A Study On The English Version Of Lao Sheng From The Perspective Of Eco-translatology

Shaanxi is abundant in literary resources,and it is of great significance to strengthen the study of translation on Shaanxi literature.In recent years,eco-translatology has gradually attracted the attention of scholars both domestically and overseas in the field of translation studies.The novel Lao Sheng by Shaanxi writer Jia Pingwa was published in 2014,recording the story that took place in the past century in a small village in southern Shaanxi.It is a microcosm of modern China’s growth.It was translated by Canadian translator Christopher Payne and the English version was officially published in 2021.Due to the recent publication of this English version,there has been limited academic research on it.This study takes eco-translatology as the theoretical guidance and explores the English translation of Jia Pingwa’s Lao Sheng from a perspective of multidimensional adaptation and selection.This study is based on two major issues:1.How do the various elements of the translational eco-environment involved in Lao Sheng affect translation activities?2.What multi-dimensional adaptations and selections has the translator made to adapt to the translational eco-environment?It is found from the study that the transtational eco-environment of Lao Sheng can be analyzed from three aspects:the macro environment,the meso environment,and the micro environment,which are composed of many factors such as social environment,cultural environment,original author,original text,translator,target language readers,publisher,and so on.Christopher Payne,the translator of Lao Sheng,actively adapts to the translational eco-environcent during the translating process by making multi-dimensional transformations.Through the analysis of translation examples,this thesis finds that the translator’s adaptive selection and transformation in the language dimension,cultural dimension and communication dimension not only makes the final translation in line with the standards of the target language,but also effectively conveys the cultural connotation and communicative information of the original text.In terms of translation strategy,the translator adopts domesticated translation strategy more frequently,which can improve the acceptability of the target language readers towards the English translation of Lao Sheng.At the same time,without affecting the understanding of the target language readers,the translator adopts a strategy of foreignization for some translations,maximizing the preservation of Chinese cultural characteristics.This study not only provides an in-depth interpretation of the English translation of Lao Sheng,but also demonstrates the guiding significance of eco-translatology in literary translation practice,enriching the research on eco-translatology.In addition,by summarizing the relevant experience of the English translation of Lao Sheng,this thesis can provide some inspirations for Shaanxi literary works to "go global" and help to promote the dissemination of Shaanxi culture in the world.