An Analysis Of Two Chinese Versions Of The Catcher In The Rye From The Perspective Of Skopostheorie

The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger is one of the classics in American modern literature in the20th century and its influence grows more and more with the time passing by. Shi Xianrong, who is the brilliant literature translator and expert on American literature, introduced the novel into Chinese for the first time. Later, Sun Zhongxu translated it again in2008. Both of the two versions are warmly welcomed by readers.Skopostheorie, a translation theory originated in German in1970s, has formed the complete framework after the development by Reiss and Vermeer. It regards the translation as an act of a purposeful interculture communication. The translation center has been moved from original text to the target text. The evaluation standard of translation is no longer the equivalence to the original otherwise depends on whether the version has fulfilled its expected translation Skopos. The Skopos rule, the coherence rule and the fidelity rule are three basic rules in Skopostheorie, among which the Skopos rule is the principal rule while the other two are subordinate to it. The Skopostheorie has the guidance to literary translation.Using Skopostheorie as guidance and basis, the thesis analyzes and explores the two versions of The Catcher in the Rye in detail from the perspective of three basic rules. Under coherence rule the thesis is analyzed through the aspects of language, writing style and culture; under fidelity rule we discuss from translation in colloquial expressions, idioms and complex sentences and finally make an evaluation of two versions. Through text analysis and comparative study, the significant findings are as follows:Shi’s version originated from1960s when people knew little about western world and his translation purpose was to introduce a real western world and culture and to promote communication between people. So his version retained the original flavor to the largest extent. Due to the great interest to the original novel and an ardently love for translation, Sun found himself dissatisfied with Shi’s version and started to translated it again. His version was more inclined to Chinese characteristics; the two versions have different translation Skopos and both of them realize their own purposes successfully; Shi’s version is more faithful to the original than Sun’s and conforms to fidelity rule while Sun’s version is more coherent and is more in accordance with coherence rule than Shi’s. Because of the different social backgrounds, different target reader groups and the different status translators were in they have different Skopos which decide the different translation strategies and methods. In comparison of strategy Shi’s version uses foreignization while Sun’s uses domestication. In spite of this, the culture is also an important factor to affect the translation. Under the guidance of their own Skopos, Shi Xianrong and Sun Zhongxu give their translations distinctive features. In one word, both of the two versions realize their own Skopos and satisfy the needs of readers in different times. Both of them are successful translated works.