| Traditional narratology belongs to the category of structuralism,as it analyzes the narrative structures and rules within a text.With an increase in the “generalization of narratives”,narrative theory takes on an appearance of interdisciplinary tendency and starts to focus on the relationship between socio-historical context and narrative structures.Mona Baker is one of the representatives.In 2006,through a creative combination of narrative theories from sociology and communication studies with translation studies,she proposes that translation is a re-narration and emphasizes the vital role translation plays in cultural exchanges and political situations.During the process of translation,and based on the narrative stance,the translators,publishers,editors and other participants involved in the interaction strengthen,undermine,or change some of the content implied in the original discourse through various strategies to adjust the narrative features,realizing the narrative framing in the target text.Under the guidance of Mona Baker's narrative theory,this thesis probes into the narrative framing strategies adopted in Shapiro's translation of The Family and analyzes their effects.At the same time,by exploring the dynamic relationship between the translation and the public narrative advanced by society,this thesis also reveals the deep motivations behind the framing behaviour.Through this study,it can be concluded that at a macro level,the publisher takes the western context into consideration and selects Shapiro,a foreign translator with dualidentity to translate The Family,which sparks the reading interests of western readers.Besides,the translator also arouses western readers' resonance based on the reproduction of the “rebellious” theme in his translation of The Family,realizing temporal and spatial framing.Then,in the translation process,through the deletion of unfavourable content,insertion of explanatory information and addition for narrative stance,the translator enhances the understanding of the readers and also strengthens the public narrative of “anti-feudalism” supported by China.The translator then conducts the label framing of address forms,culture-loaded words,and lexical meaning whereby the readability of the target text is improved and the “man-eating” nature of feudalism is foregrounded,helping the readers realize and identify with the Chinese narrative position of fighting against feudal superstition and ridding themselves of the old society.Finally,by shifting the deictic parameter,register,and narrative perspectives,the translator strengthens the explicitation in narrative levels,repositions the relationships between the participants,and shortens the distance between characters,target text and readers.With the translation of The Family,the repeated exposure to these framing strategies strengthens the public narrative of“anti-feudalism”,thus facilitating the spread of dominant narrative of“new socialist China” characterized by democracy and equality in the western world.It not only speeds up the shaping of Chinese positive global image during the early days of its founding,but also improves the cultural communication between China and western countries.Therefore,framing narratives reflects the needs of the times.Influenced by the political ideology of the state and the dominant poetics,the framingbehaviour is the publisher's selection of the text and the translator at a macro level.At the same time,it is also the combined result of being faithful to the original text,safeguarding public narratives,spreading dominant narratives,and connecting Chinese and western cultures conducted by the translator.As important participants of framing narratives,translators and publishers should make efforts to realize the function of translation as a booster in promoting cultural communication,alleviating political conflicts and accelerating social development on the premise of facts and reason so that they can spread the Chinese voice and tell Chinese stories better. |
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