Feasibility: Functional Equivalence Applied To Humor Translation

Humor is pervasive in our life. It not only helps oil interpersonal relationships but also does good to psychological health. Since the Publication of the first Systematic theory on humor, it has attracted thousands of scholars' attention to this area. With the booming of translation activities on entering the 21^st century, humor translation is drawing more and more scholars to explore the most appropriate approach to this subject. However, The study on humor is mainly carried out from the perspective of literature, arts, psychology and linguistics. There is not sufficient study on humor from the angle of translation. Meanwhile, because of the differences of language and culture, there exists great difficulty in humor translation. This thesis thus aims at exploring the possibility of approaching humor translation under Nida's functional equivalence theory in the hope of providing a different angle in the study of humor translation. Different from traditional theories, Nida' functional equivalence theory provides a new criteria from another angle. Instead of putting emphasis on the form of language, Nida holds that the focus should be placed on the reaction of the readers in target countries, that is, the reaction of the translation on the target text readers should be the same with that on the source text readers. To obtain this effect, the translator is to find the most equivalent and natural counterpart in the target language for the purpose of reproducing the humorous effect. This is the theoretical base of the application of Nida's functional equivalence theory to humor translation. Therefore, in translating humor, the functional equivalence approach can be feasible as long as the functions of the humor are equally obtained between the source and target languages.This thesis consists of four chapters. In chapter one, the thesis gives a detailed introduction on the definition, classification and functions of humor. A brief review of previous studies on humor is given in chapter two in the attempt of providing a general research background for the study conducted in the thesis. In chapter three, the author explores the relation of humor translation and functional equivalence. Based on functional equivalence theory, the humor translation is discussed in detail. In the process of humor translation, the reproduction of the humorous functions and effects of the source language is the chief purpose of the translator. Through the analysis of the humor's functions and the expected functions of target language, the author comes to the conclusion that the purpose of humor translation is mainly to amuse the target readers by creating a harmonious, happy and comfortable atmosphere the same as that in the original texts instead of merely sending information. It is thus a reader-oriented translation, focusing on the vocative function according to Newmark. Therefore, the major purpose of humor translation is to reproduce the humorous functions and effects in the target language, which is well correspondent with the concept of Nida's functional equivalence Guided by functional equivalence theory, this thesis suggests four strategic devices for the three types of humor translation in chapter four, namely, literal translation, substitution, amplification, annotation. At the end of the thesis, the author makes a conclusion that still some limitations exist in the functional equivalence theory and the problems require further exploring.