A Study On The English Translations Of The White Snake From The Perspective Of Initial Norms

Tian Han,one of the three founding fathers of modern Chinese drama,wrote 133 dramas during his lifetime,and in 1943 he adapted Jin Bo Ji from Li Zigui’s The White Snake.After twelve years,Tian finished The White Snake in 1955 on the basis of Jin Bo Ji.In 1957,Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang translated the work.Yang Xiangyi and Gladys Yang are one of China’s leading contemporary translators,but there has been relatively little research conducted on their drama translation,and even less on their English translation of The White Snake.William Packard also translated Tian Han’s The White Snake in 1973 and successfully staged it at the University of Hawaii.However,like Yang Xiangyi’s translation,there has been little scholarly attention paid to and study conducted on this English-translated drama.Drama translation involves two languages and cultures,and both language and culture are essential elements in the process of translation.“Acceptability” and“adequacy”,proposed by Toury in initial norms,refers to whether a word in the translated text produces the same effect on the reader as the words in the original text,and whether the word is used in the translated text in accordance with the thinking habits and cultural customs of the target language,and whether unfamiliar foreign information is transformed into something familiar and known to the reader.The primary requirement of drama translation for a translator is to conform to the expressive norms of the audience or readers of the target language.In terms of“Adequacy”,if the translator follows the linguistic and literary norms of the source language,rather than the target language,throughout the translation,then the translation is an adequate translation.From the perspective of initial norms,this study examines the English translations of The White Snake by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang and Packard,and concludes that Packard’s translation favors acceptability in translating culture-laden words,while Yang and Gladys’ translation tends to be adequate.However,Yang and Glady’s translation favors acceptability in translating the title,as well as the speaking and singing,while Packard’s version tends to be adequate.