Stage-Oriented Drama Translation

Strategies and methods of stage-oriented drama translation are explored in this dissertation, through the discussion of some controversial issues in this field and a case study of Ying Ruocheng's translation of Death of a Salesman. Translation for the stage has some distinguishing features that may build barriers for translators, including the ephemerality of a stage production, the interdisciplinary nature of drama translation, the relationship between playtext and performance, theatre conventions and issues involved in translating the cultural context. Translators for the stage should direct the drama in mind as if they were directors, so that they will bear in mind the features and constraints of the stage. The thesis also defines the four aspects of performability: (1) brevity and conciseness; (2) individuality of different characters; (3) rhythm of delivery of natural speech; (4) explicitness of the implied meaning of culture-loaded words.Through a case study of Ying Ruocheng's translation of Death of a Salesman, it can be concluded that: (1) the strategy of cooperative translation is, till now, the best way out of the labyrinth of drama translation, which involves collaboration of the translator and those who are involved in a stage production, ideally the director and/or actors; (2) when cultural dismatches are encountered, translators usually resort to adaptation to maintain performability of the drama, which includes substitution, omission and addition. In particular, substitution is often employed to facilitate the audience's understanding, owing to ephemerality of a stage production. Translators also adopt other methods to achieve colloquialism, intelligibility and follow the rhythm of speech delivery, which are required by the distinguishing features of the dramatic text.