A Study On Translation Strategies Of Schema Differences From The Perspective Of Cultural Schema Theory

Some scholars have introduced cultural schema into translation studies on culture-related concepts,believing that the target readers’ understanding of the translation mainly depends on whether they have the corresponding cultural schema.Cultural schema is a structural block of knowledge about culture in the human brain,which is a priori experience of cultural knowledge that exists in the brain.Some scholars even consider translation as a transformation of schema.Therefore,fully understanding the source text and correctly interpreting the culture-related concepts of the source text is crucial to successfully establishing and activating the cultural schema in the target readers’ brains.Tao Hua Shan is a legendary drama written by Kong Shangren,a writer in the Qing Dynasty.It is one of the four Classical Chinese dramas and has six English versions.In the English-speaking world,the study of Chinese classical drama has a long history,dating back to the 18th century and reaching a climax in the 20th century.In the past 300 years,Tao Hua Shan has been adapted and staged in several genres.Tao Hua Shan contains many culture-related concepts with Chinese characteristics,including allusions,customs,myths,and so on.All of these culture-related concepts enrich the plot and make the story vivid,surreal,and moving.Therefore,it is of practical significance to explore the translation of culture-related concepts in Tao Hua Shan.The thesis investigates the phenomenon of cultural schema differences in Acton’s version of Tao Hua Shan based on cultural schema theory.Within the framework of cultural schema theory,the thesis introduces the theoretical view of cultural schema,including its definition,development,and classification.It also discusses the mechanism of cultural schema and how cultural schema guides translation.On this basis,the thesis analyzes“domestication” and “foreignization” strategies from the perspective of cultural schema differences including “cultural schema deficiency” and “cultural schema conflict”.It also discusses the translation methods under the “domestication” and “foreignization” strategies and the effects achieved by the different strategies of translation.The thesis comes to the conclusion:(1)in the case of “cultural schema deficiency”,the translators mainly use the translation methods of “free translation” and “paraphrase” under the“domestication strategy”.It is conducive to activating the existing cultural schema of the target readers so as to facilitate their understanding of the target text,thus promoting the rapid understanding and acceptance of the cultural schema of the source text.The translator mainly uses the translation methods of “literal translation” and “transliteration plus annotations”under the “foreignization strategy”.It is conducive to the establishment of the new cultural schema by the target readers,and further enriches the target language culture.(2)In the case of “cultural schema conflict”,the translator uses the translation method of “paraphrase” under the “domestication strategy”.It effectively avoids the conflict between two cultures to avoid reading barriers,and accordingly enhances the understanding of the target readers.The translator uses “literal translation” under the “foreignization strategy”.Although the “literal translation” method in the “foreignization strategy” does not lead ideal effect in the case of“cultural schema conflict”,it can enrich the cultural schema of the target readers and make them realize the connotation of the same thing under different cultures.