On The Translation Variation Of The Children’s Version Of Robinson Crusoe In Chinese

With the children’s literature development and the promotion of children’s classic books reading, more and more foreign classic works have been translated as children’s readings. The children’s versions of foreign classic works in Chinese are increasing greatly, but there are few studies on translation theories and methods for them. Robinson Crusoe, the masterpiece of Daniel Defoe, is well-known in the world for its particular narrative art and adventure plots. There are many studies on the full versions of Robinson Crusoe, but few on the children’s version abridge according to the source text.In this thesis, the author will exert the basis of translation variation theory to study the children’s version of Robinson Crusoe in Chinese. Through the study, we can learn that translation variation theory plays an important guideline in translation on achieving target readers’expectation. Due to the children readers’special demands, the publishers’market benefits and the translators’subjectivity, the translator made variation in the contents, forms and styles of the source text by supplement, editing, condensation, combing and rewording adaptation devices and selective translation, rewording translation and edited translation in the children’s version. The proper variation made the target text clear and understandable, the plots vivid and interesting, the language readable and the structure logical for children to accept.There are four chapters in this thesis besides introduction and conclusion. In introduction, the author briefly introduces the Chinese translation of Robinson Crusoe and the structure of this thesis. In chapter one, the author introduces Robinson Crusoe and its children’s version in Chinese. And Professor Huang’s translation variation theory is overviewed in chapter two; the author analyzes the factors for variation and the variation in contents, forms and styles in chapter three. In chapter four, it presents the appropriate variation methods utilized in the children’s version of Robinson Crusoe in Chinese. In conclusion, the author summarizes the main idea of this thesis to manifest its purpose.The breakthrough of this thesis is that the author analyzed the children’s version of Robinson Crusoe in Chinese as an example to demonstrate the appropriate translation variation, and then the author offers some suggestions about its translation. It is hoped that the study of this thesis could be useful and helpful for translators to translate the classic works for children in their translation practice.