【英語(yǔ)論文】《小王子》中文譯本語(yǔ)言差異對(duì)比研究A Language Comparative Study of the Two Chinese Versions of The Little Prince

1、小王子中文譯本語(yǔ)言差異對(duì)比研究a language comparative study of the two chinese versions of the little princea paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of bachelor of artsbeijing foreign studies university北京外國(guó)語(yǔ)大學(xué)網(wǎng)絡(luò)教育學(xué)院學(xué)士學(xué)位論文誠(chéng)信聲明本人鄭重聲明： 所呈交的學(xué)士學(xué)位論文，是本人在導(dǎo)師的指導(dǎo)下，獨(dú)立進(jìn)行研究工作所取得的成果。論文所涉及的項(xiàng)目為本人親

2、自負(fù)責(zé)或者參與實(shí)施的項(xiàng)目。除文中已經(jīng)注明引用的內(nèi)容外，本論文不含任何其他個(gè)人或集體已經(jīng)發(fā)表或撰寫(xiě)過(guò)的作品成果。本人完全了解本聲明的法律結(jié)果由本人承擔(dān)。學(xué)士學(xué)位論文作者簽名： 日期： 年 月 日acknowledgementswriting a ba paper is laborious and complicated work as i have to balance with my daily job and life. but it is no doubt involves encouragement, help and support of many people, like my pa

3、rents, friends, online tutors and classmates. i would like to express my gratitude to my parents for their willingness to share household chores and care for me during my study at bfsu. i should also like to thank the teachers and tutors both in shenzhen and beijing for their professional instructio

4、n over my four-year online study. i am heartily thankful to my supervisor, professor bao xudong and professor cai jing, who offer much support when necessary. finally, i present my best regards and blessings to all of those who always ready to help me in any respect during the completion of the proj

5、ect.摘要英漢兩種語(yǔ)言以及中西文化之間的巨大差異，使得翻譯成為溝通的必要途徑。而譯者在翻譯過(guò)程中所起的“媒”作用，是溝通得以順利進(jìn)行的關(guān)鍵。同時(shí)，譯者的個(gè)人審美觀也會(huì)對(duì)譯文產(chǎn)生重大的影響。但是，譯者即便字字斟酌，仔細(xì)選詞造句，譯文往往仍不免出現(xiàn)存在歧義或失真的地方。本論文從譯者和語(yǔ)言的角度出發(fā)，通過(guò)比較小王子的兩個(gè)中譯本的語(yǔ)言差異，嘗試分析和探討譯者和語(yǔ)言對(duì)譯本的影響。本論文主要由以下三個(gè)部分組成: 第一部分簡(jiǎn)要介紹小王子的內(nèi)容、風(fēng)格，及其譯本的大概情況，為后面的對(duì)比研究提供了相關(guān)的背景知識(shí)。第二部分回顧相關(guān)的翻譯理論，歸納總結(jié)不同譯本，譯者所運(yùn)用的翻譯策略。第三部分對(duì)小王子兩種中譯本進(jìn)行詞

6、匯、句法、和風(fēng)格三個(gè)方面的系統(tǒng)研究。通過(guò)對(duì)小王子兩種中譯本的比較分析，可以推斷出不同譯本間的差異在很大程度上是由于譯者的翻譯原則和翻譯策略的不同，是受譯者和所使用的語(yǔ)言影響。在進(jìn)行文學(xué)評(píng)論時(shí),除了要關(guān)注譯者,也要深化對(duì)相關(guān)語(yǔ)言和文化的研究。 關(guān)鍵詞: 譯者 語(yǔ)言差異 小王子 abstracttranslating becomes a necessary approach to communication as there are huge differences between english language and chinese language, also between their

7、cultures. and as a medium, translators are the key for smoothly communication in the processing of translation. however, even translators think over each word again and again, and select words and phrases carefully; there are still ambiguities and misunderstandings to be found from the translations.

