A Study Of Weakening In The English Version Of Fusang From The Perspective Of Mona Baker’s Narrative Theory

The English version of Fusang,The Lost Daughter of Happiness won great popularity among the English readers once it was published in 2001.However,the author Yan Geling regards the English version as a weakened edition compared with the original work.Weakening is not rare to see in translation studies.But most of the previous studies take it as a kind of domesticating strategy and few exclusively analyze and expound on the phenomenon of weakening.Inspired by this case,this thesis takes the English version of Fusang as a case study and elaborates on the weakening in it with Mona Baker’s narrative theory as the theoretical foundation.From the perspective of narrative theory,translation is a process of reframing narratives,in which the translator could employ framing strategies to coordinate the narratives embedded in source text with the narratives circulating among the target context.The weakening in the English version of Fusang can be regarded as the result of the coordination.Based on the textual comparison,this thesis pinpoints the specific manifestations of weakening in the English version of Fusang and further elaborates on how framing strategies affect these aspects.The textual comparison shows that the weakening in the English version of Fusang is mainly manifested in the characterization,cultural values and author’s personal feelings.And the three aspects are reframed in the process of translation with the framing strategies:selective appropriation of textual materials,labeling and repositioning of the participants.With the three framing strategies,the translator and the editor weaken the conflicting narratives embedded in Fusang and guarantee the coherence and fidelity to the narratives circulating within the target context.In this way,the readability and acceptance of the English version are enhanced in the target context while the thematic meanings and author’s emotional attitudes are weakened.