A Study On Translation Strategies Employed In Two Chinese Versions Of Jane Eyre From The Perspective Of Skopos Theory

Jane Eyre has a large number of Chinese translations, the researches of which have been undertaken and renewed ceaselessly all the time. This research analyzes the translation strategies of two Chinese versions of Jane Eyre from the perspective of skopos theory to further explain that skopos theory has the final say on the choice of domestication and foreignization in literary translation. This paper adopts documentary research and textual analysis to introduce the main content of the skopos theory and discuss the relationship between skopos theory and translation strategies. It also analyzes domestication and foreignization from the perspective of skopos theory by making comparison of five aspects of two Chinese versions of Jane Eyre. It has found as the following three points:Both Huang’s and Zhu’s versions have conveyed the basic meanings of the original text. But their versions have different effects on readers. Huang’s version is smooth and poetic, which lets the reader feel the artistic features of the source text. It is easy to find that Zhu’s version of Jane Eyre has female awareness and reflects women-centered ideas and female’s strong resistance against the male-central society.Translators play a key role in translation. Different translators may use different means to handle certain linguistic phenomena, so the two translations have different effects on readers in the end.In regard to translation strategies, in both versions there are domestication and foreignization. Huang mainly adopts domestication strategy, though foreignization is a necessary complement. Zhu mainly adopts foreignization strategy and domestication as a complement. From the perspective of skopos theory, Zhu’s version makes readers better understand the woman awareness in the original book than Huang’s.