On The Translation Of Linguistic Deviations In Wei Cheng From The Perspective Of Foregrounding Theory

With the ever-increasing popularity of cultural exchanges between China and Western countries,the world has witnessed the importance of the translation of Chinese literary works.As translation should adapt to the style of original text,foregrounding theory,as one of the most important research points in literary stylistics,is significant in the study of literary translation.Wei Cheng,acclaimed as one of modern China’s two best novels,is chosen for its rich linguistic deviations and the great success that its English version,Fortress Besieged by Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K.Mao,has achieved.The research objective is to explore specific subcategories of each type of linguistic deviation in Wei Cheng from the perspective of Foregrounding Theory and their corresponding translation methods employed in Fortress Besieged and what student translators can learn from the reproduction of these deviations when they are confronted with different kinds of linguistic deviations in their literary translation practice.The research questions are as follows: What subcategories does each type of deviation in Wei Cheng contain under the framework of Foregrounding Theory?Which translating method is mostly used in different types of linguistic deviations respectively in Fortress Besieged,the English version of Wei Cheng? What can student translators learn from the translation of linguistic deviations in Fortress Besieged?The study is an empirical research,including quantitative analysis and qualitative research.The data are collected from the Chinese version of Wei Cheng written by Qian and its English version-Fortress Besieged by Kelly and Mao.The theoretical tool for this study is Foregrounding Theory.Research procedures are as such: firstly identify linguistic deviations in Wei Cheng and classify them into corresponding five categories based on Leech’s classification and specific linguistic features in Wei Cheng: phonological deviation,graphological deviation,lexicaldeviation,semantic deviation and ancillary deviation;then mark the translating method of each deviation and collect data;divide translating methods of linguistic deviations into the following seven types: literal translation,free translation,literal translation with annotation,transliteration,transliteration with annotation,zero translation and omission;finally make a detailed analysis of data collected and find answers to research questions.Data analysis shows that literal translation is the most commonly used method in rendering phonological deviations,graphological deviations and semantic deviations,while free translation is more often adopted in translating lexical deviations and ancillary deviations.Literal translation is employed to convey the meanings and foregrounding effects of the original text with higher frequency.Since lexical deviations mainly come from creating new words or endowing old words with new meanings,and ancillary deviations consist of dialects,register borrowing or register mixing and archaisms,all of which essentially deviate from contextual conventions,they are mainly freely translated.Transliteration and literal translation with annotation are also used in the reproduction of new words or new meanings of old words.Due to the cultural differences between English and Chinese,semantic deviations and ancillary deviations are usually translated freely.However,in Fortress Besieged,translators give preference to literal translation to highlight the language style of the author and the foregrounding effects of the original text.Through a detailed study on the translation of language deviations in Wei Cheng,literal translation can be more often adopted to best reproduce the style of original texts in our literary translation practice.