A Comparative Study Of Two Chinese Versions Of Walden From Translation Ontology

Translation refers to the action or process of turning from one language into another. Translation performance can be realized with the four elements of the source text, the translator, translated works and target readers which decides the special existence of translation performance. The ontology of translation can be regarded as the four elements in translation performance and their internal relationships, then the research on it can be called the research of ontology. Consequently, the corresponding theory is used to focus on the ontology of translation which consists of translation ontology.Based on the theoretical preparation and through a comparative study of the two Chinese versions, the author of this thesis tries to explore the significance of ontology analysis in literary translation criticism and discover the concrete representations of translators’ creativity in translation process. This thesis consists of five chapters. The first chapter gives the purpose why the author chooses Walden for her study, then the significance and the structure of the thesis. Walden is a masterpiece of Thoreau which has long been praised for its elaborate structure, fluent and humorous language. In an environmentally polluting world, ecological problems have increasingly been outstanding, the deep interpretations of Walden actually becomes a literary canonization in American literature history. To broaden people’s spiritual horizons, the transfer of the meaning effectively through the translators can satisfy the readers’ reading expectations and imagination space. Besides, from translation ontology the thesis mainly focus on the equal importance of the four elements in the process of translation which will open a descriptive and dynamic way of literary translation. In the second chapter, the author presents the status of Walden in American literature history, and the artistic characteristics of two Chinese versions:one is translated by Xu Chi based on his first translation which made Walden become familiar to Chinese readers; the other is by Xu Chongxin and Lin Benchun. Both versions can be viewed as influential and representative ones which reflects different ages, and the outstanding research features of a comparative study which makes the readers easy to understand. The span of about twelve years reflects the change of times and different translation experiences of the translators. Then the thesis summarizes current translation theories, and analyzes the negative theoretical points which can better illustrate the relationship among the original literary, the translator, the translated literary and target readers. The third chapter, the theoretical framework of the thesis which presents a detailed explanation of ontology and translation ontology, and describes the characters of translation ontology. The noumenon of translation is the existence of practice acts. If the emphasis is on the translation noumenon, it is ontological research. If the analysis is outside the basis, it is a kind of relevant research. Ontological research is the core of translation studies while the relevant research has great effect on the former, both are mutual enhancement and mutual support. It also conveys the practical value under the guidance of ontology and translation ontology which is a basic requirement of translation theory. The fourth chapter mainly focuses on a comparative study of the four elements of the two Chinese versions. The author attempts to conduct comparative analysis of the two versions at lexical, syntactic and discourse level from the perspective of translation ontology, and the thesis intends to analyze the writing style of the original literary, compare the two translators’ respective personal experiences and translation backgrounds and expect the readers’reading reaction, therefore it can present the relationship of the elements objectively. The fifth chapter is the conclusion.The nature of translation is to convey information, it must include the process of transferring from the source text, the translator, translated works to target readers. During the process different elements will produce different translation practice, therefore translation ontology embodies different nature. To translate a classic works, the style of the source text should be reproduced in the target text in a functionally manner. However, different cultural background between English and Chinese languages can be obvious gaps between their expression and thinking. It is impossible to represent all the stylistic features of the source text. The thesis reveals the basic principles, properties and characteristics of literary translation through the ontological research on Walden. The essence of literary translation is a kind creative linguistic transformation in which the translator are the subject of translation aesthetics. The creativity and subjectivity of translators can be presented that they are bound to hold the thoughts, functions and artistic features of the source text on the whole; in addition, translated works can be expressed successfully without adhering rigidly to contents and forms of the source text. Therefore, it embodies the artistic quality of literary translation and intercultural communication of translation.