摘 要

中国古典诗歌的翻译一直都存在着很大的难度，而中西方翻译家的译本也存在差异。本论文以杜甫的《望岳》为例，借助Hans. J. Vermeer提出的目的论，从翻译中用词选择和语言风格对比分析了许渊冲和 Innes Herdan 的两个译本。目的不仅在于说明中国诗歌翻译中的难度，更重要的是指出翻译过程中，成功的译文并不局限于文字表面的翻译，还在于情感的传递。

关键词： 中国古典诗歌；翻译；目的论；词汇；语言风格

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Demonstration 2

2.1 Introduction of classical Chinese poetry translation 2

2.1.1 Translatability of classical Chinese poetry 2

2.1.1.1 The theoretical basis for transalatability 2

2.1.1.2 The methods of translation 3

2.1.2 Untranslatability of classical Chinese poetry 3

2.1.2.1 Untranslatability of prosody 4

2.1.2.2 Untranslatability of imagery 4

2.1.2.3 Untranslatability of allusions 4

2.1.2.4 Untranslatability of rhetoric devices 5

2.2 Skopos Theory 5

2.2.1 Definition of Skopos Theory 5

2.2.2 Three rules of Skopos Theory 6

2.2.2.1 Skopos rule 6

2.2.2.2 Coherence rule 6

2.2.2.3 Fidelity rule 6

2.3 Analysis on Xu Yuanchong’s translation and Innes Herdan’s translation of Wang Yue according to Skopos Theory 7

2.3.1 Comparison between Xu Yuanchong’s translation and Innes Herdan’s translation of Wang Yue in vocabulary according to Skopos 8

2.3.2 Comparison between Xu Yuanchong’s translation and Innes Herdan’s translation of Wang Yue in language style according to Skopos 9

1. Conclusion 10

Works Cited 11

Bibliography 12

An Analysis on Classical Chinese Poetry Translation from the Perspective of Skopos Theory: A Case Study of Tu Fu’s Wang Yue

1. Introduction

Poetry is the soul of literature, one of the most refined forms of art. And China is one of the earliest origin areas of poetry. Classical Chinese poetry differs from other culture in rhythm, syntax and imagery. Moreover, classical Chinese poetry is the reflection of traditional Chinese culture, containing various cultural contents. Due to these unique characteristics, translation of classical Chinese poetry is becoming more and more difficult and complex.

In the classical Chinese poetry translation, it is very difficult to achieve the goal that the source text and the target text can be no difference both in form and spirit. Translating is firstly the process of text comprehension, and then, text reproduction. Poems vary in style. Some are popular, some are graceful; some plain, some flowery; some solemn, some humorous. And poetry translation must strive to be close to the original in style.

With the development of poetry translation, many theories are established to achieve the similarity both in form and spirit, such as Relevance Theory, Functional Equivalence Theory, Skopos Theory and so on. And in this thesis, the theoretical basis of analysis is Skopos Theory, which was put forward by Hans Vermeer and in the late 1970s and was further developed in the 1990s by Nord. Skopos Theory has three basic principles: skopos rule; coherence rule and fidelity rule.

Currently, the study of classical Chinese poetry translation mainly focuses on the perspective of Relevance Theory, while the studies in view of Skopos Theory are still few and far between.

This paper aims to examine the translation of Chinese poems from the perspective of Skopos Theoty. After introducting the status of classical Chinese poetry translation and the general framework of Skopos Theory, this thesis will present a classical poem, Wang Yue, written by Tu Fu, the famous poet of the Tang Dynasty. And then, Xu Yuanchong’s and Innes Herdan’s versions of Wang Yue are compared on their different translation strategies and methods in terms of vocabulary and language style.

2. Demonstration

2.1 Introduction of classical Chinese poetry translation

Now, more and more classical Chinese poetry (CCP) has been translated by translators at home and abroad. However, because of the different language and culture, both the Chinese and Western translators cannot know the reciprocal culture adequately, consequently their translations may break away from the original meaning. Therefore, the debt on translatability of CCPs is one of the hottest topic discussed by many translators. What some believe untranslatable may be translatable in other translators’ view.

2.1.1 Translatability of classical Chinese poetry

Although the debate about whether poetry is translatable has been ongoing, the attempts and efforts of many translators to translate poerty don’t stop. As we all know, in China, there are a large number of translators, such as Gu Zhengkun, Mao Dun, Xu Yuanchong and so on. All of them transmit Chinese poetry to western countries by their exquisite translations. In the west, there are also some translators who devote their life to translating CCPs into English, such as Arthur Waley, H. A. Giles, Ezra Pound etc. Their sucessful poetry translations prove that poetry is translatable.

2.1.1.1 The theoretical basis for transalatability