Comparative Studies On English Translation Of Family Instructions Of Zhu Bailu In Perspective Of Sociosemiotics

Family Instructions of Zhu Bailu is based on the traditional principle of moral self-cultivating and family-regulating.It is compiled from the experience of Confucianism and is regarded as the "model classic of the family regulations".This Chinese parenting classic has exerted far-reaching influence at home and abroad for hundreds of years.As one of the must-read classics,its lasting and extensive impact contributes a lot to the preservation and inheritance of the virtues in Chinese traditional culture.As early as 1980 s,scholars both at home and abroad have translated Family Instructions of Zhu Bailu into English.Since then,its English translations have been spread widely in the West and Southeast Asian countries.Among the six English versions,the translations respectively by Hsiang-Tung Chang and Guo Zhuzhang are magnificent treasures,which win profound appreciation in academic circles.This thesis analyzes the English translations of Hsiang-Tung Chang and Guo Zhuzhang from the perspective of sociosemiotics.Ferdinand de Saussure,the Swiss linguist,initiates establishment of the discipline of semiotics.He proposes that language is a sign system for expressing concepts.The 20 th century saw the previous development in semiotics,and a relatively comprehensive view of sociosemiotic translation formed at the end of the century.Sociosemiotic approach to translation attaches importance to the criterion that translation is a cross-language,cross-cultural and cross-social communication activity.Translation not only strives to reproduce the meaning of the source text but also the function of it while expounding the phenomena of language transference,so that the translation can be faithful to the source text both in meaning and in function.This thesis studies the different English versions by Hsiang-Tung Chang and Guo Zhuzhang from the sociosemiotic perspective in terms of transference in meaning and reproduction in function.Under the guiding criterion of "correspondence in meaning and similarity in function",serious examination on the transference in referential meaning,linguistic meaning and pragmatic meaning as well as the reproduction of their information function,aesthetic function and cultural function of the source text are conducted by comparative exemplifications.With thorough research on the translation methods applied in translating Family Instructions of Zhu Bailu,as well as theoretical foundation of sociosemiotics,the author finds the gains and losses of the two English translators are apparently different: The metrical translation of Hsiang-Tung Chang pursues rhyme at the cost of weakening the accurate interpretation of meaning and culture;the free translation of Guo Zhuzhang fail to reproduce the style and aesthetic function of the source text with its long plain sentences.The purpose of the comparative study is to summarize the merits and demerits of the two versions,and provide reference for the retranslation of the classics.Suggestions for the retranslation principles are put forward: adherence to original meaning;reconstructing the poetic style;explication of cultural connotation.The author hopes that these three retranslation principles can benefit the promotion of Chinese traditional parenting culture in the world arena.