A Contrastive Study Of Reference Between English And Chinese And Implications For Translation

In recent years, the study of cohesion theory has been rich and rewarding, and the prospects for moving forward seem exciting and enchanting. M. A. K. Halliday who is considered as the one making the greatest contribution to the development of cohesion theory points out that cohesion occurs where the interpretation of some element in the text is dependent on that of another. Cohesion is an indispensable element in creating a logical and fluent text and therefore plays a significant role in text translation. Reference, as an important cohesive device and a primary text-forming component in both English and Chinese linguistic systems, accordingly should be paid much emphasis in text translation as well.In preparation for this thesis, the author observed that the previous researches on cohesion theory mainly focused on the different characteristics of cohesive devices between English and Chinese. When the theory of cohesion is applied into translation studies, some translation methods and techniques are provided, but not in a systematic way.Based on this, the author attempts to propose comparatively systematic illustrations about translation strategies in E-C translation practice. The research texts are the classic, Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray, and its Chinese version by Yang Bi. The research method is a combination of both quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis.The purposes that the author attempts to achieve in this paper are: (1) to compare the reference properties between the English and the Chinese languages that contribute to text coherence and in particular, and examine the reference differences through the case study of Vanity Fair; (2) to propose comparatively systematic illustrations about translation strategies as applied to the translation of references through an analysis of some examples in Vanity Fair and Yang Bi's Chinese version. This research can, to some degree, provide certain inspirations and insights to the E-C translation studies on reference and offer some guidance and instructions for translators in their interpretation and appreciation of E-C translations.This thesis consists of 5 chapters. Chapter one presents a brief introduction to the whole thesis, including the research background, the purpose of this study, methodology, and the organization of this thesis. Chapter two is a literature review including cohesion theory development, reference studies development, and the relations between text, cohesion, coherence, reference and translation studies. Chapter three mainly discusses the theoretical framework of this paper, i.e. the definition and classification of reference by Halliday & Hasan. Chapter four is devoted to a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis. It is composed of data analysis and implications for translation practice. In this chapter, the author analyzes the similarities and differences of reference between English and Chinese, including personal reference, demonstrative reference, and comparative reference and explores the reasons for them and in particular proposes comparatively systematic illustrations about translation strategies in E-C translation practice. Chapter 5 serves as a conclusion. The findings as well as the limitations of this research are discussed in this part.