A Linguistic Approach To Intertextual Study Of Translation

Kristeva's coinage of the term "intertextuality" in the late sixties of the twentieth century ushered in a new chapter of translation studies.Intertextuality theory has had a profound impact on the study of text.In contrast to the traditional view of "text" as a closed and determinate product,a new view of"text" regards "text" as a dependent and indeterminate entity which is situated in a multidimensional intertextual space where it absorbs prior texts and anticipates subsequent texts at the same time.A great number of prominent theorists of intertextuality have made tremendous efforts which have resulted in significant progress in theorizing intertextuality, including Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin,Julia Kristeva,Roland Barthes and Jacques Derrida,to name but a few.Instead of dwelling upon their theories,this thesis is concerned with approaching theoretical aspects of intertextuality from a more pragmatic perspective.Closer attention is drawn to a linguistic view of intertextuality, represented by theorists such as Beaugrande and Dressler(1981),Hatim and Mason (1990),and Fairclough(1992,1995,2003).On the basis of their theories,this study mainly focuses on two interrelated issues in literary translation,namely the transference of intertextual signals,and the realization of textuality within a translated text.Furthermore,this thesis elaborates on the writer's intertextual way of writing,the reader's contribution to rewriting both source texts(STs) and target texts(TTs),as well as the mediating role of the translator between the two.As a necessary complement to theoretical analysis,a case study is carried out to provide empirical evidence for the intertextual study of translation.A comparative analysis is presented of two best received English versions of Ah Q Zheng Zhuan,i.e. Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang's The True Story of Ah Q published by Foreign Languages Press in 2005,and William A.Lyell's Ah Q—The Real Story published by University of Hawaii Press in 1990.This thesis can be considered one of the first attempts to introduce intertextuality theory into the translation of Ah Q Zheng Zhuan. Beaugrande and Dressler's(1981) theory of "standards of textuality" and three "regulative principles",as well as Hatim and Mason's(1990) hierarchical procedure for intertextual translation,are brought into this comparative analysis,with a view to exploring an effective translation method that can more successfully transfer intertextual signals and realize textuality as a whole,so that the communicative goal of a translated text can be more fruitfully achieved.