A study on the usage of the intensifier “quite” and its translation from English to Chinese: Novel “Wuthering Heights” and “Pride and Prejudice”

Xie, Meng (2008). A study on the usage of the intensifier “quite” and its translation from English to Chinese: Novel “Wuthering Heights” and “Pride and Prejudice” M.A. Thesis, School of Languages and Comp Cultural Studies, The University of Queensland.

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Author Xie, Meng
Thesis Title A study on the usage of the intensifier “quite” and its translation from English to Chinese: Novel “Wuthering Heights” and “Pride and Prejudice”
School, Centre or Institute School of Languages and Comp Cultural Studies
Institution The University of Queensland
Publication date 2008
Thesis type M.A. Thesis
Supervisor Patton, Simon
Total pages 57
Language eng
Subjects L
970120 Expanding Knowledge in Language, Communication and Culture
200311 Chinese Languages
200323 Translation and Interpretation Studies
Abstract/Summary This paper aims to analysis the usage of one intensifier “quite” in two English novels Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice, and examine the different translation strategies that are used to translate the intensifier “quite” in the Chinese translation versions of the two novels. The ability to recognise the certain degree of “quite” in different situations is crucial for translators to interpret its meaning correctly and achieve translation equivalence during the process. However, it is impossible to describe or judge the exact degrees and meanings of “quite” in some cases. The vague nature of “quite” and the boundedness of its modifying heads make the translation more difficult. These issues create challenges to translators during the translation process. This paper takes a close look at some examples of the intensifier “quite” from the two novels to analyse the usage of “quite” and the translation strategies which applied to the translation of “quite”. The findings reveal that the degree and meaning of “quite” are decided by the boundedness of its modifying heads. And free translation and literal translation methods are almost equally used in the novels. Especially in free translation, various methods are used to achieve equivalence in translation, such as compensation, omission and discourse analysis. The findings also suggest that it is impossible to make exact translations of the intensifier “quite” because of its vague nature of and the boundedness of its modifying heads in different situations. The complexity of the degree of “quite” requires translators to make decisions according to the specific situations.
Keyword intensifier
degree modifer
boundedness
maximiser
vagueness
equivalence
literal translation
free translation
discourse

 
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Created: Tue, 03 Aug 2010, 14:04:18 EST by Jo Grimmond on behalf of School of Languages and Comp Cultural Studies