A Study of the English Translation Strategies of Sinologists’ Fork Language

Abstract

Local fiction is an important part of Chinese literature. As the carrier of local fiction, fork language has gradually attracted the attention of translation scholars and has become a new subject derived from domestic translation academia. This paper explores the translation style and translation strategies of "fork language" between sinologists Howard Goldblatt and Julia Lovell, so as to promote the further "going out" of Chinese culture and provide a reference for telling Chinese stories and disseminating Chinese. 1. INTRODUCTION In recent years, more and more domestic scholars have begun to pay close attention to the translation of Chinese fork language. In July 2015, Professor Zhou Lingshun's "Practical Criticism Research on Chinese 'Local Language' Translation into English" was approved as a key project of the National Social Science Fund, which has become another milestone in academic research in this field. Since the approval of the project, Professor Zhou has set up three research columns in Shandong Foreign Language Teaching [17], Contemporary Foreign Language Research [17] and Journal of Beijing Second Foreign Language Institute [18], and published several academic papers to study the translation strategies of fork language. The results are remarkable. Professor Wang Baorong's new book, Foreign Experience: A Study of the English Translation and Dissemination of Shaoxing Regional Culture in Lu Xun's Novels, reviews the translation strategies of Shaoxing's regional culture in seven English versions through reviewing the translation and introduction of Lu Xun's novels in the English world. It is known as a masterpiece in the field of foreign and communication studies of "local language" in China. [19], "A masterpiece on the translation and introduction of Chinese regional culture to foreign countries" [11]. Today, China's most popular sinologists include the late Professor William Lyells, as well as Howard Goldblatt and Julia Lovell. Among them, Howard Goldblatt is the most famous one, whose translation representatives not only include Chinese well-known works by Mo Yan, such as Red Sorghum, Rich Breast and Wide Hips, but also the works by Xiao Hong, Liu Zhenyun and Jia Pingwa. Howard Goldblatt has translated more than 60 works of 30 Chinese writers and is the most prolific translator in Chinese novels in history. His translation is rigorous and exquisite. Gladys B.Tayler commented that he "made Chinese literature take on the color of contemporary British and American literature"[12].On the basis of loyalty to the original text, Howard Goldblatt believes that translation is a kind of cross-cultural communication and communication[5].Therefore, most of Howard Goldblatt's translations were adopted assimilation as the main strategy and foreignization as the supplement. Julia Lovell is a Cenozoic-era Sinologist and Translator in England. Along with the American translator Howard Goldblatt, she is also known as the "Gemini Constellation" in the translation of contemporary Chinese literature in Britain and Ameri...