| It is well known that as a special branch of Translation Studies, the controversy about poetry translation has been lasting for many years. The translatability of poetry is an even more noticeable focus among the controversies. As a special form of poetry, the translatability of lyric has also been a controversial question among translators and musicians. However, since the early nineteenth century, a lot of beautiful English songs have been introduced into China and spread broadly due to the well-translated Chinese versions of the lyrics. The spread of so many popular Chinese-version English songs illuminates the fact that lyric is translatable.This thesis starts from the history of English-Chinese lyric translation in China, and makes a comparative study on English-Chinese lyric translation through the analysis of the poetry translation and lyric writing in English and Chinese on the basis of the "equivalent" theory.The author first makes a review of the history and development of lyric translation in China, which includes the deploitation period (1920s-1940s), the prosperous (1950s) and the dreary period (1960s-1970s), the recovery and declining period (1980s-1990s). At the same time, an analysis about the future of lyric translation in China will be made. Moreover, the translatability of lyric will be discussed based on the theories and arguments about poem translation.Then, a critical survey on the "equivalent theory" will be made, during which Nida's arguments about equivalence will be employed. After the literature review, several aspects in lyric translation will be discussed on the basis of "equivalent theory", including the meter equivalence, the rhythm equivalence, the sound-effect equivalence, and the style equivalence. The author also gives an integrative analysis about the problems and techniques in English-Chinese lyric translation on the basis of the "equivalent effect" theory.Finally, a conclusion is drawn on the basis of the above discussions and analyses. That is,music is universal and has no boundary, even if tastes of the people and language of the countries are different. Therefore, English-Chinese lyric translation is feasible though it is a difficult and demanding task.This thesis attempts to make a theoretical study on English-Chinese lyric translation, through which a more systematic theory frame for English-Chinese lyric translation may be proposed. |
