyze the SL's stylistic features from both macroscopic and microscopic angle. Among the stylistic markers, form-markers can help the translators better identify the stylistic features presented by those respective forms (words, sentences, paragraphs, etc.). The level of language (at what degree the SL is formal or informal) is one fundamental aspect of all stylistic features. Register refers to the social situation in which people communicate. It can also be regarded as a communication range, in which language users communicate (write or speak) in a formal or informal way according to their different social status. The SL's level of formality may be properly presented by its register features. Similarly, the formality of register may be identified by its corresponding registers markers (esp. words with different levels of formality). In translation, once the translators identify the register features of the SL and have it conveyed with corresponding register markers, they will at least present in the translation an equivalent level of formality appropriate to that of the SL. This thesis is divided into three parts: The first part discusses the definitions of style from literary and linguistic angle, the definition of stylistic marker and its classification and the corresponding approach that conveys the style. The second part discusses the definitions of register, the three socio-situational aspects of register, the relationship between idiolect and register, and the level of formality of register markers (esp. words).The last part analyses the application of register in the translation of literary and non-literary works under the analysis of register markers. The purpose of this thesis is to discuss how the SL's style (esp. level of formality) can be appropriately conveyed in the TL with the analysis of register features and register markers.