The Translator’s Voice through the Translation of Characters’ Names in Bian Cheng

Xiaohui Guo, Lay Hoon Ang, Sabariah Md Rashid, Wue Hiong Ser

Abstract


Bian Cheng is a representative novel of Modern Chinese Literature. One of the most translated works of Modern Chinese Literature, the novel demonstrates diversified folklore, which is fully embedded and embodied in the images presented by the names of its characters. This qualitative study compares the images of names in the original Chinese version and an English version translated by Kinkley in an attempt to reveal how translator’s voice is reflected by varying translation techniques. Newmark’s model of translation techniques and Millán-Varela’s model of translator’s voice are employed for the nuanced analysis. The investigation uncovers two major translation techniques in this regard: amplification and reproduction. The former, which shows a stronger translator’s voice, is used more frequently than the latter, which displays a relatively weaker translator’s voice. The study also shows that the strong translator’s voice does not necessarily convey the corresponding and equivalent image, and the weak one fails to do so even at a less satisfactory level. It is thus concluded that complicated source culture should be paid sufficient and accurate attention through the proper articulation of translator’s voice so that the equivalent and similar images could be successfully presented and communicated through translation.

 

Keywords: Modern Chinese Literature; characters’ names; image; translation technique; translator’s voice


Full Text:

PDF

References


Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Heaven, Horseman, Heroic, Jade, Robber, Warrior. Retrieved on 20th April, 2020. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/.

Al-Adwan, A. & Abuorabialedwan, M. (2019). Handling semantic repetition when translating Arabic short stories. 3L: The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language

Studies, 25(2), 49-60.

Al-Harahsheh, A. M. & Al-Omari, M. M. (2019). Self-translation: a faithful rendition or rewriting Process? Haikal’s Autumn of Fury as an example. 3L: The Southeast

Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 25(1), 144-157.

Appiah, K. A. (1993). Thick translation. Callaloo, 16(4), 808-819.

Bao, H. N. & Bao, A. (2004). Chinese Culture and Chinese-English Translation. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press.

Bronner, S. J. (2007). The Meaning of Folklore. Logan: Utah State University Press.

Cai, Y. H. (2011). The canonization of Shen Congwen’s Bian Cheng. Journal of Fuzhou University (Philosophy and Social Sciences), (3), 84-87.

Cao, H. H. & Zhou, L. (2014). Translation strategies of characters’ names from the perspective of skopos theory. Oversea English, (12), 128-130.

Chen, L. & Guo, Y. (2014). On translation strategies of folklore in the English translation of Bian Cheng. Data of Culture and Education, (32), 30-31.

Chen, M. & Wen, J. (2015). A study on the evaluation model of translator’s voice. Foreign Language Education, 36 (5), 94-100.

Chen, M. L. (2019). A corpus-based study on imagery and symbolism in Goldblatt’s translation of Red Sorghum. Babel, 65(3), 399-423.

Chen, W. B. (2018). Vertical translation unit and analysis of translation of characters’ names in Hong Lou Meng. Journal of Hefei University of Technology (Social

Sciences), (5), 63-70.

Cuddon, J. A. (2013). A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. West Sussex: Blackwell Publishers Ltd.

Cui, D. & Wang, S. F. (2020). Opposition and unity: another interpretation of the festival in Border Town. Journal of Huhmbeir University, 28(1), 69-73.

Debbas, M & Haider, M. S. (2020). Overcoming cultural constraints in translating English series. 3L: The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 26(1), 1-

Ghanooni, A. R. (2014). A Cross-cultural study of metaphoric imagery in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Translation and Interpreting Studies, 9 (2), 239-256.

Hermans, T. (1996). The translator’s voice in translated narrative. Target, 8(1), 23-48.

Hermans, T. (2003). Cross-cultural translation studies as thick translation. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 66(3), 380-389.

Hermans, T. (2014). Positioning translators: voices, views and values in translation. Language and Literature, 23(3), 285-301.

Holman, C. H. Thrall, W. F. & Hibbard, A. (1985). A Handbook to Literature. Indianapolis: ITT Bobbs-Merrill Educational Publishing Company, Inc.

Hu, X. L. Yin, H. C. & Lin, L. (2014). On the translation of characters’ names in Shen Congwen’s novels. New West, (24), 92-93.

Huang, W. X., Ang, L. H., Ser, W. H. & Hardev, K. (2019). Text-close thick translations in two English versions of Laozi. Asian Philosophy, 29(3), 231-247.

Huang, X. L. (2008). The naming convention and the naming features of post-80s college Girl students. Journal of Yangtze Normal University, 24(6), 115-120.

Jääskeläinen, R. (1993). Investigating Translation Strategies. In Tirkkonen-Condit, S. & Laffling, J. (Eds.) (pp.99-120). Recent Trends in Empirical Translation Research.

Joensuu: University of Joensuu Press.

Kinkley, J. (2014). English translations of Shen Congwen’s masterwork, Bian Cheng (Border Town). Asian and African Studies, 23 (1), 37-59.

Lefevere, A. (1992). Translation, Rewriting, and the Manipulation of Literary Fame. London: Routledge.

