Relevance-theoretic Analysis On Translation Of Culture-loaded Expressions In The Scholars

Due to the discrepancy of natural environment, social customs, thinking patterns and religious belief across different nations, every country forms its unique cultural tradition. As the carrier of culture, culture-loaded expressions are the most vivid and direct reflection of a nation’s unique culture. The translation of them contributes a lot to cultural communication and transmission. However, due to the disparity of culture between different nations, it is hard to seek a completely equivalent of the original expression in target language. The translation of culture-loaded expressions receives increasing attention in translation circle.The focus of relevance theory is on the study of cognition and communication. It takes communication as an ostensive-inferential process in pursuit of optimal relevance. Although relevance theory is not initially oriented for translation, it has huge explanatory power to account for translating process and evaluate translating result. It can also direct translation practice effectively. Gutt applies relevance theory to translation and regards translation as an act of communication which observes ostensive-inferential model. Optimal relevance is the criterion for successful translation.The Scholars written by Wu Jinzi is the summit of Chinese satiric novels. There exists abounding culture-loaded expressions in it, which mirror traditional Chinese culture in terms of nature, society, religion, material, history and so on. Yang Xianyi and Gladys are the most influential translators in China, who devote to spreading Chinese culture. Proficient in Chinese and English, they have a good command of Chinese and English culture. The English version of The Scholars translated by them has enjoyed great reputation since its publication and served as an important channel for foreigners to understand Chinese culture. In dealing with the culture-loaded expressions in the book, they adopt flexible translation methods and select the suitable properties of target language to construct the target language expressions which reproduce the original flavor and has high level of readability.Under the framework of relevance theory, this paper analyzes the translation of culture-loaded expressions in The Scholars in terms of ostensive-inferential model and optimal relevance and explores the methods of translating culture-loaded expressions. Through analysis of concrete examples, the author draws the following conclusion:the translation of culture-loaded expressions abides by the communicational model: ostensive-inferential model; optimal relevance is the criterion for the valuation of the target expression; the translation methods should be selected in consistency with the principle of relevance, with the goal of achieving optimal relevance and successful communication.This thesis is composed of three parts:introduction, the main body and conclusion.The first part is the introduction which presents previous study on relevance theory, The Scholars and its English version. It is pointed that the main issue of this thesis is to study the translation of culture-loaded expression in The Scholars from the perspective of relevance theory.The second part is the main body, which comprises three chapters.Chapter I mainly introduces relevance theory, Gutt’s application of relevance theory to translation, culture-loaded expressions and The Scholar and its English version. The key concepts of relevance theory are context, cognitive environment, ostensive-inferential communication, and optimal relevance. Gutt applies relevance theory to translation, which has yielded profound influence on translation study. Under relevance-theoretic framework, translation is a dual ostensive-inferential communication in pursuit of optimal relevance. Then the definition and classification of culture-loaded expressions are briefly presented. As the representative work of Chinese satiric novels, The Scholars vividly presents a picture of social and cultural life in feudal China. Its English version translated by the Yangs is the only complete one so far, which enjoys widespread reputation and deserves thorough study.Chapter II applies relevance theory to analyze the translation of culture-loaded expressions in The Scholars. This chapter includes three parts. The first part classifies the culture-loaded expressions in The Scholars into five types and presents them with the corresponding English versions in five tables. The second part illustrates the process of translating culture-loaded expressions in terms of ostensive-inferential model with concrete examples in The Scholars. The third part mainly evaluates whether the Yangs’ translation fulfills optimal relevance or not. In light of relevance theory, optimal relevance is the criterion for successful translation. By analyzing the process and result of translating culture-loaded expressions in The Scholars, this chapter aims at proving the huge explanatory power of relevance theory for Chinese culture-loaded expression translation.The Yangs mainly adopt transliteration, literal translation, substitution, free translation and omission to handle the culture-loaded expressions. Gutt proposes two approaches to translation on basis of relevance theory:direct translation and indirect translation. The former is to preserve the form and cultural images of the original to a great extent. The target readers can process the source text in the context envisaged by the original author. The latter uses the cultural images and expressive ways that can ease the understanding of target readers, without being limited by the literal meaning and form of the original. Direct translation includes transliteration and literal translation. Indirect translation involves substitution, free translation and omission. The author of this thesis analyzes why a particular method is selected by the Yangs and evaluates the appropriateness of that choice in the specific context. The author draws the conclusion that the choice of translation methods should fulfill the principle of optimal relevance. Through analyzing translation methods, this chapter aims at proving that relevance theory can direct the translation of culture-loaded expressions effectively.The last part is conclusion. This thesis mainly applies relevance theory tcranalyze the translation of culture-loaded expressions in The Scholars. The translator should view the translation of culture-loaded expressions as an ostensive-inferential communication, attach importance to cognitive factors involved in translating process and transfer the original author’s communicative intention. Appropriate translation methods should be chosen to construct the target language expressions which are optimally relevant. This thesis tries to provide the study on translation of culture-loaded expressions with a new perspective.