The Translation Strategies And Translation Techniques Of Children’s Literature Under The Guidance Of Reader’s Horizon Of Expectation

Most traditional literature translation theories attach great importance to "text-centered paradigm" or "author-centered paradigm" and ignore the readers’ reception. Reception theory, which was born in the1960s, focuses on the central status of readers. Horizon of expectation is a key concept of reception theory. The author, the translator, and the reader all have horizons of expectation. The author’s horizon of expectation decides his creation of the work. The translator’s horizon of expectation influences his understanding and recreation of the source text. The reader’s horizon of expectation determines his reception of the translated text. The translated text will be of little value if it fails to be accepted by target readers. Therefore, in order to produce a satisfactory work, the translator should fully take the target readers’ horizons of expectation into consideration. Children’s literature is a special branch of literature in that its producers are adults but readers are children, who have their own characteristics. The ability to think and knowledge level of children are different from those of adults. Thus, in the course of translation, translators should take child readers’features and their way of viewing the world into account and try to use plain, understandable and childlike languages.Anne of Green Gables was written by Canadian female writer Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942). Till now. it has been translated into more than50languages and has various kinds of versions. In the process of translating Anne of Green Gables, Ren Shanshan adopts translation strategies of domestication and foreignization and translation techniques of free translation, omission, division, generalization, reduplication, onomatopoeia, and transliteration with note. Domestication, free translation, omission, division, generalization, reduplication, onomatopoeia enhance the vividness of the translated text and make it easy for child readers to understand, which accord with child readers’ directed expectation. Foreignization and transliteration with note retain some foreign flavor and meet child readers’ creative expectation. In her translation of Anne of Green Gables, Ren Shanshan bears child readers’ expectation in mind and constantly adjusts translation strategies and translation techniques to meet child readers’expectation.The thesis first introduces the definition, classifications, linguistic characteristics of children’s literature, and a general studies on the translation of children’s literature in China, and then it discusses the translation strategies and translation techniques of Ren’s version of Anne of Green Gables under the guidance of children’s horizon of expectation by using reader’s horizon of expectation and its related theories as theoretical framework. Finally, it comes to a conclusion that Ren’s appropriate adoption of translation strategies and translation techniques in Anne of Green Gables is the best example of reader’s horizon of expectation used in translation practice and application.