A Comparative Study Of Two English Translations Of The Peony Pavilion: A Contextual Perspective

Context is an important concept in linguistics. From the systemic functional linguistics points of view, language is produced and understood or construed in specific contexts. As an important factor in language use, context determines the meanings and functions of language. Translating, a subject concerning language use, bears an indispensable relationship to context. The understanding of source language text and producing of target language text in translating process are both carried out in specific contexts. The aim of translation is to realize the meaning equivalence between SL text and TL text, as it were. Since meaning is conditioned by social context of a language, then it follows that the seeking for meaning equivalence between SL text and TL text is to seek for the equivalence of language functions in the same social context. In the process of translation, a translator should try his best to carry the contextual features of source text over to target text. The linguistic forms he chooses should be adequate to convey to the fullest extent the meanings and functions embedded in source text.Many scholars inside and outside of China have noticed the importance of context to translation studies and have made relevant theoretical explanations and practical applications. However, the application of context theory to the translation studies of Chinese traditional drama, a Chinese culture-specific genre of literature, is rarely conducted up to now. The Peony Pavilion, written by the famous playwright Tang Xianzu of the Ming dynasty, is a masterpiece in Chinese drama history. The original text has specific context of culture and context of situation. The language of the play suits the context well. Hence, in order to convey the contextual meanings and functions of the source text into target text, a translator must make a thorough and accurate analysis of the contexts in source text. As a masterpiece in both Chinese literary and drama history, the present studies on English translations of The Peony Pavilion are far from enough. And the linguistic approach to the study of English translations of this masterpiece is seldom seen. Therefore, the author tries to make a tentative study on translations of The Peony Pavilion from the perspective of context theory. The method of discourse analysis is adopted to make a comparative study of two English translations. This thesis examines whether the equivalence of meanings and functions are realized between source language text and target language text from three strata of context: context of culture, context of situation and context of co-text. It also analyzes the influence of context theory on the understanding of source text and the selection and realization of linguistic expressions in target text.In conclusion, the author points out: (1) Context theory of systemic functional linguistics is also applicable to the translation studies of Chinese traditional drama texts in addition to pragmatic discourses like news, advertisements. (2) The analysis of context in source text can help achieve the accuracy of target translations. (3) A good translation should satisfy all the three levels of context in the full sense. However as we know, the three levels of context function in fact simultaneously, it is difficult to satisfy all of them in translation. If anyone who can do it, the work he or she produces is no doubt a perfect translation.