A Study Of The Translation Of Jane Eyre From The Perspective Of Translation Norms

The normative approach to translation studies is an important approach to start descriptive translation studies. By describing and applying translation norms, this approach intends to provide a way to construct the theoretical system of translation studies and to guide the process of translation as well as translation related activities. Toury, Hermans and Chesterman are three important translation norm theorists. Chesterman places more emphasis on the norms that are closely related to the translator's behavior. He proposes the classification of expectancy norms and professional norms. The latter is sub-divided into the accountability norm, the communication norm and the relation norm.The translation of Jane Eyre written by Charlotte Bronte is frequently studied by Chinese translation researchers from various perspectives. Among the many translated versions of Jane Eyre, the one translated by Zhu Qingying and published by Shanghai Translation Publishing House enjoys great popularity with readers. As one of the earliest translated version of Jane Eyre, Li Jiye's version is also considered an excellent translated work, but it is not so popular with modern readers as Zhu Qingying's version. With Chesterman's norm theory as the theoretical framework, and mainly with Zhu Qingying's version of Jane Eyre as a studied case, this thesis analyzes the norms to which the translator conforms and the different translation strategies she adopts during the process of translation. At the same time, Li Jiye's translated version of Jane Eyre is compared with Zhu Qingying's version. In conclusion, the author of the thesis points out that in the process of translation, the translator's conforming to translation norms contributes a lot to the popularity of his/her translation with the readers.The overall movement of this thesis goes from theory to practice. The study will be divided into five parts as follows:In the Introduction Chapter, the author introduces the theoretical foundation and the significance of this thesis, and then she briefly outlines this thesis. In Chapter Two, the author reviews the various studies of Chinese translated versions of Jane Eyre from different perspectives. Finally, the research question of this thesis is put forward - studying Zhu Qingying's translated version of Jane Eyre from a new perspective, the perspective of translation norms.Chapter Three summarizes the development of translation norm theory, and mainly introduces the norm theories of Toury, Chesterman and Hermans, who are the three important translation norm theorists. Then the role of norm theory in translation analysis is introduced. At last, the author decides to adopt Chesterman's norm theory as the theoretical basis on which Zhu Qingying's version of Jane Eyre is to be studied, as his theory is more complete compared with that of the other two theorists.In Chapter Four, the author analyzes in detail Zhu Qingying's conforming to expectancy norms, accountability norms, communication norms and relation norms, and illustrates with concrete examples how these norms are conformed to by the translator and what translation strategies she adopts in the process of translation. Meanwhile, in some sections in this chapter, Li Jiye's translated version of Jane Eyre is compared with Zhu Qingying's version to illustrate the importance of conforming to translation norms.In Chapter Five, the author arrives at two conclusions:1. A translator tends to conform to translation norms consciously or unconsciously in doing his/her translation. By adopting the proper translation strategies, the translator conforms to various norms in the translation action, thus promotes the ethical values which govern the translation norms. In the case analysis of Zhu Qingying's Jane Eyre, the thesis finds out that in doing her translation, the translator conforms to the expectancy norms, accountability norms, communication norms and relation norms as Chesterman classifies by adopting the proper translation strategies.2. Usually, the better the translated work caters to the expectations of readers in the target language, the more popularity it will enjoy. Zhu Qingying's translated version of Jane Eyre conforms to expectancy norms more closely than Li Jiye's version, thus the former enjoys more popularity with modern readers than the latter. Besides, Zhu Qingying's conforming to the accountability norms, communication norms and relation norms adds to the readability and acceptability of her translation. However, Li Jiye fails to conform to communication norms and relation norms in some respects, which has weakened the readability and acceptability of his translation. In sum, in the process of translation, the translator's conforming to translation norms contributes a lot to the popularity of his/her translation with the readers.