The main purpose of this paper is to develop useful empirical research methods to advance the understanding of experimental Chinese literary translation. This will be based on an empirical corpus-based study of two mo...The main purpose of this paper is to develop useful empirical research methods to advance the understanding of experimental Chinese literary translation. This will be based on an empirical corpus-based study of two modern Chinese versions of Gabriel Garcfa Marquez＇s One Hundred Years of Solitude. The case study reveals that in translating linguistic events, textual features and cultural phenomena that are unknown to the target audience, for example, magical realism, into Chinese, translators may adopt a range of translation strategies and tactics that lead to significant differences between the genre of the translation and the corre- sponding genre in the target language. New linguistic expressions and writing techniques introduced by experimental literary translation will either be normalised by existing writing conventions or be accepted by the target readership which in turn will expand and enrich the target language and cultural system.展开更多
This article focuses on two English translations of Ji Yun＇s 纪昀 eigh- teenth-century collection of ＂stories of the strange,＂ Random Jottings at the Cottage of Close Scrutiny （Yuewei caotang biji 阅微草堂笔记）. ...This article focuses on two English translations of Ji Yun＇s 纪昀 eigh- teenth-century collection of ＂stories of the strange,＂ Random Jottings at the Cottage of Close Scrutiny （Yuewei caotang biji 阅微草堂笔记）. The translation done by Leo Tak-hung Chan is set within the context of his 1998 sinological monograph, while David Pollard＇s recent translation, published in 2014, stands as an edited volume of translation oriented toward the general reader. Referring to textual and paratextual elements in these two translations, I hope to show how the ＂setting＂ of a translation modulates its tone and message, which in turn unfolds with the selection, style and overall structure of the translation. I also draw from an actual dialog between Leo Chan and David Pollard, which evolves around the various aspects in translating Ji Yun＇s work and the more general issues in sinology and translating Chinese literature. The dialog between the two translators of Ji Yun further illustrates the translators＇ approaches to the original text, their mediating efforts toward crosscultural readability and literary felicity and specifically, how the state of mind of a translator might come into play with the ＂flavor＂ of a translation.展开更多
文摘The main purpose of this paper is to develop useful empirical research methods to advance the understanding of experimental Chinese literary translation. This will be based on an empirical corpus-based study of two modern Chinese versions of Gabriel Garcfa Marquez＇s One Hundred Years of Solitude. The case study reveals that in translating linguistic events, textual features and cultural phenomena that are unknown to the target audience, for example, magical realism, into Chinese, translators may adopt a range of translation strategies and tactics that lead to significant differences between the genre of the translation and the corre- sponding genre in the target language. New linguistic expressions and writing techniques introduced by experimental literary translation will either be normalised by existing writing conventions or be accepted by the target readership which in turn will expand and enrich the target language and cultural system.
文摘This article focuses on two English translations of Ji Yun＇s 纪昀 eigh- teenth-century collection of ＂stories of the strange,＂ Random Jottings at the Cottage of Close Scrutiny （Yuewei caotang biji 阅微草堂笔记）. The translation done by Leo Tak-hung Chan is set within the context of his 1998 sinological monograph, while David Pollard＇s recent translation, published in 2014, stands as an edited volume of translation oriented toward the general reader. Referring to textual and paratextual elements in these two translations, I hope to show how the ＂setting＂ of a translation modulates its tone and message, which in turn unfolds with the selection, style and overall structure of the translation. I also draw from an actual dialog between Leo Chan and David Pollard, which evolves around the various aspects in translating Ji Yun＇s work and the more general issues in sinology and translating Chinese literature. The dialog between the two translators of Ji Yun further illustrates the translators＇ approaches to the original text, their mediating efforts toward crosscultural readability and literary felicity and specifically, how the state of mind of a translator might come into play with the ＂flavor＂ of a translation.
