On The Stylistic Non-equivalence In Fiction Translation

Stylistic non-equivalence lacks in-depth theoretical research, in several aspects due to its salient difficulty in fiction translation. Taking Leech’s and Shen Dan’s literary stylistic approaches, and adopting Eugene Nida’s principle of functional equivalence, the Author of the thesis attempts to do a better job in terms of defining the concept of stylistic non-equivalence and classifying the stylistic non-equivalence, which occur in translation. Furthermore, the Author carries out a research into how to compensate for the said non-equivalence strategically by conducting a comparative study of the two Chinese translations of Lin Yutang’s novel The Vermilion Gate.The study finds that to make good stylistic non-equivalence in translation calls for the translator’s insight into (1) the theme of the source text and the intention of the original author,(2) the writing styles of the source text and the target text,(3) the different expectations from source readers and target readers, and (4) the differences between the linguistic constructions, different cultures, stylistic norms and literary conventions in the source language and target language. Only by taking all these into consideration in translating that compensation for stylistic non-correspondence could be achieved in terms of functional equivalence.