A Report On The E-C Translation Of The Scent Of The Gods(Excerpts)

This is a translation report.The source text is excerpted from The Scent of the Gods written by Fiona Cheong,a Singaporean-American writer.The novel tells the life of a Chinese family in Singapore during the 1970s with Su Yen as the only narrator and describes the different choices of self-identity among generations.It is interspersed with national histories and cultural memories.In this novel,the experiences of family members are paralleled to the crises encountered by Singapore.In the end,the novel concludes that everything is predestined.If one wants to protect the family and the nation,he has to give up something.Asian American literature is now playing increasingly important role in American literature.Through the translation report,the translator hopes to provide references for domestic scholars who research on this topic.The report is under the guidance of Skopos theory.Skopos theory places emphasis on translation’s purpose.From the perspective of Skopos rule,coherence rule and fidelity rule,various translation methods are employed to analyze cases to discuss the application of Skopos theory in the translation.Under the guidance of Skopos rule,taking the received context of target readers into consideration,replacement and borrowing translation methods are utilized to make the translation fit the target culture and language habits.In the light of coherence rule,division and omission methods are used to simplify the translation and help the target readers understand.From the fidelity rule,annotation and amplification methods are adopted to ensure that the foreign culture and implicit culture in the source text can be completely and accurately conveyed.In this way,the translation will not hinder the understanding of target readers and does not destroy the content of source text.Through this translation practice,the translator improves her translation ability and gains a deeper understanding of Skopos theory and the translation of Asian American literature.The translation of Asian American literature is not only faithful to the source text and maintains the literariness and artistry of the novel but more importantly,shows the cultural conflicts and identity crisis to target readers,thus achieving the communicative purpose of the source text.