A Skopos-theoretical Probe Into The Use Of Translation Strategies In Outlaws Of The Marsh

This thesis takes Outlaws of the Marsh as its research subject. As one of the fourbest Chinese classical novels, Shui Hu Zhuan enjoys high prestige in the sphere ofliterature both at home and abroad, and has been translated into many differentlanguages. Shui Hu Zhuan is widely deemed to abound in the information thatembodies Chinese culture, therefore, its translation is sure to play an important role indisseminating Chinese culture across the world, and thereby promotingcommunication between China and other nations. Nevertheless, the veryplenteousness of cultural information contained in the novel makes it enormouslydifficult to translate it, and poses a serious challenge to the choice-making betweenthe two translation strategies. So, it’s highly worthy of making an in-depth research onthe translation of the novel. Among the several English versions of Shui Hu Zhun, theone translated by Sideny Shapiro is the most popular and most highly complimented,and accordingly, its value of research is the highest.This thesis devotes adequately to the explanation of the two strategies andintroduces their respective principal proponents. As translation strategies,domestication is reader-oriented, while foreignization is source-text-oriented. In thefield of translation, domestication and foreignization has long been a topic ofcontroversy, and a heated debate has long been ongoing on which one of the two is ofpredominant status in literary translation. Lately, controversy on domestication andforeignization has become fierce, transcending the parameters of linguistics andinvolving the disciplines of culture and politics. As a strong proponent ofdomestication, Eugene A. Nida put forth “functional equivalence”, whereas LawrenceVenuti procreated the idea of “anti-translation” with the aim of advocatingforeignization.This thesis takes the Skopostheorie as its foothold and research perspective. As animportant member of functional translation theory family, the Skopostheorie holdsthat the purpose to be achieved determines the whole course of translational act, that is, the purpose of a translation dictates the choice of the strategies, and in so doing,the Skopostheorie opens up a brand-new perspective for translation research andtranslation practice. This thesis earmarks one section for recounting of theSkopostheorie, reviewing its birth, introducing its theoretical basis and basicprinciples, discussing its merits.From the perspective of the Skopostheorie, this thesis makes analysis andcomments on Shapiro’s use of the two strategies for the translation of the four kindsof cultures which are based on Nida’s five-fold subdivision of culture. This thesis isaimed to pinpoint the translation strategy Mr. Shapiro used for the translation of aparticular text and to discuss the effect the strategy has had on the translation, in themeantime, the thesis analyzes the reason for the choice of the strategy from theperspective of the SkopostheorieThis thesis finds that domestication and foreignization are not absolutelyirreconcilable or inter-repelling, instead, they are actually complementary andsupplementary. The author proposes that both domestication and foreignization oughtto serve for the achievement of the purpose, and that in literary translation inparticular, a reasonable equilibrium should be reached between the two strategies sothat the cultural information of the source text can be transmitted to the readership andthat the fluency and readability of the translation can be ensured.The thesis consists of six parts. Chapter one presents its research background,research objectives, research methodology and research significance. Chapter twomakes an investigation into the Skopso theory. Chapter three presents the definitionsfor domestication and foreignization given by celebrities and the general opinionsheld by influential theorists. Chapter four talks about the literary and cultureal valuesof Shui Hu Zhuan and Outlaws of the Marsh. In Chapter five, the author makes aprobe into the translation strategies Mr Shapiro has applied by analyzing the examplestaken from Outlaws of the Marsh from the perspective of the Skopos theory. InChapter six is the conclusion of thesis, where a summary is made, major findings andlimitations of the research are presented...