A Comparative Study Of Linguistic Deviations In Two Chinese Versions Of Ulysses From Functionalist Approach

Ulysses, by James Joyce, is one of the greatest books in20thcentury. As therepresentative of stream of consciousness fiction, it is characterized by obscurelanguage and many original writing techniques. Linguistic deviation, as a significantstrategy of stream of consciousness, is widely utilized in Ulysses and is indispensable inforging its unique style. With respect to how to translate linguistic deviation, criticshave been arguing for a long time. Many of them claim that it is unnecessary toreproduce all the linguistic deviation for it is only the writing technique of the authorand we are to expect that the translations should be fluent and natural. They takepriority the fluent and readable translation over the one that kept most of the linguisticdeviation, thinking the later obscure and awkward. But in view of the various functionsof translation, different Skopos (purposes) of translation activities and diverseexpectations of readers, the standards of translation criticism must be diversified. Thus,what strategies should be used when translating linguistic deviations and what criterionshould be exploited when evaluating translation need a further exploration.This thesis makes a comparative analysis of linguistic deviations in the translationsby the couple of Xiao Qian and Wen Jieruo, and by Jin Di, within the framework of theGerman functionalist theory, in an attempt to explore translation strategies of linguisticdeviation, to evaluate the styles of these two versions as well as to examine whetherthese two versions have fulfilled their respective translation goals. Functionalist theorymainly includes Skopostheorie and function plus loyalty principle, and Skopostheorie isthe top principle of translation activities. Skopostheorie consists of Skopos rule,intertextual coherence and intratextural coherence. Intertextual coherence is consideredsubordinate to intratextual coherence, and both are subordinate to the Skopos rule. Theloyalty principle is an ethical concept, referring to a translator’s responsibility tocollaborators in translation activities. This principle restricts the range of translation’sfunctions in that it requires translator to be responsible to the initiator, target readershipas well as the original author.Through a detailed and elaborate analysis of typical examples of linguisticdeviation from four aspects, namely, lexical deviation, grammatical deviation, semanticdeviation and deviation of register, the author finds that although these two versionscame out approximately in the same period, the strategies taken by the three translators are by no means identical owing to their different goals, which in turn lead totranslations of different styles and functions. With a goal of ironing out the originalabstruseness and producing a fluent and idiomatic translation, Xiao Qian and WenJieruo rendered most linguistic deviations into words or sentences that are in accordancewith normal Chinese usage, and their version is smooth and fluent as a result. Incontrast, Jin Di’s goal was to make the translation as close as possible to the originaland to reproduce it as faithfully as he could, which was expected to exert the sameeffect upon Chinese readership as that of the original on the source-text readers. ThusJin Di kept most of the deviations and successfully transplanted the unique style of theoriginal. Xiao’s translation lays emphasis on intratextual coherence while Jin’s work ismore concerns with intertextual coherence. Xiao and Wen are not absolutely loyal toJoyce because the goal of their translation is contrary to Joyce’s intention; however,they are more loyal to readers. Jin’s purpose of reproducing Joyce’s style and uniqueartistry is in line with Joyce’s own intention. Jin shows his great respect for both readersand the original author. These two versions completely fulfill their respective goals andtherefore both are successful translations.