A Report On The Chinese Translation Of The Night Diary(Excerpts)

The report is based on the children’s novel,The Night Diary(Excerpts).This book,written by Indian American writer,Veera Hiranandani,won the 2019 Newbery Honor Award.In diary entries,the book tells the story of an ordinary family in West Asia who was forced to move because of the partition of India and Pakistan.Guided by the translation theory of Jiri Levy,a Czechoslovakian translation theorist,the report makes a case analysis after analyzing the features of the source text.After making reference to a large number of other children’s literature translations and background information and combining with domestic and foreign scholars’ research on Jiri Levy’s translation theory,different techniques are applied according to the language features of children’s literature.Reduplication and onomatopoeia are used under the guidance of definitional and selective instructions.Addition,omission,and colloquialism are used under the guidance of minimax strategy.Under the guidance of the theory of illusion,Chinese common sayings and four-character phrases are adopted.These techniques make the translation vivid and natural,close to the children’s language.It can not only keep the language style of the source text but also guarantee its function of teaching and entertaining.Through this practice,it can be seen that Jiri Levy’s translation theory is of strong practical significance in literary translation,especially in children’s literature translation.It not only emphasizes the translator’s subjective initiative but also explains the situation and limitation of the translator’s subjective initiative.It is hoped that this translation report will be helpful to the study of children’s literature translation.