A Study On English Translation Of Imagery In Chu Ci From The Perspective Of Cultural Linguistics

As a source of Chinese literature,Chu Ci has a history of more than 2,000 years whose English translation has a profound significance in cross-cultural communication.This thesis focuses on the analysis and summary of the English translation of imagery in Chu Ci,and places an emphasis upon the effective interpretation and representation of imagery in Chu Ci through Palmer's Theory of Cultural Linguistics.After reviewing a wealth of studies on Palmer's cultural linguistics,the author tries to explore the relationship between language,culture and imagery in the process of imagery translation from the perspective of cognitive linguistics,which is based on the three traditions of American Anthropology.This thesis studies the principles and strategies of imagery translation in three English versions and tries to extend the strategies to other classical Chinese poetry translation,perusing the representation of original imagery from different levels.There are two purposes in this study.The first is to systematically collate and classify various images in Chu Ci.The second is to analyze and explain the principles and strategies on English translation of imagery in Chu Ci from the perspective of Palmer's cultural linguistics—a theory combining the three traditions of Anthropological Linguistics with Cognitive Linguistics,the former lacking a systematic research method,while the latter,the necessary cultural factors.With the advent of this theory,many linguistic phenomena are more explicable.Poetry is the essence of language,and imagery is the key to poetry.As a source of Chinese poetry and even Chinese culture,the process of cultural imagery is of particular importance in the translation process.Cultural linguistics can provide a new perspective for the imagery translation in poems.Translators should explore imagery from both cultural and linguistic levels,and maintain the integrity of original imagery in the translated language as much as possible to achieve the purpose of cultural transmission and communication.This thesis first examines the origin and contents of and key to Palmer's cultural linguistics,and summarizes the four equivalence principles of imagery translation after studying relevant literature.Next the author classifies the common and unique characteristics through collating and summarizing the representative imagery verses in Chu Ci.Then,the author compares the three versions of David Hawkes,Yang Xianyi & Gladys Yang,and Xu Yuanchong,conducts an in-depth comparative analysis of each version,and discusses the respective advantages and disadvantages of the representation of imagery in Chu Ci,hoping to provide some reference for future similar studies.