On Idiom Translation In Fortress Besieged From The Perspective Of Relevance Translation Theory

This thesis makes an analysis of Chinese idioms translated in the English version Fortress Besieged from the perspective of Relevance Translation Theory. Exploring the reasons and bases of different translation approaches used by the translator in this book under the direction of this theory, the writer aims to demonstrate that Relevance Translation Theory gives the translation of Chinese idioms powerful explanation and direction to a great extent. The research will contribute to the study of Chinese idiom translation as a reference.Chinese idioms are not only the bridge and bond of friendship development between China and other countries, but also the essential means that help foreigners learn Chinese culture. Although Chinese idiom studies have been given much concern for many years, most of them focus on the idiom translation itself, without full consideration of the original author's intention and the target reader's expectation, and the status that idioms have differently specific meanings in different contexts, which results in a translation divergence from the original author's intention and a misunderstanding of the original text. To the existing situation in which there are unnecessary semantic and information losses, this thesis analyzes in details Relevance Translation Theory proposed by Ernst-August Gutt. By applying this theory to Chinese idiom translation, the writer goes into idiom translation from a totally new standpoint to develop the accuracy of the translated text.Within the framework of Relevance Translation Theory, in translation the translator should first understand the original author's writing purpose and second learn about the target reader's cognitive environment, trying best to make these two match each other. Proper translation ways could be selected when it is clear that in which aspects and to what extent the translated text should interpretively resemble the original one. Gutt put forward two translation methods in the theory: direct translation and indirect translation, the difference between them is whether all the communicative clues of the original text are conveyed. In his view, following Relevance Principle, the translator should adopt different translation method as per the reader's context and author's intention. Chinese idiom translation should be studied in a certain context, and the translator should meet the reader's reading requests and create the satisfactory translated text based on taking into accounts both of the author's writing intention and reader's expectation.This thesis tries to study the translation of Chinese idioms in its English version translated by Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K. Mao from the perspective of Relevance Translation Theory. The research results prove the strong direction and explanation power of Relevance Translation Theory in Chinese idiom translation. This theory offers an integrated theoretic framework for the study of Chinese idioms which clearly shows the reason why some translation method is properly used by the translator in a certain context. Conforming to Relevance Translation Theory, the translator should achieve optimal relevance and fully be concerned about the original author's intention and reader's cognitive environment and expectation, making the intention of the original language writer correspond to the expectation of the target reader. On this basis should the translator choose proper translation methods to translate Chinese idioms into English so as to guarantee the quality of the translated text.