On Science Fiction Translation From The Perspective Of Chesterman’s Translation Norms

Santi is the representative work of Chinese science fiction writer Liu Cixin. It tells a story about the alien invasion of earth triggered by an accidental interstellar communication during the Cultural Revolution. Once released, it has been widely acclaimed by readers and is therefore recognized as the best science fiction in China. In 2014 it was introduced to the west by Chinese-American science fiction writer and translator Ken Liu. Gaining widespread popularity among the western readers, it has successfully elevated Chinese science fiction to world class level.The theory of translation norms is an essential concept of descriptive translation studies. Since the 1960s, Gideon Toury, Andrew Chesterman, Christiane Nord, Theo Hermans and Jiri Levy have studied translation norms from different perspectives. Chesterman holds that the theory of translation norms derives from translation memes. He divides translation norms into expectancy norms and professional norms, and further divides the later into accountability norms, communication norms and relation norms. Being more comprehensive and sophisticated than other norm theories, Chesterman’s norms theory is of relatively strong explanatory power on translation practices and translation activities in different cultures.Science fiction is an unique literary genre which combines science with literature. It is conducive to the establishment of a scientific view on the world. Besides, it can also provoke the public’s in-depth reflection on social problems. Due to the fact that consensus on the definition of science fiction has not been achieved by the literary and translation circle yet, little attention has been paid to this genre, which impedes the development of science fiction translation studies. It is not until 2014 that the translation of Santi was released in America, which means study on it is almost none. The author attempts to make a comprehensive analysis of the English translation of Santi under the framework of Chesterman’s translation norms, exploring the influence of translation norms on the translation, translator and translation activities. The reception of and comments on the translation are also included in this thesis.According to the thesis, the English translation of Santi by Ken Liu is influenced by translation norms put forward by Chesterman, and the novel is widely acknowledged by the western readers. In terms of expectancy norms, the translator takes translation traditions of the target language and expectations from the western readers into considerations; in terms of professional norm especially the communication norm, the translator has employed various strategies in translating some culture-loaded words and science fiction coined words to achieve optimal communication. All in all, this thesis aims to draw attention to translation studies on this marginalized genre and to offer a new perspective for related studies. It is also hoped that this thesis will be a reference to relevant studies in the future.