Linguistic Analysis Of Chinese Versions Of The Bible From The Perspective Of Dynamic Adaptation

As a typical religious and cultural classic,the Bible is the most translated literature in the world.There are many Chinese versions of the Bible.This thesis focuses on analyzing the linguistic features of its Chinese Union Version(CUV)and the Revision of the Chinese Union Version(RCUV).The CUV was published in 1919.Almost a century later its revision,the RCUV was published in 2010.Since the past one century,great changes have taken place in the Chinese language,translation theories and the Chinese social background as well.But up till now,there are only a few comparative studies on the two versions of The Bible.Due importance should be given on these two versions.Based on the Adaptation theory proposed by the Belgian linguist Jef Verschueren,this paper makes a contrastive analysis of Genesis and Matthew in the CUV and its revision.This paper makes a comparative textual analysis of the two versions and compares the translation strategies from the perspective of dynamic adaptation.There are two findings as follows: 1)some lexical choices,sentence structures and discourses in the CUV,do not conform to the background of contemporary Chinese and general vocabulary and grammatical structure.On the basis of the CUV,the RCUV makes revisions on above items accordingly.2)Literal translation is mostly used in both versions.But the RCUV has made some changes in texts in CUV that are archaic and that do not conform to the advancement of times,the changes of Chinese language and Chinese context.Through a comparative analysis of the two versions of the Bible,this paper can deepen readers' understanding of the Bible and to some degree,promote the communication and understanding between Eastern and Western cultures.Therefore,it has cultural meaning.Secondly,it has made a brief introduction to the basic concept of Adaptation Theory and its application in both versions of the Bible.Therefore,it has theoretical meaning.Finally,the translation is a transcultural behavior.And retranslation or revision is also a process of adaptation.By studying the application of adaptation theory in both versions,the paper is of practical meaning.