On The Actualization Of Aesthetic Motivation Of Poems In Translation From The Semiotic Perspective

Semiotics is the most comprehensive theoretical basis that is suitable to be applied to multidisciplinary study. Its research can be used in many humanities and social science such as anthropology, aesthetics, sociology, psychology, literature theory and culturology, etc. From the beginning of1990s, translation studies have been developing towards the multidisciplinary study. Scholars from China and abroad have been applying semiotics and its relevant theories to translation studies and have achieved favorable effects.With the special qualities of sound, format and meaning, poems, especially traditional Chinese poems belong to the literature type with the most expressive power and beauty. But these advantages of the original could also cause great trouble for poetry translation and evaluation. Therefore, semiotics can systematically study poetry and poetry translation due to the fact that its main research target is the correspondence between form and meaning. The thesis will study the actualization of aesthetic motivations in poetry from semiotic perspective and study Sun Dayu’s translated versions to evaluate whether he meets the standard from both semiotic and aesthetic angles.At the beginning, the writer gives a brief review of the process and achievements of applying semiotics to translation studies; then the writer introduces the relevant theories of aesthetics and motivation with extensive study of poetry translation and some translation strategies. In the end, the writer lists Sun Dayu’s translated versions as examples to further examine the actualization of aesthetic motivation from semiotic perspective. The aesthetic motivation can be systematically analyzed from three aspects as follows.1. Phonological level:There is secondary signifying relation between sound and meaning in some poems. The sound can signify meaning through special arrangement of syllables. Under such circumstance, the sound itself becomes the signifier and the meaning it signifies becomes the signified;2. Syntactic level:Besides obeying grammatical rules, syntax could have secondary signifying relation with the help of special line arrangement. Different line order could have different meanings. Under such circumstance, the syntax becomes the signifier and the meaning it relates becomes the signified;3. Semantic level:There are many expressions in poetry, which says one thing and mean another. The literal meaning is only the medium used by poets to express other intended meanings. Such expressions as signifier have many signifieds with multiple signifying relations.Based on semiotic theory, the translator should meet the three aesthetic requirements listed above during poetry translation to maximize the aesthetic experience of the target language readers.