Common Problems in Translation of English Novels – Take To Kill a Mocking Bird as an Example开题报告

1. 研究目的与意义

for a century, numerous foreign literary works have been translated into chinese. here may even be several versions of translations of the same work. however, in the process of translating foreign literary works, some problems often occur, such as misinterpretation and omission of translation. it is necessary for us to summarize these common problems and try to analyze the reasons why they arise in translations.

to kill a mockingbird is one of the most beloved novels of all time. it won a pulitzer prize in 1961 and was translated into more than 40 languages, sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. it is recognized as a classic of american literature. this book was first translated into chinese by zhanzhu li and yuying jiang in 1983. it has more than four versions of translations in chinese hitherto and has become popular among china for years.

that’s why this thesis takes to kill a mockingbird as an example to study about common problems in translation of english novels.

2. 研究内容和预期目标

1. the introduction of some translation theories popular in china.

2. the introduction of common problems in english-chinese translation.

3. 国内外研究现状

with more and more english literary works being translated into chinese, the common problems in english to chinese translation become significant and obvious. scholars in china did a lot of researches on problems in e-c literary translations. for instance, chen ming from hefei university of technology analyzes the mistranslation in translation of austen''''''''s novel pride and prejudice by wang keyi. his paper analyzes the causes of mistranslation from the aspects of semantics, grammar, rhetoric, context and culture, so as to provide reference suggestions for translation practice. the paper of jiang zhuhao from shanghai international studies university attempts to analyze intentional mistranslation in literary translation from the perspective of manipulation theory. this kind of mistranslation phenomenon is often the intentional act of the translator under the influence of many factors, which is of great research value.

besides, in the abroad, more and more scholars have paid their attention to study of translation as well. for example, in the article “non‐standard language in translation” published on perspectives: studies in translation theory and practice, rachel lung discusses differences between english and chinese as the representative of two different language families with their respective ways of presenting concepts such as tense, agreement, and plurality in languages. she suggests that although formal equivalence cannot be achieved in some cases, various linguistic means in the target languages can be used for to achieve equivalent or at least approximate effects.

to kill a mockingbird was first translated into chinese by li zhanzhu and jiang yuying in 1983 and was published under the title '枪打反舌鸟' , but it received few responses at that time. it was not until 2009 when yilin published a new version translated by gao hongmei that the book became well-known.

4. 计划与进度安排

1. introduction

2. brief introduction of some translation theories popular in china

5. 参考文献

maria tymoczko. (2009). why translators should want to internationalize translation studies[j]. the translator. 15, 401-421.

peter flynn. (2004) skopos theory: an ethnographic enquiry[j]. perspectives: studies in translation theory and practice. 12, 270-285.

rachel lung. (2000). non‐standard language in translation[j]. perspectives: studies in translation theory and practice. 8, 267-274.