| The making of singable translations of songs is a complex task,chiefly because the Target Text must be compatible with the pre-existing music.Throughout the last decade,many research have been conducted on lyrics translation from English to Chinese,but little has been done in reverse.This paper attempts to fill in the knowledge gap on this front and provide more insight on the little discussed topic of lyrics translation of Chinese popular songs into English.It discusses the strategies for performing this task,and puts forward a brand new theoretical framework the author calls 'the Pyramid of Singability'-a layered system derived from Low's Pentathlon Principle,which consists of six different criteria,identified as Sense,Naturalness,Rhythm,Rhyme,Style and Word Painting.It urges translators to consider the specific characteristics of each song-text,and aptly apply the principle step by step.This study attempts to enrich and broaden the discussion and research that were previously done in the field of popular song translation.It examines Low's Pentathlon Principle carefully and suggests a new principle more suitable for translating Chinese popular songs.A critical analysis on how this new system can be used as a framework for this type of translation is conducted thereafter. |
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