On Pragmatic Adaptation In Chinese Ceramic Title Translation

With the successful salvage of the ancient Chinese merchant ships "Nanhai No.1" and "Nan’ao No.1", in recent years, Chinese ceramics, especially the ancient ceramic treasure, has once again triggered great interest all over the world. Being part of "the material culture", Chinese ceramics is a significant culture carrier. However, translation of Chinese ceramic title is far less than adequate. Theoretical and systematic analyses are lacking in the study on the C-E translation of Chinese ceramic title, and the problems caused by mistranslation affect the culture communication and culture propaganda.Adaptation Theory was first put forward by Jef. Verschueren in1999and it was considered to be a pragmatic theory which has strong explanatory power and good application value and it is bound to have a good prospective because it comprehends and interprets pragmatics from a new perspective (He Ziran, Yu Guodong1999:428-435). According to Verschueren, using language must consist of the continuous making of linguistic choices. Language user is able to make linguistic choice in language use due to the three properties of language:variability, negotiability and adaptability. In addition, four angles should be investigated:contextual correlates of adaptability, structural objects of adaptability, dynamics of adaptability and the salience of adaptation process. This thesis starts with the introduction of Chinese ceramic title and its characteristics, with many translated ceramic titles from Beijing Palace Museum, Taipei National Museum and Christie’s Hong Kong as the linguistic data. In the following chapter, the author compares the different translation techniques they employ and tries to point out the existing problems. The thesis views the C-E translation of Chinese ceramics from a pragmatic perspective of Adaptation Theory in an attempt to discuss how the adaptation theory apply to real practice, as so to figure out a better way to translate Chinese ceramic titles. The author hopes with optimism that the English translated titles are able to describe features of the ceramics and reflect the containing culture and at the same time cater to the psychology, culture and value orientation of the target reader. Only by removing the obstacles for the target reader can we reach the purpose of carrying forward Chinese culture and promoting cultural interaction.