Analysis On The Translation Of Spells In Harry Potter Series From The Perspective Of Schema Theory

Harry Potter is a series of fantasy novels written by the British author Joanne Rowling who writes under the pen names J.K.Rowling.Since the publication of the first novel of the series,it has enjoyed great popularity throughout the world and has won readers' consistent high praise.However,critics both at home and abroad have mixed opinions on Harry Potter.Scholars from all over the world also study it from different perspectives.Spell as an important part of the magic elements in the novel is the focus of translation.Since spells originating from Latin and other languages are mostly created subjectively by Rowling,there is no precedent for translation,leaving a big challenge to the translators.However,since the Chinese version of the series was sold,it has won the appreciation of countless Chinese readers,which undoubtedly shows the translation has been recognized.Therefore,the analysis of the translation of spells can provide some inspiration for the future translation of similar texts.This thesis analyzes the translation of spells with schema theory and discusses the translation methods adopted by the translators from schematic overlap,schematic divergence and schematic vacancy.The author believes that in order to make Chinese readers understand the spells from form to content as much as possible,the translators activate the existing schemata of Chinese readers and help them to establish new schemata when translating.Through specific analysis on examples,the author draws the following conclusions: first,the schemata in translation contain schemata in source language and schemata in target language,but at the same time the schemata in translation are different from the both;second,during their translating process of spells in Harry Potter,most of the time the translators are reader-oriented.