A Report On The E-C Translation Of The Children’s Novel Pax(Excerpt) From The Perspective Of Hermeneutic Translation Theory

The dissertation is a report on the E-C translation of the children’s novel Pax,covering from Chapter One to Chapter Eight,more than 18,000 words in total.Sara Pennypacker,the writer of the book,writes a moving story of a boy Peter and his pet fox Pax by focusing on three themes: war,friendship and loyalty.As is known to all,children’s literature plays an essential role in children’s development.Excellent translation works of children’s literature not only make foreign cultures accessible to children,but also impose a positive influence on their thinking and psychology.Currently,however,such excellent children’s books are in scarcity in China and the translation quality is mixed.Therefore,it is of great necessity to introduce some fine children’s novels to broaden their horizons and enrich their reading.Guided by hermeneutic translation theory,the dissertation respectively analyzes the translation difficulties at the lexical,sentence and stylistic level,and case analysis is made in accordance with hermeneutic fourfold steps: initial trust,aggression,incorporation and compensation.In view of the particularity of children’s literature reading groups,by questionnaire survey,an empirical test is conducted to verify whether the target text is in conformity of children’s reading habits or not.In general,research expectations are met by the results,which approves that with the help of hermeneutic translation theory,the translator’s subjectivity is exerted so as to create a text which is popular with children.According to this translation practice,some findings are made.First,in children’s literature translation,the reproduction of childlike innocence and the educational feature needs taking seriously.Second,George Steiner’s hermeneutic translation theory has certain guidance meaning for the translation practice.Third,an empirical test is important for children’s literature translation so as to find out what kind of text can attract children.Fourth,translation strategies such as the use of reduplicated words and modal particles,are beneficial to arouse children’s reading interest.It is hoped that the dissertation can provide some references for children’s literature translation research in the future.