A Study Of Anthony C.Yu's English Translation Of Xi You Ji From The Perspective Of Translation Norm Theory

This Thesis,based on Gideon Toury's translation norm theory,conducts a case study of Anthony C.Yu's English translation of Xi You Ji.This thesis adopts the qualitative method and the paradigm of descriptive translation studies,placing the translator and translation in the historical and cultural context,to explore the characteristics of Anthony C.Yu' s translation of Xi You Ji,the translation norms followed and the impact that these norms have on the features of the translation and the translator's choice of translation strategies.Toury's translation norm theory provides an inspiring perspective for the establishment of the theoretical framework and research methods of this thesis.However,Toury's research also has certain historical limitations.Toury's translation norm theory is adopted as the basic theoretical framework of this thesis,and it is adjusted flexibly according to the situational needs.The concept of post-translation norms is proposed as a supplement of translation norm theory to emphasize that translation norms operate at all stages of translation activities.The major research findings are as follows:Anthony C.Yu,the translator(hereinafter referred to as Yu)was deeply influenced by translation norms in the entire translation process.From the perspective of the initial norm,Yu followed the source text norm,which determined the adequacy of his translation ofXi You Ji.From the perspective of the preliminary norms,the choice of source text and the directness of translation are affected by both the social background and cultural environment of the source text and that of the target text.The preliminary norms in Yu's translation reflected the need of the time for the cultural exchanges between China and the western world,which manifested the necessity and feasibility of direct translation.From the perspective of the operational norms,Yu followed the matricial norms of the source text.Yu's translation faithfully re-presented the original novel in terms of the structure,the content and the narrative method.Yu mainly employed the translation strategy of foreignization and the translation method of literal translation to convey the authentic Chinese thoughts and culture.Furthermore,the post-translation norms were put forward by the author.From the aspect of translator's review,the author of this thesis analyzed the preface,the introduction and the notes of Yu's translation and found that the post-translation norms in Yu's translation were affected by dual social and cultural factors,especially the cultural factors of the source text.And readers' feedback was also summarized by the author.Many scholars praised the aesthetic value and the entirety of Yu's translation,which indicated that his translation of Xi You Ji was effective for the cross-cultural communication.A descriptive study of Yu's translation of Xi You Ji is conducted from the perspective of translation norm theory in this thesis,which provides insights for the analysis of the development of English translation of Chinese classical works and provides references for the implementation of the strategy of the traditional Chinese culture "going globar".Meanwhile,this thesis enriches the findings of descriptive translation studies and explores the practical analysis mode of translation norm theory,which acquires both theoretical and practical significance for the development of translation studies.