Examining English Translation Strategies Of Yang Hongying's Works With The Guidance Of The Skopos Theory

Children's literature began in the late 17^thcentury and early 18^thcentury and Chinese children's literature began even later.It was not until the late 19^thcentury that the progressives in China began to realize its significance,during which a large number of foreign children's literary works were translated into Chinese.Since the beginning of the 21^stcentury,Chinese children's literature has entered a diversified era.Many talented writers of children's literature have emerged with their works being bestsellers.Based on the prosperity of China's own children's literary works and the advocacy of the“Going Global Policy”of Chinese culture,children's literature needs to be introduced to western readers.However,the fact is that Chinese-English translation of children's literature could not meet the requirements of the market development.At present,Chinese children's literature urgently needs to be known,perceived,and recognized by other cultures and its English translation project is on the agenda.Children's literature translation requires the reproduction of the original artistic style and meaning,and therefore,target readers could get the same feeling as their source counterparts.The Skopos Theory,which was initially proposed by Vermeer?1978?,argues that“the purpose of translation determines the method of translation.”Every translation activity is purposeful and it should meet the three rules of the Skopos Theory.Translators of children's literature need to choose corresponding translation strategies in light of different purposes so as to meet the different demands of initiators and readers.Therefore,the Skopos Theory is feasible in children's literature translation.Using the Skopos Theory,this thesis takes“Pretty Girl,Xia Linguo”in Ma's Mischief as an example to explore the English translation strategies of Yang Hongying's works.The thesis first introduces Yang Hongying and Ma's Mischief,the research purpose and thesis structure.Secondly,it synthesizes current research on children's literature and its translation.Then it elaborates upon the origin,development and arguments of the Skopos Theory and its feasibility in children's literature translation.Through analyses of specific examples,Chapter four puts forward translation strategies on the lexical,syntactic and textual levels.Chapter five concludes the whole thesis,summarizing the major findings and pointing out its limitations.