On Representation Of Narrative Perspective In Julia Lovell’s Translation Of A Dictionary Of Maqiao

With the application of narratology,the present study attempts to analyze the representation of narrative perspective in Julia Lovell’s translation of A Dictionary of Maqiao,and proceeds to examine the feasibility of narratological approach to fictional translation studies,in the hope of contributing to the dissemination of Chinese literature.As a representative of Root-seeking literature,Han Shaogong drew on his profound thinking on traditional Chinese culture to pursue innovative narrative techniques.His inventive work A Dictionary of Maqiao written in the form of a dialect lexicon unfolds its story in non-linear narrative and demonstrates the destinies of plural characters through the interrelationship between language and human.The one and only English version was completed in 2003 by Julia Lovell.However,relevant translation studies remain few and focus mainly on the transference of linguistic surface structure or cultural significance and neglect the interrelation between the novel’s multi-level narrative structure and the realization of meaning potential.Narrative perspective acts an essential narrative device for the representation of thematic value,authorial intentions as well as the speech and thought of characters.The present paper aims to draw upon narratology and research on the representation of narrative perspective in Julia Lovell’s English translation of A Dictionary of Maqiao.Through descriptive and comparative approaches,the thesis discusses the following three questions:First,how does the translational shift in narrative perspective interrelate with the re-presentation of the narratorial discourse?Second,how does the translational shift in narrative perspective interrelate with the re-presentation of characters’ discourse?Third,how does the translational shift in narrative perspective affect the reader’s interpretation of the textual agents’discourses?It starts with a conceptual study to introduce a theoretical framework based on narratological concepts to clarify the correlation between narrative perspective and translation.Based on paratext-based and text-based analyses,the results show that:1)On the level of narratorial narrative,the narrator,who assumes narrative rhetorical significance,acts as a medium for the communication between the author and the reader,serving metanarrative function to convey the illusion of authenticity.Yet the translator’s voice intrudes into the narrative of the story with translational addition and rewording which confuse the narrator with the author thus diluting the ironic effect in the original text.The reader’s interpretation of the thematic significance is thus undermined.2)On the level of figural narrative,the language facet of narrative perspective enables the representation of discursive multiplicity to bring out characters’ discourse and mentality.Yet the insensitivity on the translator’s part to the shift of narrative perspective in the language use causes the disregard for the complexity of meaning in lexical translation and the shift of deictic center in the transference of speech act.The reader’s perception of the characters’ discourse is thus weakened.The thesis then concludes that the translator should take into consideration the rhetorical significance of the narrator’s voice in the process of transference and intervention so as to reconstruct the communication between the author and the reader in terms of thematic value and rhetorical intention;and that the translator should give heed to the language facet of perspective to identify characters’ discourse and perception in order to reconstruct the meaning potential.The present study thus attempts to shed new lights on the potential of narrative approach to translation studies,in the hope of helping the translator to arrive at a more informed understanding of the relation between narrative structure and meaning realization as well as exploring the interdisciplinary application of narratology.