The Translation Of Wang Xifeng’s Language: Contrast Of Hong Lou Meng’s Two English Versions Based On Relevance Theory

In Hong Lou Meng, Cao Xueqin vividly created over four hundred characters,among which Wang Xifeng impresses readers most for her shrewdness and cleverness,her sense of humor and cruelness. In addition, she has great competence inmanagement and pursues her independence and equality.This thesis attempts to make a contrast of the translation of Wang Xifeng’slanguage in the two English versions based on relevance theory, mainly from threeaspects which are Wang Xifeng’s personalized language, Chinese cultural and folkcustom and stratified relationship reflected in her language. Guided by the theory, thepaper tries to find out if the optimal relevance is achieved by the translators and to whatdegree, and if the translators fulfill the goal of meeting the intention of the writer withthe expectation of the readers. Specifically, the thesis first analyzes the intention of thewriter and his use of language in characterizing Wang Xifeng and then compares thetwo English versions to see whether the translations cause misreading of the characterWang Xifeng.In the translation of character’s language, the translators should fully take thecharacter’s personality, status and other factors into consideration and adopt flexibletranslation strategies according to the specific information and focus. The Yangs andHawkes adopted different strategies in translating Hong Lou Meng. The Yangs focusedmore on the preservation of Chinese cultural elements while Hawkes on the receptionof the readers. Hence, as for the translation of Wang Xifeng’s language, Hawkes’translation created better relevance for the target readers but may have someinaccuracies in the interpretation of the original text. The Yangs had betterunderstanding of the intention and connotation of the original text but may occasionallylead to confusion for the target readers or lost the contextual effect.