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dc.contributorFaculty of Humanitiesen_US
dc.contributor.advisorLi, Dechao (CBS)en_US
dc.creatorWu, Kan-
dc.identifier.urihttps://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/11005-
dc.languageEnglishen_US
dc.publisherHong Kong Polytechnic Universityen_US
dc.rightsAll rights reserveden_US
dc.titleA study on the translators’ styles in the English translations of Er Ma : a corpus stylistic approachen_US
dcterms.abstractDrawing on a corpus stylistic approach, this study compares the translators' styles in the four English translations of Lao She's Er Ma to reveal the linguistic idiosyncrasies (Cf. 4.2) they have shown in the reconstruction of the literary themes of the novel as well as the textual panoramas (Cf. 4.2) they have built in their target texts (TTs). The significance of the research is twofold: it captures the translators' styles from a relatively systematic perspective that interconnects the forensic features (keywords, n-grams, etc.) in the TTs with their literary functions/effects (e.g. literary themes, effects). It also offers an alternative view on the study of Lao She's novel and its translations by examining how the diasporic Chinese experiences are presented in Er Ma and resurfaced in its English translations. Specifically, a concordance-based keywords analysis (i.e. theme-related keywords) and the text-mining technique of the principle component analysis, both of which can be broadly categorized under the umbrella concept of corpus stylistic approach, are employed to investigate these translators' styles in the English translations of Er Ma. The findings from the two types of comparisons (i.e. ST-TT and TT-TT) show that the stylistic pictures of these translators converge and diverge under different analytic lens (e.g. thematic reconstruction, textual panorama building) with some varied interpretational effects that influence target readers' understanding of the story characters. Potential factors leading to such stylistic shifts are manifold, ranging from "translatorial" ones such as translatorial motivation, stance and preference, to "extra-translatorial" ones of equal significance, such as patronaging intervention and post-translational influence. This research contributes to the corpus-assisted study of translatorial style and Corpus Stylistics first by suggesting a relatively systematic analytic framework and second by extending the corpus stylistic approach to the study of translators --- important agents in the process of translation. Furthermore, it also seeks to contribute to literary studies of Lao She by uncovering the ways early diasporic Chinese experiences are re-presented in the translation.en_US
dcterms.extentxi, 402 pages : color illustrationsen_US
dcterms.isPartOfPolyU Electronic Thesesen_US
dcterms.issued2021en_US
dcterms.educationalLevelDALSen_US
dcterms.educationalLevelAll Doctorateen_US
dcterms.LCSHTranslating and interpretingen_US
dcterms.LCSHLiterature -- Translationsen_US
dcterms.LCSHLiterary styleen_US
dcterms.LCSHHong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertationsen_US
dcterms.accessRightsrestricted accessen_US

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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/11005