A Study on the English Translation of Culture-loaded Terms in Happy Dreams from the Perspective of Susan Bassnetts Cultural Translation Theory 苏珊·巴斯奈特文化翻译观视角下《高兴》文化负载词的英译研究文献综述

 2021-12-30 08:12

全文总字数：12851字

文献综述

1. Introduction1.1 Research backgroundAs a famous writer born in Shaanxi, Jia Pingwa, one of the most important and influential writers in China, has enjoyed great reputation in the field of literary. He has created a series of works including 16 novels that have been published, a large number of short stories and prose works which are well-known throughout the country. Chen Xiaoming once commented in the preface to the Ruin City, one of the famous full-length novels of Jia Pingwa, that Among contemporary Chinese writers, Jia Pingwas works are no doubt an amazing wonder of Chinese literature with such an extraordinary writing style. (Jia, 2012). Jia Pingwa has won more than 50 domestic and abroad literature awards, including the National Excellent Short Stories, American Mobil Pegasus Prize for Literature, French Fermina Literature Award, Lu Xun Literature Award for Prose and Mao Dun Literature Award, etc. It is universally acknowledged that the language of each country is the carrier of its culture. Liao Qiyi (2000) believes that culture-loaded terms refer to words, phrases, and idioms that are unique to a certain culture reflecting the lifestyle of a specific nation that has gradually accumulated in the long historical process, which is different from other nations. The main reason why translators encounter difficulties in translation is that the cultural information carried by the source language is hard to find a match in the target language. Therefore, looking for the English translation corresponding with culture-loaded terms in the original work cannot be escaped for translators, especially in the translation of Jia Pingwas works with strong local styles.Susan Bassnetts cultural translation theory has an important position in the field of translation studies. She believes that translation is by no means a purely linguistic activity but deeply rooted in the culture of the language and translation is the communication between and within cultures. Translation studies have gradually turned from linguistic level to cultural level which causes the fact that the factor of cultural information has become an essential part of translation studies. This thesis tries to throw light upon the translation studies by analyzing the English version Happy Dreams of Gao Xing written by Jia Pingwa from the perspective of Susan Bassnetts cultural translation theory.Given the above information, the present study intends to make a comprehensive analysis of Happy Dream from the perspective of Susan Bassnetts cultural translation theory, especially the culture-loaded terms in the translation. English translation corresponds to culture-loaded terms correctly, which is a vital criterion for judging the quality of translation and it is of great significance to evaluate the success of the translation as well.2. Need of the studyThe thesis can provide research suggestions for future studies. Jia Pingwa has made such a huge contribution to Chinese literature, nevertheless, the translation of his works has rarely been studied in recent years. The number of translation studies of his works is inconsistent with his domestic literary status (Feng Shi, 2018: 8). Namely, translation studies are seriously insufficient. Besides, the culture-loaded terms are of great significance to the study of translations. The successful translation of the cultural loaded words reflects the translators superb grasp of culture and language, which can provide valuable information for others to translate literature works in the future as well. Last but not least, what cannot be ignored is the importance of culture in the analysis of literary works. In the context of globalization, Bassnett has noticed that culture is the human body and language is the human heart. In her view, translation is not only a linguistic transformation but also an intercultural communication. Therefore, there is an obvious need for conducting the thesis. 1.3 Research purposesThe present study aims to analyze the translation of culture-loaded terms in English version Happy Dreams from the perspective of Susan Bassnetts cultural translation theory. Some scholars have analyzed the English version under the framework of teleology or sociology, and some have investigated the dietary vocabulary or folk customs in the English version. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research from Susan Bassnetts cultural translation theory, which means that this thesis can draw lessons from previous studies and endeavor to analyze Happy Dreams from a more comprehensive and novel angle. In addition, there is no doubt that Happy Dream is a successful translation. Liang Hongtao (2020) found that as the only Chinese literary work listed in the 2017 Amazon Translation Project, Happy Dreams has attracted great attention and been appreciated from overseas readers since its publication. In the other words, it is a translation successfully spreading Chinese culture and expanding Chinas influence in the world, which is the purpose pursued by all translation of Chinese traditional literary work. This thesis can reveal the secret of its success, which can be taken advantage of by other translators to pursue higher quality translation. 