Translation Of Children’s Literature From The Perspective Of Functional Equivalence

This thesis aims to study Eugene A. Nida’s functional equivalence theory as a guidance and criterion for the translation of children’s literature. Through a comparative analysis of two Chinese versions of Mark Twain’s famous children’s novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the thesis testifies and proves that functional equivalence theory is feasible in guiding and judging the translation of children’s literature. Moreover, the comparative study also explores the reasonable strategies for translating children’s literature.According to functional equivalence theory, the translator should not rigidly adhere to the original form, and alterations in form and structure can be made where necessary in order to achieve equivalence in conveying the original message. In that way, the readers of the translated text can finally have the same response as the readers of the original. When translating children’s literature, the translator is supposed to follow the principle of "child-orientation". Taking into full consideration the children’s special physical and psychological characteristics, the translator should not be prisoned in the original structure. Instead, the translator should try to adopt easy, vivid, natural and childlike language form, aiming to provide the target language readers an opportunity to experience the same feelings as the source language readers. Therefore, we can see that Nida’s functional equivalence theory and the guiding principle of children’s literature translation "child-orientation" are perfectly in agreement in putting emphasis on the target reader’s feelings. Thus, Nida’s functional equivalence theory is feasible in guiding the translation of children’s literature. Based on functional equivalence theory, a comparative analysis of two Chinese versions of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is carried out from the perspectives of meaning, style and culture, illustrating how the translators achieve the closest natural equivalence with the original. Meanwhile, this comparative study also proves the applicability of functional equivalence theory as a guidance and criterion for the translation of children’s literature.This study is mainly significant in two aspects. Theoretically, through a comparative study of two Chinese versions of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the feasibility of functional equivalence theory as a guidance and criterion for children’s literature translation is proved. On the other hand, the analysis of some examples from the novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer can give other translators some enlightenment on how to achieve functional equivalence, so that they can produce good translations that are easily understood and appreciated by children. In short, it is hoped that this study can be theoretically helpful for the translators of children’s literature and that the researchers’ attention can be drawn to the importance of functional equivalence theory as guidance for children’s literature translation.