A Corpus-based Comparative Study Of Translation Strategies In Five English Versions Of "Golden Chamber Essentials

BackgroundNowadays,with increasingly frequent cross-cultural exchanges,traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)has attracted widespread attention worldwide with its unique theoretical system and therapeutic advantages,and has gradually set off the upsurge of TCM communication at home and abroad.In the nearly 1,000-year history of the dissemination of TCM,the translation of TCM classics has played an important role in the promotion of TCM culture.Consequently,the translation practice and research of Synopsis of Golden Chamber,one of the four classics of TCM,is of theoretical and practical value.However,a search of the literature has revealed that the study of its English translation is still in its infancy which needs to be further developed and strengthened.When it comes to translation studies,in the context of the big data era,the integration of corpus translation studies with English translation studies of canonical works has become an important direction in translation research field.As translation strategy is a hot issue in translation research,the introduction of corpus technology into translation strategy research,providing new references for translation research with empirical data,is an innovative direction for the English translation of canonical works.ObjectiveThis study aims to sort out relevant literature and construct a relatively complete conceptual framework of translation strategies.Based on this framework,the translation methods and techniques used in the five English translations of Synopsis of Golden Chamber are to be identified and labeled.Then empirical data are to be analyzed to summarize the overall characteristics of the translation strategies used in the English versions of Synopsis of Golden Chamber and the similarities and differences of them among the five versions.MethodsCorpus-based translation research method:The main chapters of the five typical English translations of Synopsis of Golden Chamber were analyzed and labeled with translation methods and techniques.Then with relevant corpus software,the quantitative analysis of the corpus was made,summarizing the overall characteristics of the translation strategies and the differences and similarities of them among the translations.ResultsThe translation strategies of the five English versions of Synopsis of Golden Chamber are characterized in two aspects.(1)Overall characteristics:Alienation is the mainly-used translation strategy.(2)Similarities and differences:Firstly,the translation strategies used in the five translations are all manifested as "more alienation,less naturalization".Secondly,in chronological order,the five versions show a trend of gradual development from naturalization to alienation.Thirdly,the tendency of naturalization among the five translators is as follows:Luo>Ruan>Li>Song>Wiseman.Among them,Luo Xiwen and Ruan Jiyuan mostly use naturalization,while Li Zhaoguo,Song Xuming and Nigel Wiseman mostly use alienation.Fourthly,in general,in the absence of other influencing factors,compared to non-native English speakers and non-college educated TCM scholars,translators who speak English as a first language and those who have received academic TCM education are more inclined to apply the strategy of alienation.Conclusion(1)The overall characteristics of the translation strategies and similarities and differences of them among the five English versions of Synopsis of Golden Chamber are reflected in the distribution of translation methods and translation techniques.(2)The characteristics of the translation strategies used in the five English versions of Synopsis of Golden Chamber are related to the date of publication and the translator’s native language and educational background.