A Study On The Translation Of Culture-loaded Words In Big Breasts &wide Hips From The Perspective Of The Variation Theory

Big Breasts & Wide Hips is one of the best-known masterpieces by Mo Yan,which depicts the Chinese society spanning from the Anti-Japanese War to the Reform and Opening-up,a period when a large number of culture-loaded words(CLWs)with Chinese characteristics had come into existence.For one thing,these words,endowed with abundant but distinctive cultural implications,are one of the essential mediums through which to know a heterogeneous civilization and an exotic culture.For another,the heterogeneity and uniqueness of these words may result in the distortion and variation of information in the process of literary communication.The Variation Theory advanced by Cao Shunqing is a theory in comparative literature.It aims to explore the inherent laws of literary variation via a study of the variations emerging in communication among diverse countries and civilizations.It provides a new perspective for translation studies on CLWs.This thesis selects Howard Goldblatt’s English version of Feng Ru Fei Tun as the research object and the Variation Theory as the theoretical framework.Based on Nida’s standard of cultural classification,first,this study focuses on five categories of CLWs in Big Breasts & Wide Hips,including ecological CLWs,material CLWs,social CLWs,religious CLWs,and linguistic CLWs.Then,it analyzes Howard Goldblatt’s methods to translate CLWs in Big Breasts & Wide Hips from the levels of the cross-language variation,cross-text variation,and cross-cultural variation.Finally,it aims to explore further the factors that influence the translator’s choice of translation methods.This study finds that Goldblatt adopts flexible methods,like free translation,adaptation,transliteration and such while translating CLWs in Big Breasts & Wide Hips.Firstly,on the level of the cross-language variation,influenced by different forms of language expression and sentence structures in the target-language and source-language nations,Goldblatt employs free translation and adaptation while translating linguistic CLWs,aiming to make the translated text conform to the norms of the target language and target readers’ language habits.Secondly,on the level of the cross-text variation,driven by Goldblatt’s dual roles as translator and reader,he adopts literal translation,transliteration and individualized free translation while translating social and ecological CLWs,which reflects the translator’s concern about the target readers’ text reception.Thirdly,on the level of the cross-cultural variation,affected by different cultural molds and cultural settings in the target-language and source-language nations,his methods of translating CLWs go as follows: 1.adopting transliteration,transliteration plus explanation,free translation and literal translation while translating material CLWs;2.adopting literal translation,free translation and such while translating social CLWs;3.adopting transliteration plus literal translation and deletion while translating religious CLWs,which are manifestations of literary misinterpretation and cultural filtering.In conclusion,this thesis sums up Howard Goldblatt’s translation methods by analyzing the variations emerging in the translation of CLWs in Big Breasts & Wide Hips and further probes into its reasons,which,hopefully,is conducive to the current mission of translating Chinese literature into other languages and contributing to the overseas dissemination of Chinese culture.