Cultural Default In Translating Drama Texts And Its Compensation Strategies-A Study From Relevance Theory Perspective

Drama translation is an important part of literary translation, but it attracts less attention than the studies of novel and poetry translation. Drama is of great significance as a means of inter-cultural exchange, and furthermore, cultural elements play important roles in appreciating dramas. Drama is deeply rooted in culture, so the differences in cultures and languages pose much difficulty in translating drama, especially the emergence of cultural default in translation process causes tremendous challenges in drama translation. The author of this thesis introduces Relevance Theory (RT) into drama translation studies, and views drama translation as a dynamic double ostensive-inferential communicative act. The author attempts to explain cultural default under the theoretic framework of RT, and to explore the strategies to compensate cultural default in translating drama texts.Drama is both a literary and performance art, which shows the dualistic features of drama. The question is that whether drama translation is reader-oriented or stage-oriented. In Chapter 1, the author attempts to answer this question. First, the author makes a brief introduction to the characteristics of drama as a comprehensive art, and its differences from other literary genres. Followed is the review on the studies of drama translation in China and abroad. The author states that it is inappropriate to label drama translation as solely reader-oriented or solely stage-oriented. The author furthers to state that the original playwright inevitably takes the stage effects into consideration when he is creating the work except for closet drama creators. In the same vein when translating dramas, the translator should not only care for the readers but also take future stage-effect into account. Therefore, the author concludes that a good rendition of drama text translation shall be readable and performable as well.In Chapter 2, the author introduces basic concepts of RT and its theoretical framework. Ernst-August Gutt first declares the necessity of introducing RT into translation studies, and he views translation as a dual ostensive-inferential dynamic process. Within the framework, the translator shall have a correct understanding and inference of original text, and then find optimal relevance; meanwhile he shall have a sound judgment of the cognitive environments of target language receivers and their expectations on the original text. The translator then chooses the translated version with optimal relevance to the original among all possible versions, and this optimal relevance shall also be established on the part of target language receivers, and hence a correct comprehension of original text is achieved by TL receivers.In RT translation theory, differences in cognitive environments and cultures create great obstacles in making a sound reference in translation. In Chapter 3 the author starts with the relationship between culture and language, and emphasizes the importance of cultural elements in language in translation. Cultural default emerges due to cultural differences arising in language communication, and in this chapter the author discusses the mechanism of cultural default and its components from the angle of RT, and then illustrates the communicative failures caused by cultural default.In Chapter 4, the author first explores the causes of cultural default formation in drama by utilizing RT and characteristics of drama itself. The author then proposes six compensation strategies to cultural default in drama text translation and their strength and weakness. Taking cultural default compensation illustrations from translated versions of Chinese and English drama masterpieces Teahouse and Death of a Salesman, the author attempts to discuss the feasibility of the six compensation strategies.Starting with Relevance Theory, the author touches upon only a fraction of drama translation, that is, cultural default compensation. The author calls for as much attention on the studies of drama translation as other literary genres, and hopes that translation theorists as well as translators shall devote much energy to the systematic study of drama translation in the future for the sake of enhancing inter-cultural exchange activities.