Translation Of Culture-specific Words In Hongloumeng From Functionalist Perspective

Translation of cultural elements has long been a heated issue. As an encyclopedia of Chinese culture, Hongloumeng naturally becomes a great concern. Previous discussions are often centered on domestication and foreignization, which strategy is more preferable. Functionalist theories provide a new perspective for this. Since skopos theory allows the possibility of the same text being translated in different ways according to the purposes of the TT and the commission which is given to the translation, theoretically it should be applicable to different versions of Hongloumeng translation as well. However, many scholars argue that functionalist approaches are suitable only for non-literary translation. This thesis therefore makes an empirical study about Yang Xianyi and Hawkes'translation of culture-specific words, aiming to explore rule or pattern of cultural translation and testify functionalist theories'applicability to literary translation criticism.The whole thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter 1 starts with literature review of the researching field, namely current researches on the translation of Hongloumeng, especially its cultural translation and previous studies about functionalist theories. Later in this chapter the significance of this thesis and its possible contributions are briefly accounted for.Chapter 2 establishes the theoretical framework for this thesis and elaborates on the main contents of functionalist approaches. Significance of German functionalism is also discussed, including its applicability to translation criticism, selection of translation strategies and literary translation, which makes the present research theoretically possible and paves way for further analysis.Chapter 3 goes on with an explanation of culture-specific words and different translation strategies and methods. Then it probes into the various factors influencing the translation strategies of culture-specific words in Hongloumeng. Through descriptive study of Yang Xianyi and Hawkes'respective situation in translating the classical work, their translation skoposi are made clear. A hypothesis about their translation strategies is then put forward based on functionalist theories.Chapter 4 is an empirical study of the two versions'translation of culture-specific words. Altogether 190 samples covering 5 cultural categories are collected randomly from the first 80 chapters. Analyses are conducted in both qualitative and quantitative manner. Results show that the Yangs tend to employ overt translation (in 76.84% cases) while Hawkes covert translation (in 82.11% cases). This is in conformity with their respective skopos, thus validating the aforementioned hypothesis. Statistics also reveal that the three methods or method combinations favored most by Yang Xianyi are literal translation (plus annotation), substitution and transliteration (plus annotation) and the sequence changes to substitution, interpretation and literal translation (plus annotation) when it comes to Hawkes'version.The thesis comes to conclusion in Chapter 5 that functionalist theories are applicable to criticism of Hongloumeng translation and points out overt and covert translations are complementary rather than binary opposites in producing a functionally adequate result. Occasions are summarized when Yang adopts covert translation and Hawkes overt translation, contrary to their usual strategy preferences. Hopefully this will give translators some suggestion on how to choose an appropriate strategy under specific circumstances.In short, through empirical study of the translation of culture-specific words in Hongloumeng, the thesis provides a new perspective for literary translation criticism. The result may help to enhance translators'awareness of selecting translation strategies according to different skoposi or briefs. It is therefore both of theoretical and practical importance.