Eugene Nida's Translation Standard And Its Application In The Interpretation Of Shui Hu Zhuan's English Version

Eugene Nida is famous for his theory of Dynamic Equivalence and his translation standard is mainly expressed in his theory of equivalence. Generally speaking, his theory of equivalence is oriented in the position of the target readers. According to him, what is really necessary in a translation process is to provide a translation that can well be understood by receptors of the target language text. In the explanation of the receptors' understanding, Eugene Nida further points out that this equivalence includes two aspects of the reception: on the one hand, they'll have to know how the original receptors obtain the content of the text, and on the other hand, they should also be able to appreciate the impact and appeal that the original receptors could get from the original text.Dynamic equivalence in fact depends on a comparison of two relations. First, it will take into consideration the relation of the original receptors to the original text. Meanwhile, it will also take into consideration the relation of the target language receptors to the target language text. Furthermore, the two relations should be roughly equivalent to each other. It is the discussion of this mutual relationship that provides the theoretical basis for his dynamic equivalence, because any practical theory of translation must attempt to answer a question of what are the criteria for adequate and acceptable translation.With such a theoretical background, the thesis will be devoted to have a comparative study on the English versions of Shui Hu Zhuan to illustrate how the theory of functional equivalence could be applied in the evaluation of translation. Shui Hu Zhuan is a very famous classic in Chinese. It tells the epic story of a peasant revolt during the end of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). The examples we take mainly come from two English versions by Pearl S. Buck and Sidney Shapiro. From the discussion, we can clearly view whether the English version of Shui Hu Zhuan can enable the readers of the target language to understand and appreciate the message adequately and respond in substantially the same manner as the original readers do.This thesis includes, in addition to introduction and conclusion, three chapters. Chapter One tells the story of Shui Hu Zhuan, including its theme, edition and translation. Shui Hu Zhuan is a very famous classic in Chinese. Since early in the 18th century it has been translated into many languages and become world-renowned. Nowadays we have several versions in English to read. However, Buck's All Men Are Brothers and Shapiro's Outlaws of the Margin are of the major concern in this thesis.Chapter Two is a discussion of Eugene Nida's Theory of Dynamic Equivalence. This is the theoretical basis for the whole work of the thesis. It can be generally understood as an interpretation of how the translation could achieve the response from the target readers as that from the original readers. If this is regarded as the standard of translation, what a translator should do is to achieve the same effect or response as that of the original reader.Chapter Three is a practical interpretation of Eugene Nida's translation standard. It is a discussion about how the standard reflected in Eugene Nida's theory could be applied in the interpretation of Shui Hu Zhuan's Translation. The examples mainly come from two English versions by Pearl S. Buck and Sidney Shapiro, including the discussions of title translation, nickname translation, translation of sub-titles, and translation of poems. From the discussion, some insights can be reached to see whether or not the English versions of Shui Hu Zhuan can enable the target language readers to understand and appreciate the message adequately and respond in substantially the same manner as the original readers do.