The Meta-functional Equivalence In The English Translation Of Chinese Allusions In The Governance Of China By Xi Jinping

Based on the Chinese allusions in volume 1 and 2 of The Governance of China and their English translations,this study explores the basic question of how the meta-functions of Chinese allusions and their English translations are equivalent from the perspective of systemic functional linguistics.The three meta-functions of systemic functional linguistics include ideational function,interpersonal function and textual function.Ideational function includes logical function and experiential function.According to the essential features of logical function,experiential function,interpersonal function and textual function,this study carefully screened the English translation of Chinese allusions in The Governance of China and selected 50 representative Chinese allusions and their English translations.At the same time,they are divided into five types of cases for comparative analysis,so as to follow the evaluation model of systemic functional linguistics,and to analyze the original text and the translated text at the micro level from the perspective of the interaction of situation,function and language,and to investigate whether the translated text is equivalent to the original text in three functions or meanings.This study finds that the allusions and their English translations in volume 1 and2 of The Governance of China have achieved equivalence from the perspectives of good and bad equivalence,accuracy equivalence and equivalence of implication.This is presented from the three dimensions of meta-function theory,stratification and rank scale.The first dimension is from the perspective of meta-functional theory and translation with equivalence of good and bad.Based on the analysis and judgment of“comparative analysis of cases”,the following findings are found: Firstly,there are many schools of study on equivalence translation,but most of them are from the perspective of form,and there are few linguistic studies on English translation of allusions.Each type of “comparative analysis of cases” in this study cannot beseparated from language function analysis,which makes up for the limitations of this study.Secondly,the three major functions are originally trinity,regardless of primary and secondary,each sentence of any text type can be reflected in three meta-functions,it is of versatility.In order to clarify the unique features of a certain function,the cases in this study all choose the meta-function with the highest significance as the dominant one,and permeate and integrate the multifunctional features in discourse analysis,making the cases a multifunctional community.Thirdly,the essence of the three meta-functions is semantic.Each type of case in this study firmly grasps the multifunctional corresponding system and its constituent elements for in-depth analysis,so as to reflect the essential features of multiple functions and experiential functions as the main basis for judging the equivalence between good and bad.The second dimension is from the perspective of stratification and translation with accuracy equivalence.Methodology is of vital value.If the meta-functional theory dimension reflects the functionality of language,then the stratification dimension reflects the symbolization of language.Therefore,based on the dimension of stratification,it is of important methodological value for accurate translation.This research uses classification,comparison and inductive methods.The results show that the semantic layer is the design drawing,the corresponding system of the semantic layer is the framework,and the lexical and grammatical layer is the material,which reflects,supports,links and advances each other step by step.The third dimension is from the perspective of rank scale and translation with equivalence of implication,it shows strong practicability.In view of the particularity of the genre of allusion used in The Governance of China,the research object is limited in selecting independent sentence,clause complex and word complex.The scope of the study can only be determined by the four expressions of “rank shift” in the theme and rheme of the sentence.The results show that the rank scale theory is a very important part of the lexical grammar layer.Through the syntactic analysis process,it is conducive to ensuring the equivalence of implication.In short,stratification and rank scale take interpretation as the axis,revealing translation strategies and skills,serving the core of meta-functional equivalence.Good and bad equivalence,accuracy equivalence and equivalence of implication arethe standards,while meta-functional theory dimension,stratification dimension and rank scale dimension are the approaches.The division of labor and cooperation between standards and approaches is conducive to the application of meta-functional theory to guide the equivalence between allusions and their translations,to clarify the evaluation requirements for translation quality,and to better guide translation practice.