Cultural untranslatability: A comparative study of Four-Character-Idiom translation in two English versions of Xi You Ji

Dong, Jingru (2010). Cultural untranslatability: A comparative study of Four-Character-Idiom translation in two English versions of Xi You Ji M.A. Thesis, School of Languages and Comp Cultural Studies, The University of Queensland.

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Author Dong, Jingru
Thesis Title Cultural untranslatability: A comparative study of Four-Character-Idiom translation in two English versions of Xi You Ji
Formatted title Cultural untranslatability: A comparative study of Four-Character-Idiom translation in two English versions of Xi You Ji
School, Centre or Institute School of Languages and Comp Cultural Studies
Institution The University of Queensland
Publication date 2010
Thesis type M.A. Thesis
Supervisor Wang, David
Total pages 69
Language eng
Subjects L
970120 Expanding Knowledge in Language, Communication and Culture
200311 Chinese Languages
200323 Translation and Interpretation Studies
Abstract/Summary The study comparatively and qualitatively analyses the translation of four-character idioms in Chinese novel Xi You Ji by Wu Cheng’en to examine the existence of cultural untranslatability in translation. Anthony C. Yu’s The Journey to the West (1977) and W.J.F. Jenner’s Journey to the West (2000) are the two English translations chosen to be the parallel corpora. The results from detailed comparisons between the two versions are predicted to support the hypothesis that cultural untranslatability exists in the translation of four-character idioms in Xi You Ji and cultural elements have significant influence on the degree of cultural untranslatability. The research findings are expected to echo Catford’s (1965) argument that cultural untranslatability is a relative notion and it can turn to translatability to some extent.
Keyword cultural untranslatability
culture elements
four-character idiom
referential meaning
pragmatic meaning
foreignization

 
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Created: Tue, 03 Aug 2010, 14:59:58 EST by Jo Grimmond on behalf of School of Languages and Comp Cultural Studies