On The Adaptability In Pun Translation

As a figure of speech, puns are frequently created and used in the ancient times and at present, both in literary works and in our daily life. They are often employed to add some special effects to texts. Because of the differences in languages and cultures, it is a great challenge to translate puns from English into Chinese, and vice verse. A pun often covers two referential meanings. One is the surface meaning, and the other is the underlying meaning. Besides, it also bears the pragmatic meaning. Generally speaking, it is hard or most of the time even impossible to find the complete equivalent of the original pun in the source language. On this ground, some translators hold that puns are untranslatable. As a special language form existing in a certain language, however, pun received more and more attention. In order to make target readers understand the source language well, many scholars have studied on the pun translation from different aspects and based on different theories.Adaptation Theory, a new pragmatic theory, advanced by Belgian Pragmatics Jef Verschueren (1999), is one of the most practical pragmatic theories. This thesis is intended for the study of pun translation under the guidance of Adaptation Theory and its application in pun translation practice. According to Adaptation Theory, using language must consist of the continuous making of linguistic choices, consciously or unconsciously, for language-internal and language-external reasons (Verschueren, 2000:55-56). Adaptability is a property of language and adaptation-making is to approach points of satisfaction for particular communicative ends. By resorting to Verschueren's points that structure and context constitute the contents of adaptability, in the main part of this thesis, the author explores the structural adaptation in pun translation from the stylistic, sound and lexical level; mental world and social world of target readers in contextual correlates are also playing their roles for the translator's adaptation strategies.In conclusion, the present study purports to open further the door for new, alternative approaches for pun translation and sheds lights on the pun translator, therefore further enhances the acceptability of the target text.