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A Study Of The Translation Of Culture-loaded Words In Selected Works Of Mao Tse-Tung From The Perspective Of Cultural Translation Theory

Posted on:2016-02-04Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:T T HeFull Text:PDF
GTID:2335330488981322Subject:Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung is an important carrier of Mao Tse-tung Thought as well as significant spiritual treasure of Chinese people and Chinese nation. The translation and publication is a big event in Chinese history of translation which has a profound impact on the world. Up to now, two English versions of Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung were published. One is the Wishart & Lawrence(WL) version and the other is Foreign Language Press(FLP) version.To complete this solemn political task, translators who are highly skilled devoted a lot of time and energy. The culture-loaded words in Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung not only embody the characteristic of Chinese language, but also contain broad and profound Chinese culture. The use of them makes the interpretation of the abstruse and complex Marx's theory so vivid that people can understand and accept the theory easily. As a whole, the culture-loaded words have played an important role in Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung. Therefore, the translation of them appears extraordinarily important. It's found that the translators of Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung applied various translation methods and strategies to translate the culture-loaded words, so that the author's thoughts can be conveyed clearly and Chinese culture be spread widely.Taking Susan Bassnett's cultural translation as the theoretical frame and the FLP version as the research text, this paper analyses the sources and cultural connotation of the culture-loaded words in Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung, as well as the translation methods and strategies the translators adopted. The purpose is to illustrate that not only should the literal meaning of culture-loaded words be translated, but also the immanent cultural connotation of them should be translated accurately and appropriately according to the special cultural and historical background. And it then points out that the translation of culture-loaded words should not only consider the linguistic factors, but also the non linguistic factors, the text type, the purpose of translation, the readers' receptivity and etc..This research is mainly made from four aspects. Firstly, the research background & object as well as the significance of the study are introduced. Secondly, the paper analyses the relationship between culture and translation and makes an introduction to Susan Bassnett's cultural translation theory. Thirdly, the definition and characteristics of culture-loaded words are described; then, the main types of culture-loaded words in Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung are researched and the reasons why the culture-loaded words in Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung are hard to translate are explained. Lastly, the paper summarizes the main translation principles,strategies and methods that are applied to translate the culture-loaded words of Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung, and then explains the embodiment of cultural translation theory in the translation of those words.According to the research, it is found that the prime principles employed in the translation of the culture-loaded words in Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung are faithfulness and accuracy in accordance with the criterion of political first. As for the translating strategies, foreignization is used more frequently than domestication in order to maintain the original features and flavor of the original text. In order to express the cultural connotation of the culture-loaded words accurately, the translators use different methods properly, including literal translation, transliteration, annotation, free translation and substitution. After the research and analysis, it is concluded that when dealing with the translation of culture-loaded words in political writings, foreignization should be adopted as the major translation strategy, and at the same time, domestication need to be applied appropriately in order to avoid cultural conflict and better relay the meaning of the original text.
Keywords/Search Tags:cultural translation theory, Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung, culture-loaded words, translation methods and strategies
PDF Full Text Request
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