A Corpus-based Multi-complex Model Of Comparative Study On Translator’s Style Of Howard Goldblatt

In recent years,the development of Corpus-based Translation Studies has promoted the development of translator’s style.Mo Yan is the winner of the Nobel Prize for literature.Howard Goldblatt has attracted scholars attention for his multiple translations of Mo Yan’s works.At present,the corpus-based studies on Howard Goldblatt’s translator’s style are quite few,most of which adopt monolingual comparable model.There is a vacancy in adopting multi-complex model of comparison in the studies of his translator’s style.Besides,the studies on the para-texts and the interpretation of his translator’s style are insufficient.This thesis took Howard Goldblatt and his four translation works(1993-2014)as research objects.Based on the multi-complex model of comparison,this study combined qualitative analysis with quantitative analysis to figure out Howard Goldblatt’s translator’s style and its causes.In order to make a comparison through multi-complex comparison model,this thesis selected four kinds of texts.They were:(1)four representative translations translated by Howard Goldblatt;(2)the corresponding four source texts written by Mo Yan;(3)five representative English translations translated by American Sinologists;(4)fiction parts of Brown corpus.The research results are as follows:In terms of quantitative analysis,this study explored Howard Goldblatt’s translator’s style from lexical,syntactical and textual levels.In lexical level,although the lexical diversities of his four translations have declined steadily with time,there are no significant difference between those works,which are always higher than that of other American translators’ translations and close to original English novels.On the whole,his translation is loaded with relatively more information as its lexical density is higher than that of the original English novels and its nominalization rate is high.In addition,influenced by the source texts,he is apt to use second person pronouns.Secondly,in terms of syntactical level,he prefers to use fewer long sentences and the average sentence length in his translation is close to the original English novels.Compared with other American translators’ translations,the sentence structure of his translation is more flexible and complex.In addition,he is accustomed to adjusting and rewriting the original sentence pattern to make it conform to the English writing habits.Thirdly,in terms of textual level,Howard Goldblatt does not choose the reference as his best choice in cohesion.He uses more personal reference,less demonstrative reference,and maintains a high degree of consistency with the target language in terms of comparative reference.The readability of Howard Goldblatt’s translation is close to the original English novels,which is slightly lower than that of other American translators’ translations.He not only ensures readers’ acceptance,but also preserves the aesthetic of the translation.In terms of qualitative analysis,this thesis analyzed the titles,prefaces,postscripts and annotations of Howard Goldblatt’s four translations.He is faithful to the original works in the translation of titles through literal translation.Besides,he highlights Mo Yan’s position in the preface and postscript,which shows his respect and affirmation of Mo Yan’s influence in the Western world.He also reveals his high awareness of the market and the reader.However,he has changed the emphasis in the preface and postscript after Mo Yan’s winning the Nobel Prize.In the early stage,his arrangements of the prefaces and postscripts served the readers and the market.However,it served the translation itself after 2012.In addition,he mainly adopts extratextual annotations to ensure the readers’ reading experiences.In addition,this research also gave some interpretations of Howard Goldblatt’s translator’s style.His educational background,cultural identity,translation thoughts and the restriction of source texts lead to the formation of his translator’s style.Thus,Howard Goldblatt takes readers’ reading experience as the first goal and makes his translation get close to the writing habit of target language in all aspects.Meanwhile,he emphasizes the faithfulness of the translation,maintaining the connotation of source texts when rewriting.