English Translation Of Chinese Classic Mythological Characters

From the perspective of polysystem theory,this thesis selects English versions of several Chinese mythological classics that people are familiar with as the corpus,aiming at figuring out the cultural function of Englisb,anslation of Chinese classic mythological characters and the translating limitations brought about by factors such as religion,society and culture.The thesis analyzes the advantages and shortcomings of different translating strategies.Literal translation is able to maintain the features of source language for foreign readers to understand,but sometimes may lead to bungle of translation.The use of free translation embodies the dissimilarity of distinct languages in the cultural aspects of language,religion,substance and society.In contrast to literal translation,free translation reflects characteristics of target language but may lose the unique features of source language.Literal translation and free translation are to some degree similar to the strategies of foreignization and domestication,respectively.Annotated translation is a compromise strategy to literal and free translation,which exerts active influence on translating mythological characters that are of strong national culture.This thesis also discusses the English translation of using the counterpart in target language.If properly applied,counterpart translation will bring giant convenience to translating mythological characters.This thesis makes a study on English translation of mythological characters with an eye to intercultural communication,expecting to provide some valuable theoretical and practical reference for translators spreading excellent Chinese traditional culture.