On The C-E Translation Of Honorifics And Self-abasing Forms

Honorifics refer to special linguistic forms that are used as signs of deference toward the nominal referents or the addressee while self-abasing terms are another way to signal social status and forms of respect. Chinese has its unique features in employing these forms, which are barriers to the C-E translation.The reproduction of the original form and connotation in the target language attracts much attention, and a variety of theories are put forward. However, although the differences between Chinese and English honorifics and self-abasing forms have been underlined over and again, whether they are likely to be translated and in what way are still open to discussion.Traditional translation studies merely regard it as a linguistics-oriented problem and put emphasis on equivalence, which tends to get the corresponding rendition in target language. Actually, there is no way out in this sense due to the great discrepancies. Now that the one-to-one correspondence is neither possible nor feasible, it is senseless relating the problem around the literal form and accordingly an alternative perspective should be found to tackle the problem.Since translation studies took its "cultural turn", translation problem has been studied in a larger cultural and historical context. The previous prestige of source text has been weakened and the focus has been gradually shifted to target text. Accordingly, those factors such as translator, patronage, and readers' reception are taken into account. It throws lights on the C-E translation of honorifics and self-abasing forms since the literal form in the source text is not the sole decisive element. It is more a choice-making process than a word-for-word translation.In this choice-making process, what honorifics and self-abasing forms seek for in the target text is not equivalence but a rendition that can satisfy the original intention of both the sender and the translator, which in turn should be clearly ascertained. By analyzing the intentions of the original and that of the translator as well as the function of translation, this dissertation attempts to illustrate that the translation of honorifics and self-abasing forms involves such factors as the sender, the translator, the reader and so on, which altogether result in a final decision. Throughout the thesis, the translations of honorifics and self-abasing forms in A Dream of Red Mansions will be used as examples. Apart from introduction and conclusion, the whole thesis is composed of five parts.The introduction outlines the theme and the structure of the thesis.Chapter one provides a general survey of address forms in which honorifics and self-abasing forms are embedded. In this chapter, the background information of address forms is briefly presented to make the cause-and-effect perspicuous. Meanwhile, the historical origin, together with the rich connotations of Chinese honorifics and self-abasing forms, has been introduced.Chapter two labors at putting in order the traditional studies on translating honorifics and self-abasing forms so as to propose that equivalence cannot be achieved on the basis of linguistics-directed strategies. Both theoretical bases and practical facts are adopted to support the proposal.Chapter three attempts to analyze the translation of honorifics and self-abasing forms as a choice-making process by means of Skopostheorie. That is to say, a variety of factors including source text and its author, translator, the presupposed readers and pragmatic situation influence or even determine the ultimate choice, among which intention of the translator is prevailing.Chapter four deals with the relevant factors such as the original text and sender, the translator and so on, which are expounded one by one in details withA Dream of Red Mansions as an example.Chapter five is an extending part, which contains the idea that translation assessment can never rest on the literal forms, and translation intention should be an indispensable parameter.A conclusion is drawn in the end that so long as the literal bondage are removed and the focus shifts from it, a solution is likely to be found in translating these culture-specific forms. This idea is beneficial not only to the translation of honorifics and self-abasing forms, but also to the evaluation of a literary works by different translators, especially of those culture-specific expressions.