| Based on relevance translation theory, this thesis focuses on translated versions in The Wisdom of China (2009) edited and partly translated by Lin Yutang. This research initially makes a pilot study with the tool of corpus for basic classification. The comprehensive classification and analysis of all the chosen translated versions are then accomplished.Gutt put forward relevance translation theory on the basis of the relevance theory by Sperber and Wilson, which makes a great step forward in the translation study. Gutt believes that translation is also an ostensive-inferential process, in which two such processes are involved, that is, the process from the original author to the translator and the translator to the target readers. And the translation should be interpretively resemblance with the source text. Therefore, to be faithful to the original, the translator must assure that the informative intentions and communicative intentions are similar with what the author of the source text has intended, in other words, the translated versions and the source text have the same ostensive way to manifest assumption and mutually manifest assumption.In literary translation, cultural difference is a great barrier. The cultural content in the source text is usually implicit, for which many scholars and translators in the translation field have conducted different kinds of researches on it. In his The Wisdom of China, Lin Yutang collected a great amount of translated versions for Chinese classics in different styles, including The Book of Tao, The Golden Mean of Tsesze, Mencius, The Aphorisms of Confucius as well as poems, parables, epigrams, proverbs, Family Letters of Cheng Panch’iao with different topics and stories by Laotse, Mencius, Tsesze, Confucius, Cheng Panch’iao, Li Po and so on. Since such a text is rich in Chinese culture and flavor, the workout of the study of relevance translation theory practiced in the chosen translated versions would be objective and practical. Thus, this study also works as a try in exploring flexible approaches in translating fine Chinese culture.Detailed analysis of communicative clues reflected in the chosen translated versions is made in this thesis mainly on the basis of interpretive use. These communicative clues are semantic representation, semantic constraints, syntactic property, stylistic value of words, and formulaic expressions and they are very important factors in relevance translation theory. By means of drawing and keeping these communicative clues, optimal relevance could be achieved among the source text, the translator, the translated versions and the target language readers. |
