A Comparative Study Of The Two Chinese Versions Of The Woman In White

Through a comparative study of two Chinese versions of an English novel The Woman in White, this dissertation aims at probing suitable ways of applying translation theories and techniques to translation practice.This paper consists mainly of two parts. The first part is concerned with translation theories, but it is not limited to a review of the existing theories. Besides a general overview of Western and Chinese translation theories, the author also offers her opinions on some theoretical issues. The second part of the paper is the kernel part of this dissertation. A comparative study is made here of two Chinese translations of The Women in White, in light of Nida's theory of functional equivalence.The first chapter illustrates five topics. It begins with the Development of Western Translation Studies. Generally speaking, there are three developmental stages in Western Translation Studies: The first stage, from the Cicero period to the late 1950s, was the traditional stage. The second stage, from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, was the modem stage. The third stage, from the early 1970s until the present, is the contemporary stage of Translation Studies. (7?jt 0U. 2002/1: 32, arranged and translated by the author.) During this stage, many schools of translation theories have emerged and many scholars of translation studies have put forward their theories. In this paper, several theories will be discussed: Nida's Functional Equivalence, Peter Newmark's Communicative Translation vs. Semantic Translation, Lawrence Venuti's Domestication and Foreignization, etc.China, an ancient country with brilliant history, boasts a long history of translation activities. Its translation theory has been developing from ancient times until the present. There are several periods in that development. The first chapter also presents the development of Chinese translation theories.The third section in Chapter One is about the author's perception of some theoretical issues. On the basis of an analysis of the theoretical foundation in translation, the author has formulated her own views: It is not easy to arrive at a definite conclusion on such issues as whether translation is art or science and whether Nida's theory is still valid or not. However, in the author's opinion, the translation theories are, to a large extent, art-biased. At the same time, she believes and attempts to demonstrate that Nida's total negation of his previous theory is not fully justified. Also, the important point is not what technical terms to use, but how to elaborate on the existing theoretical system. The author holds that it may be worthwhile to try to incorporate micro-skills into the general framework of functional equivalence. The following two sections touch upon such particulars in translation as the translation procedures and process, andfeatures of literary translation.In the second chapter of the paper, the author demonstrates, through analysis of two Chinese versions of a novel, that micro-techniques could, to a certain extent, be incorporated into Nida's theory of functional equivalence. In the course of the comparative study, the author examines the two versions from four aspects: lexicon, syntax, discourse, and style. Comparison between the different versions often cas^light on their merits and demerits, and thus the applicability of certain translation techniques becomesalmost self-evident.The first section in this chapter begins with an analysis of lexicon, which deals mainly with semantic meaning of lexicon. According to Geoffery Leech's opinion, there are seven types of meaning: conceptual meaning, associated meaning, social meaning, emotive meaning, reflective meaning, collocative meaning, and thematic meaning. This part of the chapter will discuss how the translation of lexicon could be accurate and natural, so as to achieve the same effect among the receptor readers as was experienced by source language readers. In other words, the functional equivalence advocated by Nida should be achieved.The second section discusses adju...