Reflection On The Translation Of Long And Complex Sentences From The Reception Theory

In the thesis Literary History as a Challenge to Literary Theory, HansRobertJauss initially came up with the concept of the reception theory. Then, WolfgangIser supported and improved this theory in his book Response-inviting Structure, which broke the traditional literary concept. In the reception theory, the reader-centered theory, reader’s expectation and aesthetic distance all play an important role in the translation study. The final participant, appreciator and reviewer of translation activity are the readers, so the translator should attach importance to reader’s role. Based on the Reception Theory, this thesis will discuss the two translation strategies:domestication and foreignization and finally make a conclusion that literary translation should adopt the strategy that gives priority to domestication with foreignization concerned.The novel Parrot and Olivier in America written by PeterCarey is the translation text, which tells a story about two men who were born under different historical situation and classes. There are many long and complex sentences in this novel, which is difficult for Chinese readers to understand. Therefore, this thesis focuses on the analysis of the translation of long and complex sentences under the guidance of the reception theory and domestication, which is divided into three aspects, namely, the classification of long and complex sentences, the translation steps as well as the translation methods. In the process, some conclusions have been arrived at about the methods of translating long and complex sentences.