On Translating Metonymy In Hong Lou Meng-A Contrastive Study Of Two English Versions

A translation strategy is a method adopted by a translator to deal with the differences between the SL-culture and the TL-culture and plays a key role in cross-cultural communication. Practically, the research on translation strategies sheds light on translation, and helps the teaching and learning of English language, English culture and Chinese-English translation, as well as the cross—cultural communication.Metonymy is not only a part of speech, but also one of the cognitive models of mankind, and a very powerful and efficient tool with which people conceptualize the world. Metonymic mappings are not arbitrary, but constrained by cultures. This thesis compares and contrasts the Chinese and English metonymy, illustrates and analyzes the strategies adopted by Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang in A Dream of Red Mansions and David Hawkes and his son-in-law John Minford in The Story of the Stone in metonymy translating. Through study, it is found that there's seldom absolute domestication or foreignization in translation. In order to achieve the translation goals, excellent translators are always trying to find appropriate translation method in the continuum from foreignization to domestication. We can use literaral translation in translating metonymies with common models, and we can adopt seven strategies in translating metonymies with unique cultural factors: retain format and image; retain format and replace image; replace format and retain image; replace format and image, plus sense; abandon format, and retain image, plus sense; abandon format and image, plus sense. These seven strategies can be divided into two main groups: foreignization and domestication. The first three methods could be assigned to foreignization and the last four methods domestication. If the aim of the translation is cultural message transmission we can mainly employ foreignization in translating cultural factors. Otherwise, we should pay attention to cultural compatibility. In the course of Chinese-English translation, neither absolute domestication nor absolute foreignization is possible, we should adopt a comprehensive method, and convey information in the original works at its maximum, as well as the culture specialty in SL.