An Analysis Of The English Version Of A Dictionary Of Maqiao From The Perspective Of Translation Norms

After the publication of Han Shaogong’s dictionary-novel A Dictionary of Maqiao in 1996, British sinologist Julia Lovell found it very appealing. In August, 2003, Columbia University Press published her English version of A Dictionary of Maqiao. Its experimental form of writing, namely, the dictionary-novel, is retained in its entirety, as evidenced by such lexicographic aspects as the Contents, the Vowels, Consonants and Guide to Principal Characters. Besides, there also exist the additions, omissions and segmentation in the translation of every entry.Prior to the 1970 s, all the translation theories are prescriptive, making detailed constraints on how the translation should be and how the translator shall present the rendition. Moreover, these theories make a comparison between the source text and target text, with the former as its reference substance: if there exists certain equivalence at the micro-level, the translated text will be classified as the “correct” translation; otherwise it would be regarded as “incorrect” translation. In the 1970 s, Ivan-Zohar, an Israeli scholar, put forward polysystem theory, which breaks through the shackles of traditional linguistics-oriented translation theory and connects translation to the culture. However, it fails to account for the translator’s choices arising in the process of translation. Later on, Gideon Toury put up with the term of “norms”, linking the translation with extra-textual factor and explaining the decision-making process of the translator.Within the framework of Toury’s translation norms theory, by means of qualitative research methods, such as, document retrieval, comparison method and summarized method, this thesis is intended to make an analysis of the English version of A Dictionary of Maqiao, followed by some translation principles elicited from this translated text. In light of this, two questions are posed in this thesis. Firstly, in which ways can Gideon Toury’s translation norms help analyze the English version of A Dictionary of Maqiao? Secondly, in accordance with Gideon Toury’s translation norms, what translation principles can be elicited from the English version of A Dictionary of Maqiao? The study reveals that in terms of preliminary norms, the social and cultural environment the translator is subject to, the education background and personal interest and the hidden value this dictionary-novel possesses, determine the translator’s choice of A Dictionary of Maqiao to be translated. Moreover, under the influence of the social and cultural environment and reader’s expectancy, acceptability takes precedence over adequacy in the process of translation. At last, such regularities as omission, addition and segmentation, and the translator’s treatment of dialogues and culture-specific words are influenced by reader’s expectancy. In addition, the second conclusion follows that the observance of readability from the perspective of lexicography and that of flexibility and explicitation from the perspective of novel in the English version of A Dictionary of Maqiao can provide some insightful suggestions on the translation of similar dictionary-novels in the future.By this descriptive study of the English version of A Dictionary of Maqiao, it is hoped to extend the research perspective of this study, to analyze the extra-textual factors which exert their influence on the decision-making process of the translation, and to provide some references to the translation of similar dictionary-novels in the future.