Analysis Of Translation Of Speech In Classical Chinese Poetry

The significance of translation as a bridge between Chinese and Englishlanguages is self-proof. Cultural exchange constitutes an essential part in transnationalcommunication and classical Chinese poetry, the crystallization of Chinese culture,takes command of the literary translation field. Noticeably, interpersonalcommunication can be found in a large sum of classical Chinese poetry. These director indirect linguistic elements, named speech, contribute a great deal to the vividnessof classical Chinese poetry. Nonetheless, very few researches are conducted in thisarea.Hence, by developing theories and criticizing translations, this thesis will applylinguistic theories to the analysis of the translation of speech in classical Chinesepoetry from both macro and micro perspectives. In the theory developing part, thethesis will first define speech in classical Chinese poetry, clarify the research scope,and then elaborate on central concepts and related terms to form the theoreticalframework. By using John Austin’s Speech Act Theory and Paul Grice’s CooperativePrinciple, the characteristics of speech will be fully demonstrated through thecomparison between speech and dialogue. In the translation criticizing part, detailedanalysis of the translation of speech will be carried out from the aspects of majorcomponents and sentence structures respectively. Meanwhile, guided by the theoriesconcerning translation context, the thesis will also analyze different translations of thesame speech line. While synchronic comparison stresses the diversity of poetryappreciation manifested in translation, diachronic comparison reflects the change ofaesthetic standards and the influence of social context to translation.In a word, this thesis aims at making in-depth analysis of the translation ofspeech in classical Chinese poetry and generalizing practicable guidelines oftranslation, so as to enrich the theoretical system of studies on speech and explore newareas of studies on the translation of classical Chinese poetry.