A Comparative Study Of The Two Chinese Versions Of Sense And Sensibility

This thesis aims at illustrating the practicability and feasibility of the application of translation theory, especially Nida's theory of functional equivalence to the practice of translating.It is known that theory is based on practice and in turn serves practice. However, since translating is essentially a very complex phenomenon and the activity of translating is closely associated with the knowledge in various fields, there can hardly be a fully acceptable theory of translation. So far, the theory of Eugene Nida's functional equivalence, which suggests reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source-language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style, seems still the most applicable one in guiding translating and evaluating translation works.The thesis consists of three chapters. The first chapter is a brief introduction to translation theory with Eugene Nida's functional equivalence as the focus. Starting from the nature of translating, this chapter introduces Eugene Nida's theory of functional equivalence. It focuses on the content and development of the theory of functional equivalence, the process of translating as well as the strategy of producing or evaluating functional equivalence. To lay the basis for further development of the thesis this chapter also devotes a section to the specific characteristics of literary works and their translation.Chapter 2 consists of introductory data of the original author, the original work, the translators and their translations. In this chapter Jane Austen and her novel Sense and Sensibility, the translators Sun Zhili, Wu Chonghan and their versions are briefly introduced.The third chapter forms the main body of the thesis. Through a detailed comparative study in light of Nida's theory of functional equivalence, first interms of meaning and secondly in terms of style, the quality of the two Chinese versions is evaluated, the advantageous and disadvantageous points of the two versions are investigated and specified. In the criticism the writer of this thesis also attempts to demonstrate the practicability and feasibility of the translation theory, especially Nida's functional equivalence.Through the comparative study, several conclusions are drawn: 1. The aim of translating is to convey the message of the source-text. Therefore, the reproduction of the message is more important than the conservation of the form of the utterance. 2. Though exact equivalence is impossible, equivalence in terms of the receptors can be attained. In translation such equivalenceshould be prior to that of forms. 3. Equivalence in terms of meaning and style is the vital criterion in translation. 4. Translating literary works demands a sensitive consideration of form as well as content. Therefore, the qualified literary translation should focus both on preserving the emotional and on the cognitive messages of the works.Gu Furong (Foreign Linguistics & Applied Linguistics)Directed by Mr. Han Zhonghua...