A Study Of English Translation Of Culture-Specific Items In San Guo Yan Yi

San Guo Yan Yi has enjoyed great reputations in the history of Chinese literature, such as "the originator of Chinese historical novels", "one of the four great classical novels", etc. For centuries, Chinese cultural circle of Asia has set off wave after wave of culture upsurge of San Guo Yan Yi, which spread to the Europe and the U.S.A soon. Its Chinese version arrived in Great Britain in the early 17th century, and its translation, acceptance and dissemination also rose in Europe and the U.S.A. However, studies of its translation are relatively backward. According to Three Kingdoms and Chinese Culture co-written and published in 2007 by Doctor Kimberly Ann Besio of Colby College of Maine, U.S.A and the Chinese-American Professor Constantine Tung of University at Buffalo, the State University of New York, "no one had been engaged in the study of English translation of Three Kingdoms." Meanwhile, through literature retrieval it has been found that domestic studies of English translation of San Guo Yan Yi are mostly sporadic essays and systematic and in-depth studies are far from enough. So, such situation stimulates my interest and I hope to do a relatively special and deep discussion of its English translation, especially of its culture-specific items. Furthermore, contemporary academia and translation circle appear a "one-sided" phenomenon. Most have heated pursuit of Moss Robert’s translation version of San Guo Yan Yi while few show any interest in other versions, which also triggers a comparative study among the multiple versions in order to avoid blind copycat and not censure but only praise.This dissertation is focused on culture-specific items in 120 chapters of four English translation versions of San Guo Yan Yi by using foreignizing translation and domesticating translation which were brought out from "cultural turn of translation studies". And the dissertation mainly explores the following questions:What effect does cultural turn have on translation studies? What are foreignizing translation and domesticating translation? Why should we comply with foreignizing translation when translating culture-specific items? What are the principles of translating culture-specific items and the specific operational methods? Then, a questionnaire on translation of culture-specific items in San Guo Yan Yi has been designed to investigate the reader response.The dissertation consists of three sections, including an introduction, a body part and a conclusion. The introduction does not only explain the origin of this study, purpose and significance, and research content and method, but also reviews the English translation of San Guo Yan Yi and its related English translation studies both at home and abroad, finding that the existing studies are limited in terms of the range of texts, study perspectives, study approaches; that previous English translation studies of San Guo Yan Yi are sporadic essays and have lots of room to study further.The body part firstly discusses the theoretical background of "cultural turn in translation studies" and its theoretical essence, pointing out the "cultural turn" perspective should think of culture in translation studies from three levels, not only from macro-culture level. In fact, there are other two levels:middle-culture level and micro-culture level. Here focuses on micro-culture level of "cultural turn"—culture-specific items. Also from translation essence and translation function for promoting culture, we think translating culture-specific items should comply with foreignizing translation.Secondly, we build a delicacy model of the foreignizing-domesticating translation continuum according to the Markedness Theory of Functional Typology. And the continuum is roughly divided into four scalars, which are pure foreignizing translation, strong foreignizing translation, strong domesticating translation and pure domesticating translation. Then, the delicacy model is used to make statistics on and analyze the application of those methods used by two translators when translating 140 culture-specific items in the former 20 chapters of San Guo Yan Yi. The result shows that translators mostly adopt foreignizing translation strategy. Furthermore, based on theoretical deduction and data analysis, a questionnaire on translation of culture-specific items in San Guo Yan Yi is designed to investigate the reader response. The result indicates that most subjects also approve of foreignizing translation strategy to retain the original culture.Thirdly, the dissertation puts forward such advisable operational methods of foreignizing translation as the "implanting culture" method; the "cutting-in culture" method and the "embedding culture" method. Then, we appreciates those sentences which are exquisite beyond compare in English versions of San Guo Yan Yi, analyzing and correcting wrong translation and mistranslation.Nowadays our nation proposes to accelerate the development of cultural industries, and vigorously implements the "going out" strategy of culture. "To inherit the excellent national culture, to create the’going out’ culture mode, to enhance the international competitiveness and influence of Chinese culture, and to improve the national soft power" is the important policy of China and also the great mission of Chinese translators. So adhering to the idea of "remolding Chinese literary classics in the target language country", translators who translate classical works full of Chinese cultural heritage like San Guo Yan Yi, should fully highlight rich connotation of Chinese culture, and spread the quintessence of Chinese culture. They should focus on foreignizing translation and use its relative advisable translating methods when translating Chinese culture-specific items. Of course, foreignizing translation is not absolutely onefold, domesticating translation and other translation methods are also needed. In a word, in the process of translating Chinese culture-specific items, insist on foreignizing translation, take into account other translation methods, and dynamically use various translation methods in co-ordination and in balance in the foreignizing-domesticating translation continuum.