Foreign Language Elements Importation In EC Translation: From The Perspective Of Adaptation And Selection

From the perspective of the theory of Translation as Adaptation and Selection, a relatively new subject raised by Professor Hu Gengshen, this thesis intends to probe into the due limits of importing foreign elements from English into Chinese in the language dimension by case studies. Through the analysis in this thesis, it can be found out that the importation of foreign elements in the language dimension shall not merely aim at fulfilling the objective of introducing fresh elements into the Chinese language to bring enrichment to it. Rather, when faced with foreign elements, the translator shall first ensure the fulfillment of translation skopos. On this premise, the translator shall continue to discriminate between foregrounded and non-foregrounded foreign elements. If the conveyance of the foregrounded foreign language elements is permitted by the skopos, the translator shall try his or her best to achieve the representation of them. As for the non-foregrounded elements, the translator has to make sure the elements are not destructive of the aesthetic norms of the Chinese language. Any translation that fails to realize its skopos or imports foreign language elements at the sacrifice of the aesthetic norms of the Chinese language will be eliminated by the translational eco-environment.The thesis consists of five parts. In the introductory part, a glimpse is given to what motivated the writing of this thesis, i.e., the tendency of over-foreignization of the Chinese language that has existed for a very long time in EC translation. Translators unaware of due limits of foreign element importation in EC translation and of the unique and precious qualities of Chinese would not like to strive for keeping to the norms of Chinese and, in the name of introducing foreign elements into the Chinese language for the sake of globalization, brings negative impacts to the development of the language. Consequently, the Chinese language is in the danger of becoming more and more"non-Chinese"in not only literary but also non-literary translation. Therefore, an investigation is carried out into the extent to which Chinese can be foreignized in order that EC translation will not bring undue influence to our mother tongue. However, it is also aimed at warning against the false practice of over-domestication that stops the intercultural communication and results in ridiculous language transplantation.The part of Historical Review gives a survey of the opinions of different schools about the importation of foreign elements in all history, both at home and abroad. Through the...