An Analysis Of The Functional Equivalence In Three English Versions Of Chang Hen Ge Under Conceptual Metonymy

A lot of people in the world consider that the culture in the Tang Dynasty which is characterized by the poetry of the Tang Dynasty is the peak of the history of the development of Chinese culture. During that time, there were a large number of outstanding poets that left a wide range of excellent and unique poems in the Tang Dynasty. Among them, Chang Hen Ge, one of Bai Juyi’s masterpieces, has been translated into Britain a few hundred years ago, greatly valued for the newfangled story, fascinating plots and almost perfect means of artistic expression on translating Chinese classical poems into English. It has repeatedly interpreted by plenty of translators and scholars for over one hundred years especially, and has made a huge impact. To some degree, its translation promotes the development of translating between Chinese and English. Therefore, to study the translation of Chang Hen Ge is important and significant for researches on translation.The thesis is to study the meanings and effects on translation of the functional equivalence on three English versions of Chang Hen Ge( from Xu Yuanchong, Yang Xianyi and Dai Naidie, and W. J. B. Fletcher) under the perspective of Conceptual Metonymy. Poetry translation not only refers to literature translation, but also is a cognitive approach of translation. Conceptual Metonymy is a way of thinking, and only refers to the same idealized cognitive model, which can build up a close and osculating model in the minds of translators and readers to achieve the substantial equivalence between the target language and the source language. Furthermore, Conceptual Metonymy stresses to use the highlight of the thing to protrude the entity, which conforms to the characteristics of the poetry in the Tang Dynasty. Eugene A. Nida, one of the well-known and outstanding American translation theorists, puts forward the Functional Equivalence theory that translation is to reproduce in receptor language the closet natural equivalent of the source language message into the target language, firstly on meaning, secondly on style. He emphasizes that the response between the readers and the translated version should be the same as the one between the readers and the original substantially. This research has a definite value on translation researches and teaching. Firstly, it manages to take Conceptual Metonymy as the cognitive approach of translation to cognize the meaning and connotation of Chang Hen Ge to expound the effects of Conceptual Metonymy on interpreting the meaning of the poem and constructing the translated versions; secondly, it approaches to study the effects and meanings of the functional equivalence in translating the poem Chang Hen Ge from Chinese to English based on the cognitive framework of Conceptual Metonymy.The thesis aims at answering these questions:(1) In which way is the functional equivalence used in three English versions of the poem Chang Hen Ge under the perspective of Conceptual Metonymy?(2) What is the connection between Conceptual Metonymy and translation in three English versions of the poem Chang Hen Ge?(3) How can the functional equivalence be embodied in three English versions of the poem Chang Hen Ge under the perspective of Conceptual Metonymy?There are five chapters in the thesis. Chapter One mainly elaborates the review, significance, objective of the study, research questions and the structure of the thesis; Chapter Two mainly carries on the literature review of the thesis that is more all-around review on studying the translation of English versions of Chang Hen Ge; Chapter Three is the theoretical framework of the thesis, mainly researching the connection and meaning of the translation among Conceptual Metonymy, Functional Equivalence and the poem Chang Hen Ge; Chapter Four comparatively analyzes three different English versions of Chang Hen Ge from the equivalence in language, genre and context based on Conceptual Metonymy; Chapter Five is the conclusion of the thesis, concluding the practical meanings and positive effects of functional equivalence in the process of poetry translation by studying three English versions of Chang Hen Ge taking Conceptual Metonymy as the cognitive mechanism of translation.