An analysis of Zhang Peijis Prose Translation from the Perspective of Functional Equivalence Theory: Exemplified with Enjoying the Moon 从功能对等视角浅析散文翻译-以张培基英译《看月》为例文献综述

 2021-12-28 21:30:24

全文总字数：11625字

文献综述

1. Introduction1.1 Research backgroundUnlike non-literary works, prose has the characteristics of free form and tight spirit. Due to the differences between Eastern and Western languages, translating the beauty of prose into English according to the standards of Italian beauty and form beauty has become a difficult point in recent years.Although many foreign literary masterpieces have been introduced into China, few Chinese proses are transmitted to other countries in the world. Thus, Zhang Peiji, a distinguished translator in China, begun to translate some well-known Chinese modem essays, all of which are collected in Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings, which plays a leading role in updating the guiding ideology of Chinese translation and can be a good textbook for contemporary Westerners to understand China. (Zhu, 2000:61) The theory of functional equivalence is one of the key theories of Eugene A. Nida, whose core is to make target readers respond similarly to the translated text as original readers to the original one, has a considerable influence on Chinese translation. However, its application in the English translation of prose has been rear.This thesis will try to probe into whether Zhang Peiji achieves the functional equivalence in his translation of modem Chinese essays.1.2 Research SignificanceAlthough studying literary translate with the guidance of functional equivalence theory has become a new research interest for scholars in the past two years (Li, s works from the perspective of functional equivalence. Under the research context above, a study of prose translation from the aspect of functional equivalence theory is needed. As a result, this thesis will discuss Zhangs translation from the aspect of functional equivalence theory, hoping that it could bring some inspirations and contributions to prose translation as well as the spread of Chinese culture. 1.3 Organization of the thesisThis thesis is divided into six chapters. The first chapter is a general introduction, discussing the research background, significance and layout of the thesis. Chapter 2 is a literature review, covering previous functional equivalence studies in China and previous studies on Zhang Peiji and his Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings. Then, Chapter 3 interpret in detail the functional equivalence theory, including the evolution of the functional equivalence and the introduction of functional equivalence. In Chapter 4, the author provides background information about Zhang Peiji and his Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings. Chapter 5 conducts an analysis of an article Enjoying the Moon in Zhangs book from the perspective of the theory of functional equivalence in three aspects--meaning, style and culture. The last chapter is a conclusion of this thesis.2. Literature reviewThis chapter gives a detailed explanation of the theoretical framework on which the present study is based, including the overview of Nidas functional equivalence theory, previous studies on functional equivalence in China, Zhang Peiji and his Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings.2.1 Overview of Nidas Functional Equivalence TheoryFunctional equivalence is an expression that replaces dynamic equivalence to avoid some misunderstanding like dynamic only refers to something that has an impact and emphasizes the concept of function.In the book Language, Culture and Translation, Nida divides the theory into two levels: the minimal level and the maximal level. The former one is realistic-- The readers of a translated text should be able to comprehend it to the point that they can conceive of how the original readers of the text must have understood and appreciated it, and the latter one is defined as The readers of a translated text should be able to understand and appreciate it in essentially the same manner as the original readers did (Nida，1993: 118). The theory being raised, Nida brought about a revolution in the field of Bible translation (Stine,2012:38) by changing the translators from missioners to native speakers. That means the holy books translation were produced in a clearer and more accurate way, which resulted in millions of people in hundreds of languages gaining access to the book. (Stine,2012:38)2.2 Previous studies and research problems2.2.1 Previous Studies on Functional Equivalence in ChinaSince it was introduced to China in the 1980s, the functional equivalence theory has gained much attention. Meanwhile, many translation studies related to this theory have been carried out. Some of the main works and articles on the study of Nidas functional equivalence will be listed below. Several studies are based on papers related to the theory. In a 2018 essay, Wang and He found that the number of subject areas combined with functional equivalence has been expanded to 20, from traditional literary translation to film subtitle translation, political and economic report translation, public sign translation, scientific text translation, news translation, dish name translation, medical translation, etc. Similarly, having drawn a visual map of the data through CiteSpace, a characteristic and influential information visualization software in information analysis in recent years, Li and Wang reached a conclusion that even if the number of domestic publications related to functional equivalence theory research has shown a downward trend in recent years, Business English translation and literary translation are the two research hotspots and frontiers at present. (2020:68)Wang and He, however, further found that not only the theorys merit but also defects have been gradually discovered and pointed out by scholars during its spread in China. For one thing, it should be admitted that the introduction of Nidas functional equivalence theory has shifted the attention of domestic translators to translation theory. (2018:16) This turn came hand in hand with attempts to combine Western theories Chinese traditional concepts.