A Study Of The Translation Of Culture-loaded Words And Expressions In Fortress Besieged In Light Of An Approach To Translation As Adaptation And Selection

With Fortress Besieged as the source of material, this study makes a comprehensive exploration and analysis of the culture-loaded words and expressions and their translation in the novel under the guidance of Hu Gengshen’s theory — an approach to translation as adaptation and selection by adopting the methods of illustration, comparison and descriptive analysis with an aim to discuss the feasibility and applicability of Hu’s theory for Mao Guoquan and Jenny Kelly’s rendering of culture-loaded words and expressions and put forward proper strategies of adaptation and selection in translating.Culture-loaded words and expressions reflect cultural elements, represent cultural characteristics of a certain language community with profound cultural meanings. They are classified as ecological culture-loaded words and expressions, material culture-loaded words and expressions, social culture-loaded words and expressions, religious culture-loaded words and expressions and linguistic culture-loaded words and expressions. Though previous studies of them are not few, studies from the perspective of translation as adaptation and selection are very few.According to the approach to translation as adaptation and selection, translation process includes the translator’s adaptation to the translational eco-environment and the selection of translation in the translational eco-environment. The translation principle is summarized as "multi-dimensional adaptations and adaptive selections ", while the translation methods as "three-dimensional transformations" including linguistic, cultural and communicative dimensions. The present study probes into the culture-loaded words and expressions and their translations in Fortress Besieged from the aspects of adaptation and selection respectively. A detailed analysis is made about the translators’ adaptations to the source text, competence, social and political background and their selections on linguistic, cultural and communicative dimensions.It is concluded that the culture-loaded words and expressions in Fortress Besieged are well translated and Hu’s theory is feasible and effective for explaining Jeanne Kelly and Mao Guoquan’s rendering of culture-loaded words and expressions and it can serve as a guide for future translating activities of culture-loaded words and expressions. In addition, it is fair to say that a translator should strive to adapt himself/herself to the translational eco-environment by chiefly making three-dimensional transformations in translating Chinese literary works, so as to promote the world-wide influence of Chinese culture. And a flexible combination of translation strategies can be adopted to help him or her accomplish the cultural equivalence in literal translation.