On The Transference Of The Narrative Style In The Translations Of The Narrative Poem "Chang Hen Ge"

Recent years have witnessed the introduction of narratology into translation studies by the Chinese scholars. However, most of the studies only focus on fictional translation, with few on the translation of narrative poem that bears certain narrative features like fiction. This thesis attempts to explore the transference of the narrative style in the translation of Bai Juyi's "chang hen ge", within the framework combining Kitty van Leuven-Zwart's descriptive model of translation shifts and the borrowed concepts from narratology. In the process of exploration, the author intends to investigate the feasibility of analyzing the style transference in the narrative poem within the proposed framework.Kitty van Leuven-Zwart constructs her descriptive model on the concepts of three general functions of language and three textual levels. When functions and levels interact with each other, three aspects of the narrative style, namely the narrative focalization, the narrative language and the narrative rhythm, are determined. To transfer the narrative style, translators employ two categories of translation shifts: modulation and modification.In the case of "chang hen ge", in the reconstruction of the narrative focalization, direct speech and indirect speech are used flexibly in translation. In the reproduction of the narrative language, modification does better in translating the allusions in the ST, while the strategy of modulation/ generalization is advocated in dealing with the language ambiguity. In the transference of the narrative rhythm, modulation/generalization seems to work best in translation.