(Valden Zhao, 2020:4) For another, it is not practical to fill the gap of culture-loaded words in the target language. They took lucky dog, which literally means "a very lucky dog" but is actually used to mean "a lucky person", as an example. Different from the Western, the Chinese often endows dogs with derogatory meanings. As a result, when translating the word into Chinese, it is 幸运的人 instead of 幸运狗 that puts over the appropriate message. (Wang He, 2018:17)2.2.2 Previous Studies on Zhang Peiji and Selected Modern Chinese Prose WritingsSince the publication of Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings, some translators and scholars have taken great interest in the series, thus many studies have been carried out from different perspectives. In this paper, the author will give a brief review of the previous studies on Zhang Peiji and his Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings.Chen Shutong concentrates her study on the translation principles in Zhangs translations from three levels: meaning, form and cultural difference and sets a high value on his works. (Chen, 2012:105-106) Additionally, in a 2019 article, Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings was analyzed from the perspective of functional equivalence. Nevertheless, three of the four instances are parallel sentences, which are somewhat unsubstantial.While Nie Shaofeng, a lecturer in Zhengzhou Institute of Light Industry, discussed Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings from a new perspective of eco-translatology. He holds the view that Zhangs choice of Chinese modern prose as translation material is the outcome of his adaption to the eco-environment for translation and the adaptive choice of his capacity. (2013:500) What is more, some postgraduate students write their dissertations on the Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings from the perspectives of cross-cultural communication, rhetoric, linguistic adaptation theory and so on. According to the information above, it is nonetheless a relatively popular translation theory among the imported ones in China despite some contradiction. Therefore, this paper tends to analyze Zhangs translations from the perspective of Nidas functional equivalence theory through three angles. Zhang Peijis effort to prose translation cannot be over estimated, so does Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings for its high quality. It is worthy of research on account of their contribution accordingly.ReferencesChen C. (2015). A study on Zhang Peiji ' s retranslation of A Letter to Chiang ChingKuo from the perspective of the theory of functional equivalence. Central China Normal University Journal of Postgraduates,15(1),101-107Despoina, P.(2013). Equivalence in Translation Theories: A Critical Evaluation, Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 3(1), 1-6.Fengling, L. (2017). A comparative study of Nida and Newmark's translation theories, International Journal of Liberal Arts and Social Science, 5(8), 31-40 Li, X. (2010). E. A. Nidas translation theory in China (1980-2000). Perspectives, 18 (4), 287295.Ma, H. (2007). Exploring the differences between Jin Dis translation theory and Eugene A. Nidas translation theory. Babel, 53(2), 98111.Nida, E. A. (1991). Theories of Translation. TTR, 4 (1), 1932.Nida, E. A. (1993). Language, Culture and Translating. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.Nida, E. A. (2001). Language and Culture Contexts in Translation. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.Nord, C. (2001). Translation as a Purposeful Activity: Functionalist Approaches Explained. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.Reiss, K. (2000). Translation Criticism-the Potentials and Limitations, Categories and Criteria for Translation Quality Assessment. Manchester: St. Jcromc Puhlishing.Roberto A. V., Youbin, Z.(2020). Literary translation research in China, Perspectives, 28(5), 645-658.Stine, P. C. (2012). Eugene A. Nida Theoretician of Translation. International Bulletin of Missionary Research, 36(1), 3839. Valden, R. A., Zhao, Y. (2020). Literary translation research in China. Perspectives, 28, 114. 包宏艳（2012），浅谈奈达的功能对等,《科技视界》，29（44）：167，173。

陈姝彤（2012），浅析张培基先生英译散文作品中的翻译原则，《时代文学(上半月)》, （06）：105-106。

郭雯旭（2019），功能对等理论视角下的散文翻译以《英译中国现代散文选》为例，《国际公关》, （12）：255-256。

李文竞、王丽（2020），国内功能对等理论研究状况的可视化分析，《郑州航空工业管理学院学报(社会科学版)》,39（02）:68-77。

聂韶峰（2013），生态翻译学视域下的张培基散文翻译，《沈阳农业大学学报(社会科学版)》，15（04）:498-500。

肖莉、袁继红（2012），奈达翻译理论述评，《赤峰学院学报（自然科学版）》，28（2）:90-92。

汪波、郝兴跃（2018），奈达功能对等理论在中国的传播，《英语广场》，（09）：15-17。

张培基（2007），《英译中国散文选（二）》。

上海：上海外语教育出版社。

剩余内容已隐藏，您需要先支付 10元 才能查看该篇文章全部内容！立即支付

以上是毕业论文文献综述，课题毕业论文、任务书、外文翻译、程序设计、图纸设计等资料可联系客服协助查找。

您可能感兴趣的文章