A Study On Implicit Cohesion In Chinese-English Prose Translation

Cohesion in the text can be achieved by overt cohesive devices displayed in the text,as well as covert cohesive devices established between the text and the context.The former can be called explicit cohesion and the latter can be called implicit cohesion.Scholars at home and abroad have made a lot of research on explicit cohesion,but few of them have researched on implicit cohesion.As a major literary genre,prose is featured as free in form,graceful in language and true in feelings.It enjoys great literary value.Explicit and implicit cohesive devices are both widely used in prose,so we need to pay attention to the translation of cohesive devices in prose translation.However,present studies on prose translation are mostly from aesthetic and stylistic approach.Few scholars have explored cohesion,especially implicit cohesion in Chinese-English prose translation.Therefore,it is a good attempt and supplement to study prose translation from implicit cohesion perspective.Firstly,this thesis reviews the researches on implicit cohesion and prose translation both at home and abroad.Based on cohesion theory,the thesis discusses the phenomenon of implicit cohesion in Chinese and in English.Secondly,by analyzing the differences of cohesive devices between Chinese and English,the thesis finds out that English prefers explicit cohesion while Chinese prefers implicit cohesion due to cultural and linguistic differences.People in different culture would have a different interpretation for the same thing or concept.Culture and Context play an indispensable role in the use of language.Therefore,the interpretation of implicit cohesion must be supported by the comprehension of culture and context.Thirdly,based on the discussion about the definition and classification of context,the thesis makes a contrastive analysis on implicit cohesion in Chinese-English prose translation with examples from two aspects: implicit cohesion in situational contextand implicit cohesion in cultural context.Then the thesis discusses how translators deal with implicit cohesion from Chinese to English.In the end translation methods are summarized in the hope of offering guidance for future Chinese-English prose translation.