| Novel translation is one type of literary translation. Its aim is to maintain the original artistic style to the maximum limit on the basis of accurately conveying information, which is the criterion of a good rendering. This aim coincides with the functional equivalence theory put forward by the American translator Eugene Nida. This paper, by analysing the translation selections from the novel Am I Black Enough for You, discusses the practical application of the functional equivalence theory.The functional equivalence theory emphasizes the closest natural equivalence to the source-language and focuses the feelings of source-language receptors, trying to give readers a vicarious feeling. The novel Am I Black Enough for You is one of the masterworks written by contemporary famous female Australian Aboriginal writer Anita Heiss. Language is the defining feature of this novel:the abundance of Australian slangs, idioms, aboriginal words and metaphor, and the appropriate combination of simple and complex sentences have made its language vivid in expression, clear in logic, and powerful in persuasion. These, however, are also the biggest challenges in translation. In order to live up to the principle of the functional equivalence theory, the author has summarized several translation strategies and illustrated them with examples in chapter three, including amplification, omission, liberal translation, sentence restructuring and adding annotation. The author hopes that these translation strategies might provide some guiding experience for similar autobiography translations in the future. |
