| Address terms,as an essential part in daily life,is deeply rooted in the traditional culture of each nation,and reflect unique cultural image of its people.San Guo Yan Yi is not only one of the four classics in Chinese literature,but also one of the most well-loved masterpieces in the world.Address terms used in this novel are complex and diverse.The translation of those terms poses great difficulty and challenge for the translators.This thesis attempts to analyze the translation of those terms in three full English translations from the perspective of Adaptation Theory.Through the research we can find that 1)the most frequent translation method is free translation.Other translation methods include literal translation,substitution,transliteration and omission.The translators use different translation methods under different circumstances.In terms of social terms,honorific terms and modest terms are translated freely with the omission of the emotional feelings.The derogatory feelings are preserved in the translation of abusive terms.The translation of official titles is more flexible.Transliteration and substitution are also the main translation methods for this type.The literal translation is the main method in the translation of nicknames in most situations while free translation method is mainly used for neutral terms.In terms of kinship terms,the literal translation is used in most cases.2)In the translation of address terms,translators make their choices adaptive to the context and language.The cognitive ability,acceptance capacity and cultural background of target readers are taken into consideration.Besides,the degree of the consciousness of translators also impacts the choice of translation methods and quality of the translation.3)The comparative analysis reveals there are no striking differences among the three translators.However,the Chinese Translator and the British Translator prefer to use free translation,substitution and transliteration,bringing the reader closer to the target text.They have a lot in common.But Yu’s version is more accurate,while there are some mistranslations in Taylor’s version due to the misunderstanding of the source culture.In contrast,the American translator Roberts tends to use literal translation and literal translation with footnote,bringing the reader closer to the source text.Theoretically,the research enriches translation studies as it can be seen as one empirical case for the application of Adaptation Theory into the translation studies.Practically,the study summarizes the methods of translation of address terms and factors influencing translation methods.It can shed light on translating address terms and other culture-loaded words. |
