A Study Of The English Version Of Santi From The Perspective Of Horizon Of Expectation

The Three-Body Problem,the English version of Santi translated by Ken Liu,wins the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel.In addition to the charm of the original work,translation also plays a crucial role in winning this award.This thesis takes The Three-Body Problem as the object of study.In terms of the awards and honors it has been given,its huge global sales and warm response from foreign readers and media,it can be counted as a successful English translation.Therefore,it is worth an exhaustive study.The thesis will answer the following research questions: 1.What translation methods does Ken Liu adopt in his English translation of Santi? 2.Why does the translator adopt those translation methods from the perspective of horizon of expectation?This thesis is intended to,from the perspective of horizon of expectation,to conduct a descriptive study of The Three-Body Problem in English translation.First,by comparing the source text and the target text,the author finds that in order to improve the target reader's reception,the translator adopts such translation methods as annotation,explanatory translation,deletion,rewriting,free translation and literal translation.Based on this,the author then analyzes why the translator employs the above translation methods and how the translator considers the target reader's horizon of expectation.It turns out that when there is absence of horizon,the translator adopts annotation and explanatory translation;when the target reader's horizon contradicts with the original work,the translator tends to use deletion,rewriting and free translation and when the target reader's horizon overlaps with the original work,the translator employs literal translation to help the target reader build new horizons according to their old ones.The author aims to specify the concept of horizon of expectation so as to provide more specific guidance to English translation of science fiction.The thesis concludes that the target reader's horizon of expectation plays a significant role in the reception of the English translation.The translator has to pay full attention to the target reader and take into account their horizon of expectation and reception ability to choose appropriate translation methods in different circumstances.Besides,the target reader's horizon of expectation should also be considered in the selection of text for translation.Translators should choose outstanding modern science fictions that can fuse with the target reader's horizon.In a word,translators must consider the target reader's horizon of expectation in choosing translation methods and texts for translation.Only in this way can the English translation be accepted and can Chinese science fiction be introduced to the world successfully.