On Representation Of The Stylistic Features In The Translation Of The Prose-poem

The ancient Chinese prose-poem has distinctive stylistic features, and these features need to be represented in the English translation. However, it is an open question whether the representation is possible.To figure out the possibility of the representation of the stylistic features, it is necessary to identify the stylistic features at first. Therefore, in this thesis, the author firstly summarizes and analyzes the stylistic features at the phonological level, the lexical level, the syntactical level and the clausal level of the Chinese prose-poem. At the phonological level, there are three frequently used rhythmic patterns, the rarely used irregular rhythm and various end rhymes. The three major rhythmic patterns and the various end rhymes help link the clauses and create musical sound. Besides, the irregular rhythm usually occurs in the direct speech and makes the speech more natural and vivid. At the lexical level, there are collocations composed of lexicons from different lexical sets and the function words in the middle and at the end of the clauses. That kind of collocations makes the text lively in expression and profound in meaning. Moreover, the function words in the middle of the clauses serve to avoid too concentrated notional words in a clause and make the reading more delightful, and the function words at the end of the clauses help express the emotion of the author. At the syntactical level, the three major linguistic devices are the subject ellipsis in clauses and the parallel clauses. Subject ellipsis makes the images described in clauses merge with each other, and the parallel structure serves to link clauses. At the clausal level, the major linguistic device is the frequently used "material" and "relational" clauses. The dynamic "material" clauses and the static "relational" clauses create contrast effect.After the analysis, the faithful representation of the stylistic features is proposed as the principle of the translation of the prose-poem. The reasons and introductions of the use of the principle are also given. Under the guidance of the principle, discussion on the possibility of translating the prose-poem with the representation of its stylistic features is conducted. From the discussion, we find that the parallel structure, the material and relational processes, the three rhythmic patterns, the end rhyme and the collocations composed of lexicons from different lexical sets can be represented in the translation of the prose-poem. Besides, the subject ellipsis in clauses may be represented in the translation incompletely. Furthermore, the irregular rhythm in the prose-poem can not be represented in the translation, but the functions of it can be realized through the use of other linguistic devices in the translation. However, the function words in the middle and at the end of the clauses can not be represented in the translation, and their functions can not be realized. Therefore, in a word, most stylistic features of the prose-poem can be represented in the translation.