A Comparative Study On Three Chinese Versions Of Peter Pan From The Perspective Of Reception Theory

Since it was published as a novel in1911, Peter Pan has won great popularity amongyoung readers, and been translated into several languages. However, currently, the study onthe translation of Peter Pan is none. Due to the peculiarity of the target readers of childrenliterature, three basic concepts of Reception Theory are applied: horizon of expectation,response-inviting structure and the function of readers to the comparison of examples fromthree Chinese versions of Peter Pan, a famous novel of English writer, J.M. Barrie. With thehelp of Reception Theory, the thesis aims to figure out which version is suitable for childrenand provide guidance for translation. By analyzing three Chinese versions of Peter Pan fromthe following levels: vocabulary level; rhetoric level and syntactic level, thesis witnesses thefollowing similarities and differences:In terms of vocabulary, three Chinese versions show different characteristics. Mrs.Yang’sversion is full of formal words and idioms. Mr.Ren is faithful to the original and makes everyeffort to choose simple words, while Mz.Ma’s version embodies the contemporary times.Under the guidance of Reception Theory, to summarize the translation of three translators, thethesis finds out that a good translator is supposed to give priority to children’s reception withsimple and vivid words, and expand children’s outlook with the words they are not familiar inan appropriate way. Concerning the rhetoric, three translators deal with the rhetoric byfollowing the original, while the difference lies in choices of words which lead to uniqueeffect. Rhetoric is especially crucial for children who are weak in abstract thinking. Accordingto Reception Theory, it is the peculiarity of children that determines how the translator dealswith the rhetoric. It must be ensured that translation is entertaining, motivating and inspiring.As far as the syntactic level is concerned, English and Chinese have huge differences insentence structures. Chinese is characterized by parataxis. By contrast, English ischaracterized by hypotaxis. When three translators meet the long English sentences, theychoose to translate them into short and simplified Chinese sentences.By comparing the above-mentioned three aspects, the thesis figures out that threetranslators give priority to children’s horizon of expectation, but the extent to take readers intoconsideration is different. Actually, horizon of expectation that is not fixed will change withthe time. With the improvement of people’s reception as well as the expansion of the horizon of expectation, indeterminacies will increasingly show up in the works. Therefore, in order topopularize the overseas works in China, translators should meet the aesthetic needs of targetreaders, and fill the indeterminacies properly.