On Shi Xiaojing's English Version Of Luotuo Xiangzi-From Nida's Translation Theories

As an indigenous writer of world fame, Lao She is an outstanding representative of modern Chinese literature in the 20th century. His works are best known for the humor and satire in them, and his writing style wins universal praise for its vivid description and strong local color. Altogether, Lao She's works have been translated into twenty-four languages, with Luotuo Xiangzi into sixteen. Due to the special status of Lao She in Chinese literature, researches on him and his works have been on the rise ever since China's reform and opening up. Regrettably, researches on the translations of his works are comparatively rare. Based on such a situation, this thesis is to analyze Shi Xiaojing's translation of Luotuo Xiangzi by employing Nida's translation theories as its theoretical basis. On one hand, a comprehensive analysis of Shi's translation is to be made and the strategies that the translator resorts to will be reviewed. On the other hand, the applicability of Nida's translation theories to literary works with local flavor would also be evaluated in particular.Eugene Nida expounds his translation theories from two aspects, namely, the linguistic aspect and the cultural aspect. This thesis analyzes Shi's translation from both aspects in five chapters.The first chapter introduces two definitions of translation given by Nida, through which his translation theories on the linguistic aspect and the cultural aspect are discussed.The second chapter gives a brief introduction to Lao She's life experience, works, and their translations. A general survey of the features in Shi's version is also previewed in this chapter.Chapter 3 discusses Shi's translation from the aspect of linguistics. In the first place, meaning holds a fundamental role in any translation. Any translation can not be regarded as being adequate without the support of meaning. According to Nida, meaning can be roughly divided into denotative meaning and associative meaning, and different translation strategies should be applied in translating different meanings. In the second place, style is an indispensable factor to be considered in translation. Due to the divergence between languages, the style of the translated version could never be absolutely equivalent to the original. Therefore, equivalence to the largest extent should be pursued. Examined from the aspect of meaning and style transfer, Shi's translation coincides with Nida's translation theories.The fourth chapter discusses Shi's translation from the cultural aspect. Owing largely to the huge gap between Chinese and English cultures, the translation of cultural elements can never be easy to handle in Chinese-English translation. Overtranslation, undertranslation and mistranslation are most likely to occur in this very process. Some misunderstandings towards cultural elements lead to the problems identified in Shi's version.The fifth chapter offers a conclusion. First, merits and demerits of Shi's version are discussed and the translation strategies are subsequently summarized. Due to the complexity of translation, a good translation can only be produced through a detailed analysis of "concrete" conditions. Second, the applicability of Nida's translation theories to literary works with strong local "flavor" is also evaluated, concluding that Nida's theories have been helpful but imperfect. Particularly, the effect of "reader's response" can hardly be achieved in real practice.Through the research, some conclusions can be drawn. On one hand, Shi's Camel Xiangzi should be valued as a successful version. Linguistically, meaning takes precedence over style and thus the original meaning and style are faithfully transferred in Shi's version. Culturally, the cultural elements in the original text are retained to a large extent while readability is specially emphasized. Shi's translation thus contributes much to the transmission of Chinese culture and...