Browsing by Author "Feng, Lei"
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- ItemRetranslation hypotheses revisited : a case study of two English translations of Sanguo Yanyi - the first Chinese novel(Stellenbosch University, Department of Linguistics, 2014) Feng, LeiThis article aims to review the theoretical assumptions of the phenomenon of retranslation, and to test some of these assumptions by studying the data collected from three sample chapters taken from the two complete English translations of Sanguo Yanyi – the first Chinese novel. Firstly, the three suggested denotations of the concept of ‘retranslation’ are identified and clarified. Secondly, the assumptions of retranslation are described, i.e. the necessity for retranslation, motives for retranslation, and the relation between the first translation and the retranslation of the same source text. Thirdly, the data from the sample chapters are analysed to test these assumptions. The general macro-structural features and some of the microstructural features of the two translations are studied and compared. Lastly, a conclusion from the findings is drawn as the verification of the assumptions of the retranslation. The hypotheses of retranslation are also briefly discussed.
- ItemTwo English translations of the Chinese epic novel Sanguo yanyi : a descriptive and functionalist study(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012-12) Feng, Lei; Feinauer, A. E.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Afrikaans and Dutch.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This comparative study investigates the English translations of China’s first novel, Sanguo yanyi. The focus is firstly on describing the factors that affect the production of each of the translations and secondly on identifying and determining the approaches and strategies used by the two translators. The primary objective of the study is to gain a better understanding of literary translation between two distinctly different languages by objectively describing and analyzing the factors relevant to the production of the two translations. The secondary objective is to evaluate the two translations by using the functionalist approach to translation. To this end, the study determines which of the two translations better serves the purpose of providing South African students of Chinese with insight into and appreciation of some aspects of Chinese culture which would enhance their Chinese studies. The key theories and models that are introduced and applied are Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS), which was mainly established by Gideon Toury in the 1980s and the Functionalist Approach, which was established by Vermeer and Reiss also in the 1980s and further developed by Nord. DTS focuses on pragmatic aspects, such as social, cultural and communicative practices instead of only on linguistic units. Within this framework, decisionmaking processes and translational norms of the two translators of Sanguo yanyi are examined. Three representative chapters of the source text and their translations are selected as the focus of the investigation. Furthermore, a description of the entire translation process is provided – from the translators’ original planning and agents acting as patrons of the project to the approaches and strategies that the translators are considered to have adopted in the process of translating. Within Functionalism the function of the target text in the target culture determines which aspects of the source text should be transferred to the target text. From this theoretical approach the findings regarding the translation strategies and processes in the translations of Sanguo yanyi are used to ultimately determine the extent to which the translators succeed in conveying the collective memory of some of the cultural-historical issues in China to the target texts, while at the same time making the texts accessible to Western (South African) students.