2.Literature review2.1 Previous studies of Gao Xing and its English version Happy DreamsGao Xing, Jia Pingwas novel published in 2007, describes the story of Liu Gaoxing who is a farmer in northern Shaanxi and goes to the city to glean and collect scraps to eke out an existence. Ten years later, it was translated into English by the famous British translator Nicky Harman and published on Amazon Crossing. Its English version Happy Dreams is highly accepted by readers. Happy Dreams has aroused positive comments from many top international authoritative journals, including New York Times Book Review, Publishers Weekly. At the same time, it was ranked first in Amazon Asian literature and foreign translated literature. English version of Gao Xing has become a successful case of Chinese literature going out (Liang, 2020: 89). Although Jia Pingwas works are prestigious throughout the country, the English version of his novels has made progress in recent years. Before the publication of its English version, what attracts the most attention are images, plot and theme of Gao Xing, so many scholars conducted researches based on these elements. For example, Zhu Aixian (2018) explored the practical significance of the main character, and Zhang Yunan (2015) investigated the conflicts between rural and urban cultures. After the publication of Happy Dreams, some scholars analyzed the strong local features in its English version. For example, Zhang Rui (2020) analyzed food vocabulary in the English version in an attempt to help spread Shaanxis food culture. While some scholars investigated the strategies of the English version from different angles. For instance, Wang Pengli (2019) analyzed the English version from three aspects including ideology, poetics, patronage to provide suggestions for Chinese literature going out from the perspective of Lefeveres manipulation theory. Cui Luomei (2020) explored the cultural connotations and poetic values of the English version based on Greeblatts Culture Poetics. Wang Ajing (2020) drew on the sociology of the famous French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu to analyze the interaction of translation activities of Happy Dreams which makes contributions to the translation of Chinese literature. Through the previous studies on Happy Dreams, it can be found that former studies analyzed the translation strategies from different theories and put forward some suggestions for literary translation at the same time. However, no one has analyzed the culture-loaded terms in the Happy Dreams from the perspective of Susan Bassnetts cultural translation theory so far. This thesis can make up for this blank and provide diversified angle for future researches.2.2 Overview of Susan Bassnetts translation theoryThe Name and Nature of Translation Studies written by James Homes, which was published in 1972 is considered a sign of the establishment of the translation studies school (Deng Qin, 2007: 104). Since then, understanding of translation has continued to deepen. Among many scholars and translation theorists, Susan Bassnett has attracted widespread attention with her profound understanding and unique insights.A turning point of cultural studies came in the 1970s. Translation has developed from a small branch under applied linguistics to an independent subject, culture has gradually shown a pluralistic trend. Therefore, cultural studies and translation studies have become more closely related. In 1980, Translation Studies was published. Wang (2006) believed that the value of Translation Studies is not hard to see for it has been introduced into the foreign translation studies series by Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press and republished many times. It is divided into three parts. The first part analyzes meaning in translation, untranslatability and so on. The second part discusses the different views of translation in different historical periods and their internal relations. The third part combines the translation of poetry, prose and drama to discuss the specific issues of translation. The basic categories and existing problems, development status and prospects of translation research are summarized in it analyzing and explaining the specific text types as well. It is a new page for the study of translation and related disciplines. From Wang (2006), this book is a milestone and faithful reality of her translation research and practice.In 1990, Translation, History and Culture, written with Andre Lefevere, was published and Susan Bassnett first proposed the development direction of the cultural turn of translation studies. At that time, the entire translation study was basically confined to the academic atmosphere from the perspective of structural linguistics. Bassnett advocated to view the history and phenomenon of translation in history with a descriptive perspective (Zhang, 2006:169). She pioneered the history of translation, target language culture, translation and poetics into translation research, and advocated attention to the historical culture behind the text. Chen (2019) viewed that this groundbreaking insight has freed translation studies from the shackles of traditional linguistics, and subject of translation has started to rejuvenate in the cultural context. Translation studies made a major breakthrough and finally formed a cultural school in the field of Western translation theory. In 1998, in her article, Translation Turn in Cultural Studies, Susan Bassnett pointed out that translation studies have moved out of the stage of formalism and began to emphasize broader issues such as context and history.2.3 Definition of culture-loaded termsCulture-loaded terms obviously contain cultural meanings, so it is difficult to achieve cultural equivalence in the target language. It is not surprising that those terms have always been the focus of translation. According to Nida (1964), culture-loaded terms are words that appear in a certain cultural environment or considered to be applicable for a particular culture. They can only find similar things in target culture rather than be substituted. In the language system, culture-loaded terms, which often appear in the form of metaphors, can reflect the cultural information carried by language and the social life of a nation. Culturally-loaded words refer to those words or phrases which convey a certain kind of cultural connotations or associations which may or may not be found in other languages or cultures (Zhang, Huo 苏珊，黄德先（2009），翻译研究与比较文学的未来苏珊巴斯奈特访谈，中国比较文学，2，15-22。

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