A Study On Image Translation In Frontier Poems Translated By Xu Yuanchong From The Perspective Of Palmer’s Cultural Linguistics

Since the advent of the cultural turn in the field of translation studies in1970s,the role of cultural elements has attracted more and more attentions from translatorsand researchers. American anthropologist Gary Palmer put forward the concept of hiscultural linguistics I1996. By taking language, culture and image as the study focuses,Palmer expects to offer theoretical guidance to culture-rooted language phenomenon.Chinese classical poetry, with highly-condensed language and abundant images,is a gem in Chinese literature. Being full of Chinese characteristic and charm, frontierpoetry is also an important part in Chinese literature. In frontier poems, poets wroteover a variety of topics, such as depicting scenery in frontier area, expressingaspiration of seeking fame in battleground, delivering the emotion of longing forrelatives and friends as well as expressing hatred towards war. Frontier poetry is richnot only in writing topics but also in images, which is of importance to the study onimage translation of Chinese poetry. Although there are lots works are dedicated tothe study on English translation of Chinese classical poetry from verified angles, nonehas been contributed to the English translation of frontier poems.Taking the frontier poems translated by Xu Yuanchong as the study material, thethesis tries to apply the four principles for understanding images in Palmer’s theoryto evaluate the Xu Yuanchong’s version in terms of image translation. These fourprinciples are principle of perceptive equivalence, principle of spatial equivalence,principle of transformational equivalence as well as principle of structuralequivalence. The research methodology employed in the thesis is mainly qualitativeand descriptive. Based on thorough study and analysis, major translating strategiesadopted by Xu Yuanchong in transferring images are concluded. In conclusion, it isrevealed that Palmer’s four principles can be applied to the evaluation of translationso as to guide the translators in the future. Giving full consideration to Palmer’sview on relationship among culture, language and image, the author concludes fivemajor translating strategies from Xu Yuanchong’s translated version of frontierpoems and images. The strategies are preserving, substitution, explanation, omissionand picturing method. Based on the concern about cultural acceptance in targetlanguage, these five translating strategies are supposed to guide translators toreproduce images and transmit cultural information in cross-cultural communication and in the spread of Chinese classical poetry.