Abstract Hong Lou Meng, a carrier of Chinese great literature, has been attracting researchers’ attention since its publication. Researchers have focused on various aspects of the novel, including Jinling Prophecies. It acts as the “eye” of the novel, revealing destinies and fortunes of women in the novel and serves as a hint foreshadowing later development. Cao Xueqin, skilled at writing techniques, employed a variety of techniques in the book, including metaphor, allusion, pun, imagery, euphemism, etc. Written in poetry with high conciseness and language charming, it has always been a problem among scholars as how to tackle these elements in translation. Although a number of scholars have stepped their foot into translation study in Hong Lou Meng, few of them focus on translation of Jinling Prophecies and its different versions.35526
By the comparison of the versions by the Yangs and Hawkes with detailed explanation of some examples and the application of functional equivalence theory, it can be concluded that the translators adopted different translation strategies. The Yangs pursue formal equivalence in an attempt to spread Chinese culture to foreign readers, while Hawkes confirms to functional equivalence in order to convey to the receptors the same feelings the original Chinese readers have. As to the evaluation of the two versions, the functional equivalence theory may provide readers and critics a new prospective. It supposes that a good translation doesn’t need to be “faithful” to the original form. What really matters is whether the translation can achieve the same effect the original receptor has to the source text.
This thesis introduces the main viewpoints of functionalist translation theory and then applies the theory to the analysis of rhetorical translation in Jinling Prophecies. It tries to point out which translation confirms more to the functional equivalence theory by analyzing their treatments to rhetorical devices in detail and why they choose that approach. It provides us a new idea that a good translation must be the closest natural equivalence and focuses on the reproduction of the message rather than the form. After the research, it is discovered that each version is reasonable and there isn’t a better one. Besides, the author attempts to make constructive comments or suggestions to the further development of the related study.
Key Words: Jinling prophecies Rhetorical devices Receptor’s response Functional equivalence
摘要 《红楼梦》是中国文学名著的集大成者。自问世以来,对其的研究经久不衰,内容包罗万象,其中就包括对金陵判词的翻译。这14首判词堪称小说的“书眼”,揭示了书中主要女性人物的命运,为全书的情节发展起到了暗示和铺垫作用。其作者曹雪芹写作技巧精湛,运用了大量的修辞手法,包括隐喻、典故、双关、意象,委婉语等,使得判词具有诗一般的语言,极具凝炼性和语言美。然而,也正是由于其独特的艺术魅力,如何处理这些修辞手法的翻译一直是困扰众多学者的问题。之前的学者鲜有涉及对金陵判词的不同版本翻译的研究。许多传统的翻译理论也都无法成功解释修辞的翻译,因此《红楼梦》在这一领域的研究一直未能有所突破。
本文试图通过引用奈达的功能对等理论对两个译本进行对比分析。通过其对修辞具体的处理方式,总结出译者采用的翻译策略。杨宪益夫妇主要偏于形式上的对等,大多临摹原作。而霍克斯则秉持着对读者负责的态度追求功能对等,以此让目标读者获得与原读者相同的阅读感受。而对于这两个版本何者更好的争论也由来已久,奈达的功能翻译理论为这一问题的解决提供了一个崭新的评判视角。该理论认为优秀的翻译作品不应完全拘泥于原作的形式,而应致力于目标读者阅读时的理解程度。此外,本篇论文介绍了功能对等理论的主要观点并将其运用于金陵判词翻译的研究,试图指出哪一种版本更符合该理论的核心思想以及作者为何选择这种翻译策略。 功能对等理论《红楼梦》金陵判词翻译研究:http://www.youerw.com/yingyu/lunwen_33521.html