Abstract: This thesis is about the principle of Child-orientation. The author makes a case study by analyzing The Wind in the Willows in order to illustrate the principle. We know that for a long time, the study of children literature translation rarely attracts more attention either from the scholars or from the translators. They put more and more attention on the study of literary translation for adults. Therefore, the thesis tries to prove that the principle of child-orientation is important, and through the case study, the author tries to enrich this principle. She also hopes that there will be better fairy tales translated works by applying the principle.Fairy tale, a kind of imaginative story, is liked by children. Fairy tales and fairy tale translation play an important role for children’s growth and development. Fairy tale translation originated in the late Qing Dynasty in China. During that time, some famous scholars and translators were dedicated in English-Chinese fairy tale translation and tried to do some study on fairy tale translation. Unfortunately, there are few well-established theories to guide fairy tale translation right now. In this thesis, the author gives us a brief introduction about the history of fairy tale translation in China. Of course, the definition, the origin and the features of fairy tales are also included in chapter one.Why fairy tale translation is different from literature translation read by adults lies in its special readers, kids. It is easy to see that a good fairy tale translated work should reflect the preference of children. The translator should understand kids’interests, cognitive abilities and language abilities. Childhood is a special phase of one’s life. During this period, children are learning themselves and the world they live in, and at the same time, they are developing their cognitive and aesthetic abilities. Fairy tales guide them to discover and provide endless adventure and enjoyment.Child-orientation is an acknowledged principle when translating children literature. The principle emphasizes children’s psychological condition, reading abilities and aesthetic preferences. The author gives us the connotation and development of the principle in chapter two, and applies it into The Wind in the Willows in Chapter three. At last, the author points out that there are some difficulties when using the principle and raises some solutions to it. Research methods are vitally important for any scientific study. In order to make my thesis more logical, systematic and reasonable comparative analysis are mainly adopted. Since there are few theories to guide fairy tale translation, this thesis is useful for more people to know the principle. In addition, the finding of this study is helpful to increase the quality and quantity of fairy tale translation. Of course, it is also good to the creation of fairy tales in China.
Key words: The Principle of Child-orientation; Children; Fairy Tale Translation; The Wind in the Willows;
Fairy Tales Translation from the Perspective of Reception Aesthetics
Abstract: Children's literature translation is a branch of literature translation,but,when compared to other types of literature,studies on children's literature translation are far from enough. This is due partly to the marginal position of children's literature in the literature system and partly to the fact that many people,even some famous scholars consider children's literature translation easy and simple.As a special genre of children's literature,studies of fairy tales (FT) and fairy tale translation are even fewer,because translation of fairy tales has distinct characteristics and requirements in comparison with translation of poetry,novels,essays, and so on.Among them,the most important point is:the major readers of fairy tales are children,who,compared to adults,have different reading level,receptive ability,and aesthetic requirements.Therefore,special readers and receptive ability result in specificity of fairy tale translation.The author of this thesis attempts to discuss fairy tale translation from reception aesthetics.Translators should always bear their readership in mind,trying to produce works that can cater to children's aesthetic requirements and be accepted and enjoyed by them.With the comparative study of three translated versions of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,the application of reception aesthetics in FT translation is analyzed.Finally,the author tries to summarize FT translation requirements and possible choice of translation strategies.This paper consists of five parts.Chapter One is the introduction,dealing with the significance of the study,the objective of the study,and the thesis structure.In Chapter Two,the author first talks about the characteristics of fairy tales and children's cognitive features since both writing and translation of FT should meet children's needs.Then,a brief history of FT translation and FT translation study is given.Chapter Three provides a theoretical framework,and it discusses the major viewpoints of reception aesthetics-role of the reader,horizon of expectations,fusion of horizons in detail and their application in FT translation. In Chapter Four,a brief account of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is given.Then, with a tentative analysis of three translated versions of this book from language style and cultural differences,it discusses the application of reception aesthetics in FT translation further.After the analysis,it comes to a conclusion:when translating,the FT translator should always keep their target readers-children in mind,and the choice of language, translation methods should also center around children.As for translation of the cultural factors,translators should attempt to adopt foreignization as the primary strategy and domestication as the supplementary,so as to transmit exotic flavor to children.Chapter Five consists of summary of this thesis…
Key words: reception aesthetics; fairy tale; translation; horizon of expectations
