English-Chinese Translation Of The Lady In The Van And Its Analysis From The Perspective Of Functional Equivalence

Non-fiction is one branch of literature whose creator employs facts to report on real life,real people or real events in history,and the common literary examples include journalism,historical writings,memoirs and biographies.During the translation of non-fiction,the translator must analyze the language features of the original text,and ensure the translation is not only faithful to the content of the original text but also in line with its language characteristics to express the cultural background-and the author’s rhetoric as well.Written-by renowned British author,playwright and actor Alan Bennett,The Lady in the Van,a non-fiction in the form of a memoir with diary entries,revolves around an elderly homeless lady called Miss Shepherd who lived in a dilapidated van on the author’s driveway for 15 years.However,the book has no Chinese translation by now.With the case study of the author’s Chinese translation of this book,this thesis aims to explore the original language features and the difficulties of translation and analyze various specific translating skills and the Chinese translation from the perspective of Functional Equivalence by Eugene Nida.By the detailed analysis of examples,this thesis claims that the translator must take account of the reader’s knowledge of the cultural background in the source language when translating non-fictions.The original text includes abundant informal British slangs and dialogues,as well as pithy wording and sentences with a sense of humor and British cultural background as well.In the translation of The Lady in the Van,the translator mainly applies Functional Equivalence by Eugene Nida as the principal translating theory,utilizes several translation methods including sentence division,changing passive voice to active voice and explicitation,and infuses the target language with colloquialism and sense of humor to render the translation faithful not only to the meaning of the original text,but the styles and features as well,which helps to pursue the functional equivalence between two languages.