The Translation Strategies of Chinese Classical Novels into English from the Perspective of the Functional Skopos Theory —A Case Study of Journey to the West
- 1 Faculty of Humanities and Foreign Languages, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an, China
- 2 Faculty of Humanities and Foreign Languages, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an, China
Abstract
As a bridge of information dissemination and communication, translation plays an important role in the development of modern times, especially in the translation of classical literature. This paper takes the functional skopos theory as the theoretical framework, takes the classical literary masterpiece Journey to the West as an example, makes a comparative analysis of the excerpts of Yu Guofan and Arthur Waley’s translations and tries to explore how to use different translation strategies from the perspective of skopos theory. Through analysis and research, it is found that the two scholars use literal translation, free translation and other translation strategies from different perspectives, and each has its own unique features. In order to follow the skopos theory principle and their own cultural value orientation, it is found that Yu Guofan’s translation is more inclined to retain the cultural significance of Journey to the West itself. Waley tends to promote personal heroism. The comparative analysis of this paper aims to help translators adopt more appropriate translation strategies for different audiences, so as to facilitate foreign readers to feel the extensive Chinese literature and to spread Chinese culture.
- Chang, H. J. (2021). Research on the Translation and Introduction Mode of Chinese Classics to Foreign Countries: Taking the Translation of Yu Guofan’s Journey to the West in the United States as an Example. Journal of Hubei University of Science and Technology , No . 6 , 63-68.
- Ding, Y. F. (2021). Translation of Poetry in the Hayes Translation of Journey to the West from the Perspective of Naturalization and Alienation. Overseas English , No. 20 , 42-43, 61.
- Han, J. M. (2020). Subtitle Translation of Cultural Loaded Words in Journey to the West: The Monkey King Returns from a Functionalist Perspective. Overseas English , No . 5 , 116-117.
- Li, J. Y., & Xie, C. H. (2022). A Study on Translation Strategies of Journey to the West from the Perspective of Cultural Capital Theory: Taking Arthur Waley’s English Translation as an Example. Modern English , No . 11 , 42-45.
- Liu, S. Q. (2022). An Analysis of the Translator’s Behavior Criticism in the Faithful Way: Taking Yu Guofan’s English Translation of Journey to the West as an Example. Foreign Language Teaching , No. 5 , 96-101.
- Quan, J. Z. (2017). The Style Orientation of “Estrangement” in Literary Translation: Taking Arthur Waley’s English Translation of “Journey to the West” as an Example. Journal of Huaihai Institute of Technology ( Humanities and Social Sciences Edition) , No. 7 , 69-72.
- Riziwanguli, K., & Abuduwaili, K. (2020). A Review of the Uyghur Translation of “Journey to the West”. In 2020 Conference on Education, Language and Intercultural Communication (pp. 86-97). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.201127.134
- Shi, Q. R. (2021). An Analysis of Omission Techniques in Translation—A Case Study of “Journey to the West”. Taste Classics , No . 21 , 73-76.
- Wang, W. Q., & Li, Y. (2018). On Arthur Waley’s “Rewriting” and “Simplification” of Journey to the West. Journal of Zhejiang University of Foreign Languages , No . 1 , 68-73.
- Wang, Y. R., & Wang, Q. L. (2022). Analysis of Poetic Translation in Yu Guofan’s English Version of “Journey to the West” from the Perspective of Eco-Translatology. Journal of Shaanxi University of Technology ( Social Sciences Edition) , No . 2 , 58-65.
- Wu, X. F. (2021). The Issue of Textual Sources in the English Translation of Chinese Classical Novels: A Study Centered on “Journey to the West”. Chinese Comparative Literature , No . 4 , 97-115.