Retranslation of Fairy Tales Observed from the Perspective of Reception Theory
Abstract: The importance of children literature is not only in its educational significance for children, but in its function of evoking children’s extraordinary imagination which enables them to learn about beauty and truth delightedly. As a special genre of children literature, fairy tale is loved by children at home and abroad. Since the May 4th Movement in 1919, a large number of foreign fairy tales are introduced into China. The translation of excellent foreign fairy tales has broadened Chinese children’s horizon, and provides them with an opportunity to contact with foreign cultures. Nevertheless, in recent years another noteworthy phenomenon is the retranslation of fairy tales. The number of the translation versions of a same work counts from several to above ten. This phenomenon has caused a series of discussions and debates in the translation field. Translation theorists hold controversial views on retranslation. Hence what is the appropriate attitude toward retranslation? Dose the retranslation version have its existing value? The thesis makes a tentative study on retranslation of fairy tales from the perspective of reception theory.Reception Theory emphasizes the active role of the reader in the concretization of the meaning of the text. It asserts that readers are one of the most important factors in realizing the aesthetical value of a text and that the meaning of a literary work can only be actualized through understanding and reception of its readers. Based on reception theory, the translator is not only the reader of the source text, but the author of the translation text. He/She first combines his/her horizon of expectation with the source text, thus fulfilling his/her reception to the source text. When doing translation, he should primarily ponder over his target readers’horizon of expectations, their psychology and inner needs, and adopt proper words and expressions, thus promoting the fusion of their horizon of expectation and the translation text and achieving the reception to the translation text. As a matter of fact, children as the target reader of fairy tales are different from adults in age, physical and psychological conditions, their understanding and acceptance ability are lower than those of the adults. As the original fairy tale is written for children and the target readers of the translation are also children, translators should take the characteristics of fairy tales and children’s reading demands into consideration.This thesis explores the retranslation of fairy tales through a diachronic analysis of the two Chinese versions of The Happy Prince at lexical level, syntax level and rhetoric methods, and through discussions on the treatment of the gaps. The study is based on the two notions of“horizon of expectation”and“vacancy of text”, aiming at demonstrating the individual influences on translation strategies due to the differences of translators’and readers’horizon of expectation, and proving the existence significance of retranslation versions. Translators should faithfully render the source text from the perspective of children with language simple and suitable for children at different ages, so that the readers of the target text can appreciate the artistic style and aesthetic value of the source text. However, with the progress of times, the children living in different period will be affected by the scientific and cultural development, thus forming different horizon of expectation to the same work. In order to meet the change of readers’horizon of expectation, the retranslation of some fairy tales seems to be necessary to some degree…
Key words: Retranslation of fairy tales; Horizon of expectation; Vacancy of the text; Reception level
A Study on the English-Chinese Translation of Fairy Tales from the Perspective of the Reader’s Reception Theory
Abstract: In the colorful world of children's literature, Fairy Tales (FT) is one of the most glamorous flowers. The translation of excellent FT of the West is a good way to help Chinese children to better understand and learn the western culture so as to enhance the communication of the two cultures.Reception Aesthetics and the reader's reception theory provide the FT translation with a new perspective from the aspects of philosophy and literature theory. According to Reception Aesthetics, the value of a literary work can be fully actualized only through understanding and reception of its readers. The receptor of FT, the children reader, is one of the important factors to actualize the aesthetical value of a text. Based on the reception theory, when doing translation, what a translator should primarily ponder over are the reader's horizon of expectations, the reader's psychology and their inner needs. An excellent FT writer always concerns the nature and life of human beings. Translators also should appreciate the outstanding work with children's eyes and communicate with them heart to heart. Then, from the perspective of children, translators should translate it readably, concisely and beautifully. Meanwhile, it is indispensable that translators should faithfully render the contents of the source text with children's language which is simple and suitable for children at different ages in order to maintain the original artistic style and aesthetic value.In the meantime, China's FT translation history and the insufficient market of native children's literature as well as the centered position of child-orientation in children's literature world suggest that child-orientation is the primary principle of FT both in writing and in translation. Through the comparative analysis on the four Chinese versions of Alice in Wonderland, it is not hard to conclude that child-orientation has been and will be practically significant in choosing words or sentences, translating rhetoric devices and dealing with the cultural differences…
Key words: Reception Theory; E-C Fairy Tale Translation; Child-Orientation
