A Contrastive Analysis On The Translation Strategies Of Two Chinese Versions Of The Catcher In The Rye

By adopting qualitative and quantitative analysis, the author has made a contrastive analysis on the two Chinese versions of the Catcher in the Rye. In the analysis, the author has mainly compared the translation strategies and methods the two translators selected, based on the comparison the author has posed 2 questions which he aimed to find his answer towards them:1. How does domestication and foreignization reflect in the translated versions of the Catcher in the Rye?2. In the English-Chinese translated versions of the Catcher in the Rye, how did the translators apply the relevant theories of the translation strategies to their translation works?From the theoretical perspective, domestication and free translation, foreignization and literal translation are closely related, yet there are differences among them. Free translation and literal translation, are more likely translating methods, while doing research on these two factors, the researcher should start from a linguistic level, i.e. referential meaning, locutionary meaning, etc. Domestication and foreignization are translation strategies, research on them should be started from the aspect of cross-cultural communication. Generally speaking, we can deem domestication and foreignization as an extension of free translation and literal translation on a conceptual level.Firstly, from both linguistic and cultural aspects, the author has conducted a contrastive study on some typical translated texts in both Shi and Sun’s version, through a qualitative analysis, the author found that, in aspects of idiolect, diction, syntax, culture-bound words and slang, the two translators took some different translating methods and strategies. By contrast, Sun’s version put more emphasis on the reading habit of the target readers, while Shi’s version focused more on preserving the syntax structure and meaning of the original text.Then, through a quantitative analysis, the author found that, in Shi’s version, 1612 out of his 6805 sentences have partially or completely adopted domestication or free translation, occupying a portion of 23.7%; in the meantime,1823 out of 4967 sentences, in Sun’s version, have partially or completely adopted domestication or free translation, occupying a portion of 36.7%. So, with a rough quantitative analysis, the author holds the view that, Sun’s version has a greater tendency of using domestication in translating, while Shi’s version puts more emphasis on preserving the meaning and syntax structure of the original text and conducts more foreignizing translation or word-to-word translation.