Representation Of Modal Meaning In Translating Dialogues In Jane Eyre-A Functional Linguistic Perspective

Dialogue in a fiction can help to develop “plot' and enrich the reader's understanding of “character” and “background” whilst possessing a distinctive and intrinsic interest which no other manner of presentation could provide(Page,1988: 3).Therefore,the translation of fictional dialogue is a significant part in translation studies.Taking Jane Eyre and its two Chinese versions as the research materials,this paper probes into the representation of modal meaning by analyzing the translation of dialogues between the hero,Rochester and the heroin,Jane from the perspective of Systemic Functional Grammar,and then summaries efficient translation strategies to represent the modal meaning.The study is qualitative,using comparative analysis as the research method.The author of this paper analyses the differences between the two Chinese versions in representing the modal meaning and then summarizes efficient devices or strategies to represent the modal meaning.So far,this paper has shown the following results.Firstly,there are many differences between Zhu Qingying's version and Huang Yuanshen's version in representing the original modal meaning: in translation principles,Zhu tends to use literal translation while Huang prefers free translation;in form and grammar,Zhu keeps the original forms of modality and uses westernized modal expressions while Huang chooses to use localized modal expressions;in semantic meaning,Zhu makes the modal meaning more implicit,while Huang tends to manifest the modal meaning directly.Secondly,translators can use many devices to represent the modal meaning:(1)preserving or changing modal types;(2)preserving or changing modal orientations,usually changing from objective modality to subjective modality or from explicit modality to implicit modality;(3)preserving or changing modal values,usually changing from high values to low values.