摘 要

本文主要从比喻表达角度对比分析《水浒传》两个不同的英译版，译者分别是赛珍珠和沙博里。作为小说《水浒传》中最显著的语言特征之一，比喻表达非常值得关注，两位译者采取了不同的处理方法。本文意在阐明二者翻译比喻修辞的不同之处，探索他们在修辞形式与意义方面所做出的不同选择。通过选择有代表性的部分详细对比之后，本文发现，两位译者分别采取了不同的翻译策略，体现出了直译和意译、异化和归化之分，由此可以分析推断出两位译者对于翻译本质的理解与认识也是不尽相同的。

关键词：《水浒传》；比喻表达；对比研究；翻译策略

Abstract

This paper mainly focuses on a contrastive study of two different English versions of Shui Hu from the aspect of metaphorical expressions. And their translators are Pearl S. Buck and S. Shapiro respectively. Metaphorical expression, one of the most distinguished linguistic features in the novel Shui Hu, is worthy of attention. And the two translators exerted different coping methods towards it. The paper is meant to shed light on the difference of translation metaphors, and to see their choices over metaphorical form and meaning. And through a selective but representative detailed comparison of the two different English versions, this paper finds that the two translators exerted different translating methods, namely literal translation and liberal translation, foreignization and domestication. Thus it can come to the conclusion that the two translators hold different understandings towards the essence of translation.

Keywords: Shui Hu; metaphorical expressions; contrastive study; translation strategy

Contents

A contrastive study of translating metaphors in All men are brothers 1

1 Introduction 1

1.1 The novel Shui Hu 1

1.2 English translators of Shui Hu 2

1.3 The significance of studying All men are brothers 3

2 Literature Review 5

2.1 Previous study of All men are brothers 5

2.2 Metaphorical study in All men are brothers 6

3 Translation and Illustration of Metaphors in All men are brothers 7

4 A Discussion of Linguistic Features and Translation Strategies 13

4.1 linguistic features in different translation versions 13

4.1.1 All men are brothers by Buck 13

4.1.2 Outlaws of the Marsh by Shapiro 13

4.2 A discussion of translation strategies employed by Buck and Shapiro 14

5 Conclusion 16

5.1 Major findings 16

5.2 Limitations and further study 17

References 18

Acknowledgement 19

A Contrastive Study of Translating Metaphors in All men are brothers

1 Introduction

1.1 The novel Shui Hu

As one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literary history, Shui Hu was written in an excellent literary language, the refined vernacular, in the fourteenth century. At that time, it was a prevailing language with the features of emotive but informal. Shi Nai’an, the writer of it, is a novelist who lived in the late Yuan Dynasty and the early Ming Dynasty. The stories happened in the Song and Yuan Dynasty are the main source materials of Shui Hu. Ranging from 70 to 124 chapters, Shui Hu has emerged with a lot of editions since its first publication.

The linguistic character of this novel is that the different characters have different languages which are very suitable to them. And the character’s languages are considerably conducive to shaping the distinctive portrayal and personality of the characters.