A Comparative Study Of The English Translations Of Fu Sheng Liu Ji From The Perspective Of Register Theory

Fu Sheng Liu Ji by Shen Fu is a lyric autobiography.With the daily life of Shen Fu and Chen Yun as its main plot,it depicts the delight of marriage,the pleasure of leisure,the joy of travel and the sorrow of misfortune.The author’s values,personal qualities,esthetic interests and the attitude towards life are fully reflected and the book is widely read at home and abroad.As a literary classic,its status determines that the study of the English translations of Fu Sheng Liu Ji is of significance.To date,a number of research findings have been offered;however,there is abundant room for in-depth studies.Translation studies,with text and context as the core,are built on the source text（ST）,target text（TT）and the contexts where ST and TT are produced.This means the theory to be adopted for translation studies needs to meet this requirement.For this purpose,register theory serves as one of the viable options.To put it in a simple way,register,as part of Systemic Functional Linguistics（SFL）,examines the language in use,the relationship between the context of situation and the language,and how the context of situation affects the meaning of language.What register theory covers lends support to translation studies with convincing evidence.At present,the study of the English translations of Fu Sheng Liu Ji based on register theory remains a research gap.Therefore,this thesis is to investigate the four English translations of Fu Sheng Liu Ji（translated by Lin Yutang,Shirley M.Black,Leonard Pratt and Chiang Su-hui,and Graham Sanders）from the perspective of register theory.By comparing the ST and TT on the basis of register theory,this thesis attempts to achieve three objectives.First,to find out how TTs differ from each other based on the three variables of register.Second,to identify the factors influencing register construction in the translating process.Third,to propose the strategies of register equivalence in translation.Three research questions are highlighted according to the aims of this thesis.Namely,what are the differences between the four English translations of Fu Sheng Liu Ji in terms of the three variables of register? What influencing factors are involved in register construction in the translating process based on the comparative analysis of the four English translations of Fu Sheng Liu Ji? What are the strategies for achieving register equivalence in translation?To address the above questions,this thesis focuses on the ST,TT and the contexts where ST and TT are produced.The analysis of register is presented from two respects.On the one hand,it demonstrates the context of situation where the text is produced,relating the text to the context.On the other hand,it analyzes the strands of meaning,or discourse semantics,in the text based on lexicogrammar,linking the text to the language system.Research findings are as follows.First,in terms of field,the four English translations of Fu Sheng Liu Ji basically achieve field equivalence despite the different levels of specificity.With respect to tenor,the interactants’ images and their relationships in the ST are fully depicted in Lin Yutang’s translation.In sharp contrast,Shirley M.Black makes fundamental changes in the way that produces the ST interpersonal meaning/function,which leads to the differences in the interactants’ images and relationships between ST and TT.Despite some minor changes in the translations by Leonard Pratt and Chiang Su-hui and Graham Sanders,the interactants,status roles,and contact roles are reproduced to a large extent.In respect of mode,the appropriate diction and the adequate cohesion and coherence feature Lin Yutang’s version,and his translation therefore matches the ST in the way that constructs the textual meaning/function.Shirley M.Black,however,rearranges the ST in terms of overall structure,text content and detailed narration,which affects the reproduction of the ST textual meaning/function to some extent.Translations by Leonard Pratt and Chiang Su-hui and Graham Sanders match the ST in most cases with respect to linguistic choice,speech style and text organization.Second,both linguistic factors（the linguistic difference between source language and target language）and extra-linguistic factors（subjective ones such as the translator’s cognitive construal,motive and purpose;objective ones such as social background,dominant ideology and target readers）influence register construction in the translating process and register equivalence in translation.Third,the strategies including ideational meaning/function-based amplification,interpersonal meaning/function-based adjustment and textual meaning/function-based replacement are proposed for the equivalence of field,tenor and mode respectively in translation.This study benefits both theory and practice.It widens the horizons of register research with a translation-oriented approach,and it lays a foundation for future studies of the English translations of Fu Sheng Liu Ji.In addition,it serves as a reference for the translation of classical Chinese literature,which helps Chinese culture go global.