A Comparative Study Of Red Star Over China From The Perspective Of Toury’s Translation Theory Of Norms

Red Star over China,authored by American journalist Edgar Snow,is a classic of documentary literature.The book not only helps to break through the blockade of domestic news of the 1930 s but also promotes a positive image of the Chinese Communist Party on the international stage.This thesis utilizes Gideon Toury’s theory of translation norms to compare and analyze the Chinese translations of Dong Leshan and Hu Yuzhi of Red Star over China from three perspectives: preliminary norms,operational norms,and initial norms.The findings of this thesis are listed as follows:1.From the perspective of preliminary norms,the translator’s choice of original material and whether or not an intermediary language is employed in the translation process will be influenced by the translator’s era background.2.From the viewpoint of operational norms,firstly,different cultural backgrounds,personal translation tendencies and knowledge reserves will influence the translators’ choice of different methods of translation,such as omission,addition and annotation.Hu’s translation has more omissions than Dong’s translation.Secondly,due to the differences between the two languages,both translations have additions and some notes,in which the translator uses concise words to explain the original text in order to maximize the reader’s comprehension of the original text.Thirdly,both translators pour their subjective emotions into the translation of Red Star over China,and their language differs widely due to their various backgrounds,and there are inevitable mistranslations of some phrases,such as people’s and place names,which are summarized in this thesis.Fourthly,the idioms utilized in Dong’s translation are more common and more in line with Chinese conventions on a syntactic level.Finally,the two translators have done a fantastic job dealing with the rhetorical devices in the original text,suitably employing similes,metaphors,and allusions.3.From the standpoint of initial norms,Dong Leshan declares his translation tendency prior to translation,while Hu Yuzhi’s translation tendency is inferred by evaluating the translated text,and the translator’s translation practice is influenced by the translation tendency,either purposefully or unintentionally.