The Application Of Semiotic Meaning Theory To The Chinese Translation Of English Poems

Meaning is the focus of translation; and the nature of translation is transference ofmeaning from a source language to a target language. But many previous studies onmeaning translation are either incomprehensive or impractical. This thesis applies semioticmeaning theory to translation studies, trying to set up a framework for analyzing meaningtransference in meaning translation.The thesis, starting from a general review of previous meaning studies in translation,points out that more practical and useful interpretation of meaning in translation is neededto guide translation studies for meaning. In addition, modern semiotics, especially Morris’semiotic meaning theory is elaborated in detail so as to confirm that semiotics meaningtheory functions as a holistic approach to meaning with good applicability in translationpractice. To support this point a variety of English poetry translations are taken as cases tocheck the process of meaning transference on the basis of Morris’ theory, which arecategorized into referential meaning, linguistic meaning and pragmatic meaning. It isfound that on the basis of many Chinese versions of foreign literary works, the three typesof meanings may not be entirely transferred in translation process due to linguistic ornon-linguistic factors, but many skills and methods could be exploited to make up and treatthese meaning losses properly.It is further argued that semiotic meaning theory serves as a comparativelycomprehensive framework for all-round analysis of meaning in translation. This researchexhibits not only theoretical but also practical significance for translation study.