An Analysis Of Address Term Translation In Hong Lou Meng From The Perspective Of Context Theory

Address terms, as an essential element in human communication, are quite common but by no means an easily-described usage, in particular, when translated into other languages. As cultural exchanges between the east and the west become more often than ever, special attention is increasingly being paid to address term translation study by the scholars. Due to the huge differences lying between the Chinese address system and the English one, translating Chinese address terms into English is more difficult than you can imagine. As a shining pearl in classical Chinese literature, Hong Lou Meng exposes the ups and downs of feudal aristocrat family with various address terms in their full play. During the communication process of the characters, the rules they obey or the factors that influence the uses of these address terms are quite complicated, so they bear unconceivable difficulties in translation and supply a good subject for research.It can't be doubted that context has great influences over translation. Without context, translation is "Mission Impossible" and the close relationship is exhibited in terms of helping translator understand the source text and produce the target one. During this process, the translator should at first be aware of the original context then he can employ the closest natural equivalent in translation, which must be suitable in the target context to make sure that an equivalent context that best transmits the original meaning and is understandable to the target readers is construed.Though the translation studies of Hong Lou Meng have reaped plentiful results, the research on translation of address terms is neglected and a systematic analysis remains almost a blank from the perspective of context, while this thesis inserts vitality into the translation study of Hong Lou Meng. The author intends to probe into the Yangs'address term translations in Hong Lou Meng from the perspective of context theory under the influences of linguistic context, situational context and cultural context, with tremendous example analysis aiming to find out the guiding principle and methods of address term translation, which would provide the study of address term translation a new approach.Through an analysis, the author finds that excellent translations are those that are in line with the source context and the target context. Two translation methods used by the Yangs, namely literal translation and free translation are summarized for future translator's reference.