Li, Q. (2017). Interpretation of aesthetic connotation of folklore in Border Town. Masterpiece Review, (9), 40-42.

Liu, H. (2006). The poetic sublimation: Bian Cheng in the context of folklore. Journal of Southwest Minzu University (Humanities and Social Sciences), (8), 107-110.

Liu, P. (2009). On the translations of characters’ names in medicine by Lu Xun. Journal of Anhui Agricultural University (Social Science Edition), (3), 105-107.

Liu, Z. R. (1995). Different ways of life in Qilu and Western Hunan. Dongyue Tribune, (1), 91-96.

Lörscher, W. (1991). Translation Performance, Translation Process, and Translation Strategies: a Psycholinguistic Investigation. Tübingen: Guten Narr.

Luo, Z. Q. (2007). On the narrative construction of folklore Bian Cheng. Guizhou Social Sciences, (3), 98-102.

Millán-Varela, C. (2004). Hearing voices: James Joyce, narrative voice and minority translation. Language and Literature. 13(1), 37-54.

Mish, J. L. (1984). “Folklore”. In Leach, M. & Fried, J. (Eds.) The Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend (p.401). New York: Harper & Row.

Murfin, R. C. & Ray, S. M. (2003). The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms (2nd, ed). Boston: Bedford/St.

Newmark, P. (2001). A Textbook of Translation. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.

Niu, G. J. (2006). On horse administration in Qing Dynasty. Journal of Yanshan University (Philosophy and Social Sciences), 7(2), 57-63.

Quizlet. Major characters. Retrieved on 18th April, 2020. https://quizlet.com/266949441/types-of-character-in-literature-flash-cards/

Quizlet. Minor characters. Retrieved on 18th April, 2020. https://quizlet.com/266949441/types-of-character-in-literature-flash-cards/

Richards, I. A. (1953). Toward a theory of translating. In Wright, A. F. (Ed.). Studies in Chinese thought (pp.247-262). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Ryan, M. L. (2001). Narrative as Virtual Reality: Immersion and Interactivity in Literature and Electronic Media. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Shen, C. W. (2019). Bian Cheng. Beijing: Beijing October Literature and Art Publishing House.

Shen, C. W., Kinkley, J (trans). (2009). Border Town. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Shuttleworth, M. & Cowie, M. (2014). Dictionary of Translation Studies. London: Routledge.

Sun, S. J. (2013). Strategies of Translation. In Chapelle C. A. (Ed.). The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics (pp. 5408-5412). New York: Wiley-Blackwell.

Venuti, L. (1995). The Translator’s Invisibility. London: Routledge.

Wang, H. P. (2014). A Study on Glady Yang’s Cultural Identity and Translational Activity from Post-colonial Perspective. Beijing: Xinhua Publishing House.

Wen, J. & Wang, B. (2016). A study of thick translation in a Chinese version of Finnegan’s Wake. Foreign Language and Literature, 32(1), 110-116.

Wong, L. (2011). “Translating Shakespeare’s imagery for the Chinese audience: with reference to Hamlet and its versions in Chinese and in European languages. Babel,

(2), 204–225.

Xie, D. (2012). The apreciation on the small-size paintings of plum blossom and bamboo by Tang Yin. Journal of Language and Literature Studies, (5), 54-55.

Xie, J. N. & Liu, H. T. (2015). Culture and politics in the four English versions of Shen Congwen’s Bian Cheng. Modern Chinese Literature Studies, (9), 109-118.

Xiong, B. (2014). Conceptual confusion in translation studies. Chinese Translators Journal, (3), 82-88.

Xu, J. (2017). The image of fish in Shen Congwen’s Sansan. Journal of Chinese Language and Literature, (2), 134-139.

Xu, M. H. (2012). On scholar translators in literary translation -- A case study of Kinkley’s translation of “Biancheng”. Perspective: Studies in Translatology, 20(2), 151-

．

Xu, M. H. (2013). English Translations of Shen Congwen’s Stories. Bern: Peter Lang International Academic Publishers.

Xu, M. H. (2018). The voice of a scholar-translator: interview with Prof. Jeffrey C. Kinkley. Translation Review, 102(1), 1-13.

Xu, M. H. (2019). Sinologists’ vision and academic translation. Chinese Translators Journal, (1), 60-67.

Yan, J. (2014). On the naming of characters in Bian Cheng. Masterpiece Review, (23), 24-25.

Zhai, X. L & Zhang, W. J. (2018). On the translation of characters’ names in Mo Yan’s novels. Journal of Hunan University of Science and Engineering, (11), 161-163.

Zhang, J. Q. (2019). Cultural writing of the life theme of Shen Congwen’s “Border Town”. Journal of Anshun University, (3), 28-31.

Zhao, J. F. (1999). A comparative study of Chinese and English social appellation. Foreign Language Education, 20(4), 16-20.

Zhou, H. Z. (1992). On names in English-speaking Countries. Journal of Sun Yat-sen University, (1), 143-152.

Zhu, L. Y. (2016). A study of translation strategy of folklore in Bian Cheng. Studies in Literature and Language, 12(4), 17-23.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/3L-2020-2603-07

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


 

 

 

eISSN : 2550-2247

ISSN : 0128-5157