A Study Of The Translation Of Culture-loaded Words In Red Poppies From The Perspective Of Skopostheorie

The famous novel Red Poppies is a masterpiece of the Tibetan writer Alai, which was published by People’s Literature Publishing House in 1998. And in 2000, the novel was awarded the Mao Dun Literature Award. The author employed distinctive writing techniques to narrate the decline and demise of the mysterious Chieftain system in historical transition period from the perspective of the Maichi Chieftain`s idiot second younger master. Alai uses flexible, calm and elegant language to make the life story of last Maichi Chieftain`s idiot son mysterious. The poetic expression, the tortuous and touching plot, the distinct perspective and the rich Tibetan culture make the novel a great hit with the reading public. Up to now the novel has been translated into 16 languages. In 2002, the English version, Red Poppies: A Novel of Tibet translated by Howard Goldblatt and his wife Sylvia Li—chun Lin was published in America and loved very much by English readers. However, the English version has not been introduced into Chinese market yet and few experts make research on the English version from the perspective of translation. Now there is a great demand for introducing Chinese culture to foreign countries. At the same time because of the difference between the thinking patterns of Chinese and English, many English versions of Chinese literature are not accepted by English readers. Therefore, the research of western translators` excellent translations of Chinese literature is very significant for guiding the translation of Chinese literature.The thesis mainly researches the English version of Chen`ai Luo Ding—Red Poppies from the perspective of Skopostheorie. It`s believed that translation as an action has some purposes and these purposes determine the translation strategies and methods. Every translation is produced for the intended audience, so the translation is the target text produced for the target addressees with some purpose. Therefore the translator should select the proper translation strategy and method according to the purpose. The translator even has the right to decide what to be retained and what to be altered or rewritten.This thesis is composed of six chapters. The first part introduces the background of the study, research questions, methodology and significance of the study, and the outline of the thesis. Chapter Two is literature review, previous studies on the translator Howard Goldblatt and his translation, previous studies of Red Poppies, and the previous studies on Skopostheorie will be reviewed. In Chapter Three, the theoretical framework is talked about, in which the development of Skopostheorie, the three rules of Skopostheorie and the relationship of the three rules will be introduced. In Chapter Four, translation of culture-loaded words will be studied from the three rules to prove Skopostheorie is appropriate to analyze the translation of culture-loaded words in Red Poppies. The translation methods reflected in the translation of culture-loaded words in Red Poppies will be organized in Chapter Five. The last part is the conclusion, the findings and significance of the study, as well as the limitations and suggestions for further study will be included.Through the research of culture-loaded words in Red Poppies, it shows that to better fulfill the Skopos of transferring Chinese culture, compensation is adopted to remain the Chinese culture-loaded words. Under coherence rule, to better take the target readers into consideration, some adaptations cannot be avoided. If fidelity rule conflicts with the Skopos rule and coherence rule, fidelity rule will be sacrificed to better fulfill the Skopos rule and coherence rule. If the fulfillment of the fidelity rule doesn`t conflict with the Skopos rule and coherence rule, fidelity rule will be observed through transliteration or literal translation. Through the analysis, it can be concluded that the translators prefer to adopt foreignization strategy to preserve Chinese culture. Besides transliteration and literal translation, compensation, omission, free translation and substitution also reflect in the translation of culture-loaded words. The thesis aims to probe into the applicability of Skopostheorie in the translation of Chinese literature and provide theory guidance for Chinese translators to translate Chinese literature through the analysis of culture-loaded words from the perspective of Skopostheorie. Key Words: Red Poppies; culture-loaded words; Skopos rule; coherence rule; fidelity...