A Comparative Study Of The Translations Of Swear Words In Two English Versions Of Shui Hu Zhuan: An Interpersonal Pragmatic Perspective

Swear words are socially offensive use of language or abusive language,which is an integral part of the language.Studies on swear words are necessary and important because they can promote interlingual and intercultural understanding and exchanges among different nations.Although translation studies of swear words are not uncommon,most of them focus on whether the translation of the swear words conforms to a specific translation strategy or its effect.There are not yet many studies on the translation of swear words from the perspective of pragmatics,and even fewer from the perspective of interpersonal pragmatics,which provides a direction for this study.With Jin Shengtan’s critical text of Shui Hu Zhuan and its two full English versions(Shapiro’s and Buck’s)as the linguistic data,and from the perspective of the four interpersonal pragmatic functions,this thesis will first,find out which swear words in Shui Hu Zhuan and their contexts are most typical of four functions and then analyze whether the interpersonal pragmatic functions of these swear words are reproduced in the translation after a comparative analysis.The thesis will also try to explore the similarities and differences of the translation strategies between the two translators as well as the reasons behind them to provide a reference for future translation research and practice of swear words.It is found that the two translators had their gains and losses in the translation of the swear words.Buck’s version was mostly literal translation emphasizing the formal equivalence between the original text and her translation.Buck’s version has ignored the interpersonal function of the swear words in the context,which results in the loss of connotation and spirit in the original text.Shapiro tried to avoid the problem of excessive literal translation in Buck’s version and adopted a combination of literal and free translation.However,Shapiro’s translation has made considerable deletion and rewriting of the content and form of the original text,which affects the interpersonal pragmatic function of the swear words in the translation.The author also finds that the interpersonal pragmatic functions contained in swear words are discarded by the translator when there is an asymmetry between the two languages at the level of cultural connotation.It is argued that,in the translation of swear words,the context and pragmatic functions of the interlocutor should be reproduced as much as possible.In terms of translation strategies,a literal translation should be used when there is a cultural similarity between the source and the target language;when there is a cultural asymmetry between the source and target languages,the translation strategy of literal translation plus free translation should be used.A translation that fully conveys the information of the source text may not exist,but the translator should seek to reproduce the interpersonal pragmatic function of the swear words in the translation as much as possible according to the cultural connotation and cultural background of the two languages.