| Author: | Wu, Kan |
| Title: | A study on the translators’ styles in the English translations of Er Ma : a corpus stylistic approach |
| Advisors: | Li, Dechao (CBS) |
| Degree: | DALS |
| Year: | 2021 |
| Subject: | Translating and interpreting Literature -- Translations Literary style Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations |
| Department: | Faculty of Humanities |
| Pages: | xi, 402 pages : color illustrations |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | Drawing 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. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5470.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 11.44 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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