On Translation-Specific Xiehouyu Categorization And Its Applications

Many Chinese scholars have conducted researches on various aspects of XHY and attained invaluable achievements. Most of the previous studies make great contribution to XHY comprehension for Chinese people. However, due to lack of equivalent expressions in English and little application of western theories to XHY analysis, Western people still have great difficulty in understanding this uniquely Chinese language phenomenon.This thesis employs several theories, especially those on text, intertextuality to analyze XHY toward an inquiry after Western readers'understanding process of XHY used in literary works. XHY can be considered as intertextual signs in literary works, and thus readers cannot obtain their meanings and rhetoric effects unless they realize the effects of intertextuality XHY build in the works. Based on the analysis of the said understanding process of XHY, the writer proposes a new type of categorization. According to whether the second parts of them have intratextulity, XHY are classified into two categories, one category consisting of XHY without homonyms, and the other containing those with homonyms. In order to make the categorization translation-specific, the writer in turn subcategorizes them. According to the variety of cultural sub-texts reflected in the XHY of the first category, they are divided into XHY with cultural universals and those with uniquely Chinese traits. And the XHY with homonyms are subcategorized into XHY with perfect homonyms and those with homophones in accordance with the classification of homonyms employed in their second parts.Based on her proposed categorization, the writer then attempts to probe into translation strategies for each subcategory of XHY. Since translation plays an important role in cultural exchange, the treatment of cultural elements embodied in XHY is of great significance. Foreignization and domestication, which attach importance to the transfer of culture, are employed to discuss the translation of XHY. Generally speaking, foreignization is a preferable strategy to translate XHY, which preserves the cultural and linguistic features of them. However, the XHY with homophones, whose meanings are mainly derived from intratextuality constructed by homophones, should be domesticated owing to target readers'hard comprehension of Chinese homophones. Moreover, the writer provides specific methods, within foreignization and domestication, to translate each subcategory of XHY.