Translation Study Of Culture-loaded Words In The Three-Body Problem From The Perspective Of Thick Translation

In 2015,Liu Cixin’s sci-fi Santi was translated into English with the name of The Three-Body Problem by Chinese-American translator,Ken Liu.At the same year,Liu Cixin was awarded Science Fiction Achievement Award in the 73^rd World Science Fiction Convention,which makes him become the first Chinese and Asian writer who receives this honor.The success of Santi has aroused the public attention to sci-fi and its translation,triggering discussions in academic field.The development of sci-fi in China remains a slow speed compared with that in western countries.Moreover,the current studies at home tend to focus on mainstream literature rather than sci-fi.This thesis studies and analyzes the culture-loaded words in The Three-Body Problem with thick translation as framework and tries to explore applicable translation strategies to the translation of culture-loaded words in Chinese sci-fi.The core of thick translation put forward by Ghanaian-American philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah is to place the target text into an enriched context through various methods,such as footnotes,annotations and explanatory translations etc.The application of these translation strategies would increase understandings and respects of target readers towards source language culture with more effective information provided.Although Appiah did not offer a specific strategy for translation,he provided an idea for translators to apply various translation strategies within the framework of thick translation.Through this research,thick translation plays a positive role in the translation of culture-loaded words in The Three-Body Problem.Ken Liu applies common translation strategies such as literal translation,literal translation plus explanation,transliteration,transliteration-plus-explanation and liberal translation on culture-loaded words.These translation strategies are presented either in the form of annotations or in-text translations to help target readers understand those culture-loaded words and Chinese cultural connotations which are beneficial to enrich their reading experience.