A Study On The Translation Methods Of Chinese Cultural Expressions In Border Town From The Perspective Of Cultural Schema

Border Town is the representative of native literature writer Shen Congwen.In this novel,Mr.Shen depicts unique local customs in western Hunan with idyllic and graceful expressions.Due to the differences between Chinese and western culture,the cultural expression is one of the difficulties in translating this novel.As a cross-cultural communication,the successful translation of Border Town depends largely on the choice of the appropriate translation methods.The translation should not only faithfully express the meaning of the source text,but also preserve the local cultural features of the source language.Only such a translation is conducive to spreading Chinese folk culture.This thesis,from the perspective of cultural schema,analyzes the translation methods of Chinese cultural expressions in the two latest English versions of Border Town,that is,Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang's version and Jeffrey C.Kinkley's version.In this research,the author mainly adopts literature method,case analysis method and comparative analysis method.After a comparative study on the two English versions of Border Town,the author finds that both versions use the literal translation to deal with cultural schema correspondence.In dealing with the cultural schema conflict and default,Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang mainly adopt the domestication strategy,using mostly free translation and omission.While Jeffrey C.Kinkley mainly focuses on foreignization and he mostly uses literal translation with notes,transliteration with notes,and additional translation.Literal translation is a relatively suitable translation method when cultural schema correspondences occur between the source text and the target text.The literal translation can not only make the target readers understand the meaning of the source text correctly,but also preserve the cultural features of the source language.When there are cultural schema conflicts between the source text and the target text,translators can resort additional translation or free translation to adjust target cultural schemata.However,when there are further explanations on cultural conflicts in the following text,translators can use literal translation to create new cultural schemata.When cultural schemata default between the source text and the target text,translators need to choose appropriate translation methods according to the context,such as free translation,additional translation,borrowing translation,literal translation with notes and transliteration with notes.Choosing appropriate translation methods can not only make the target readers understand the source text better,but also contribute to the transmission of Chinese native culture in responding to the national strategy of "Chinese culture going out".