4.2 Function of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz    12
4.3 Comparative Studies of Functional Equivalence Achieved in Two Chinese Versions of The Wonderful of Oz    14
Chapter Five Conclusion    24
5.1 Significant Findings of the Study    24
5.2 Limitations of the Study    25
5.3 Suggestions for the Future Study    26
References    27
On Children’s Literature Translation from the Perspective of Functional Equivalence —— A Case Study of Two Chinese Versions of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Chapter One Introduction
1.1    Background
Children’s Literature (CL) plays an important role in the development of children. It offers them a world full of knowledge and enjoyment, which is helpful to the development of children.
One of the most famous children’s literature works is The Wonderful Wizard of Oz written by Lyman Frank Baum. Baum(1958, p.1) dedicated the book “to my good friend & comrade, My Wife”.
Baum creates a magic world for children, in which children can receive education and happiness. So far, it has been translated into several different languages and adapted into films. They are all loved by millions of children in the world. According to New York Times:
The book has a bright and joyous atmosphere, and does not dwell upon killing and deeds of violence. Enough stirring adventure enters into it, however, to flavor it with zest, and it will indeed be strange if there be a normal child who will not enjoy the story. (1900)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz enjoys a great reputation in the field of CL. In the history of American children’s literature, it is known as one of the ten greatest children’s literature works, and it is recommended as one of the best children’s literature books by American National Educational Association (ANEA).
1.2    Research Rationale
Nowadays, more and more studies of the Children’s Literature Translation (CLT) are made. Though there are many articles about it, the study on CLT hasn’t formed a mature theoretical system. The thesis hopes to make a contribution to the study of CLT.
The reasons why this thesis chooses The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as the study material are as follows:
Firstly, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz plays an important role in the history of children’s literature, serving as the representative of the best-known children’s literature works.
Secondly, the two Chinese versions of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz can be representatives of all its translations to some extent. On one hand, Chen Bochui is considered as the most famous children educator, the writer and translator of children’s literature in China. He is the pioneer and founder of Chinese modern children's Literature and known as "Oriental Andersen". The theories of CLT put forward by him are widely accepted by translators at home and abroad. Taking Chen Bochui’s achievements in the fields of CL and CLT into consideration, the thesis chooses his Chinese version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as the study material because his translation can be typical and worth studying. On the other hand, Ma Ainong is also a famous translator in China. She has translated the series of novels, Harry Porter, which is popular in China. She still translates many other famous children’s literature works such as Anne of Green Gables and The Secret of Mooonacre. As the representative of the modern translator of CL, her translation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is worthwhile to study.
When it comes to the translation theory, Nida’s functional equivalence has been widely used in translation, including CLT. Many translators agree that the functional equivalence plays the guiding role in CLT. So choosing it as the translation theory to study the two Chinese versions of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is representative in some ways. 《绿野仙踪》马爱农和陈伯吹两个中译本对比研究(2):http://www.youerw.com/yingyu/lunwen_21124.html