Retranslation hypotheses revisited : a case study of two English translations of Sanguo Yanyi - the first Chinese novel
Date
2014
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch University, Department of Linguistics
Abstract
This 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.
Description
CITATION: Feng, L. 2014. Retranslation hypotheses revisited : a case study of two English translations of Sanguo Yanyi - the first Chinese novel. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus, 43:69-86, doi:10.5842/43-0-209.
The original publication is available at http://spilplus.journals.ac.za
The original publication is available at http://spilplus.journals.ac.za
Keywords
Translating and interpreting, Retranslation revisited, Sanguo Yanyi -- Criticism and interpretation, Literature -- Translations -- History and criticism
Citation
Feng, L. 2014. Retranslation hypotheses revisited : a case study of two English translations of Sanguo Yanyi - the first Chinese novel. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus, 43:69-86, doi:10.5842/43-0-209.