8、 this paper is a case study of the language differences of the two chinese versions of the little prince, and tries to explore the issue of how translators and what language are involved in the translation process and thus influences the target translation texts.this thesis consists of the following

9、 3 parts: part #1 introduce briefly about the context and style of the little prince, and the general situation of its translations, then offer relative background information for later comparative study. relevant translation theories to be reviewed in part #2, to conclude and sum up the translation

10、 strategies the translators used in different translations. part #3 makes a systematic comparison of the two chinese versions, from the aspects of semantics, syntax and style.through comparative analysis of the two chinese translations of the little prince, we can deduce that the discrepancies betwe

11、en different translations are largely due to the different translation principles and strategies the translators used, and are influenced by the translator and language discrepancies. so when making literature criticism, not only should we focus on the translator, but also should deepen study in rel

12、evant languages and cultures.key words: the translator; language discrepancies; the little princetable of contentspages1. introduction . 11.1 a summary of the authors life and his works .11.2 a briefing of the little prince .21.3 the theme of the novella .22. rationale .32.1 basic translation theori

13、es .32.1.1 translation theories in the west.32.1.2 translation theories in china .5 2.2 language and cultural .62.2.1 definition of language 62.2.2 definition of culture 72.2.3 the relation of language and culture in translation.73. data description . .73.1 brief introduction to the two translators

14、and their translation.84. data analysis . .84.1 lexicon . .84.2 syntax 94.3 stylistic features .125. results and suggestions . .145.1 results145.2 suggestions on the use of translating strategies. 146. conclusion . .15bibliography. 16appendix 17a language comparative study of the two chinese version

15、s of the little prince1. introduction1.1 a summary of the authors life and his worksantoine de saint-exupry was born in lyon, france in 1900. he was an aristocrat french writer, poet and pioneering aviator. he became a laureate of several of frances highest literary awards and also won the u.s. nati

16、onal book award. he is best remembered for his novella the little prince (le petit prince) and for his lyrical aviation writings, including wind, sand and stars and night flight. much of his work is inspired by his experiences as a pilot.he was a successful commercial pilot before world war ii, work

17、ing airmail routes in europe, africa and south america. at the outbreak of war he joined the french air force, flying reconnaissance missions until frances armistice with germany in 1940. after being demobilized from the french air force he voyaged to the united states to convince its government to

18、quickly enter the war against nazi germany. following 27 months living in north america, during which he wrote three of his most important works, he joined the free french air force in north africa, although he was over age for such pilots and in declining health. he disappeared over the mediterrane

19、an on his last assigned mission in july 1944, and is believed to have died at that time.prior to the war he had achieved fame in france as an aviator. his literary works propelled his stature posthumously allowing him to achieve national hero status in france. he earned further widespread recognitio

20、n with international translations of his other works. 1.2 a briefing of the little prince the little prince has been translated into more than 250 languages and dialects for it is one of the best-selling books around the world. its first english translation is done by katherine woods and was publish

21、ed in the united states in 1943, approximately one week prior to its first french printing by the same publisher, reynal & hitchcock. such a book is no doubt catching many chinese translators eyes, especially those who love the story, and want to share with much more chinese. then comes about 50 dif

22、ferent translations in chinese (produced in both mainland china and in taiwan) summed up in 2011 according to w. the manuscript of the little prince was written and illustrated by saint-exupry while he was exiled in the united states after the fall of france. and according to the authors

23、 earlier memoir, he recounted his aviation experiences in the sahara desert and the little prince is thought to use those same experiences as plot elements. though ostensibly a childrens book, the little prince makes several profound and idealistic observations about life and human nature. for examp

24、le, saint-exupry tells of the little prince encounter a fox during his travels on earth. the storys essence is contained in the lines uttered by the fox to the little prince: one sees clearly only with the heart. what is essential is invisible to the eye. other key thematic messages are being said b

25、y the fox, such as: you become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed and it is the time you have devoted to your rose that makes your rose so important.1.3 the theme of the novella the narrator drives a plane and crash in the sahara desert. there he meets the little prince and know his adven

26、ture little by little after several days of communication. the narrator believes the little prince is come from an asteroid to be called b-612. and he is quarrel with his rose and decides to travel in the universe to find out the secret of life. he travels to 7 planets, and meets different adults, b

27、ut cant get the answer. finally, in the 7th planet the earth, he meets a fox. it is the fox tell him that life is a kind of responsibility, people must be tamed to get true friendship and happiness, and the most important things are invisible to eyes, but only by heart. after knowing this, he goes b

28、ack to his planet in the way of being bitted by a snake.2. rationale 2.1 basic translation theoriestranslation is a part of the communication process between source language (sl) writer and target language (tl) reader according to hatim & mason. (2001) they also pointed out that as a mediator, the t

29、ranslator stands at the centre of the dynamic process of communication, links between source text producers and tl receivers. that is, the translator is no doubt very important in this processing and will more or less influence the quality of a translation, especially in literature translation. and

30、tytler (1791: 8-9) believed that a good translation is the one that the original work is completely apprehended and transfused into another language, and made the readers of target language have equivalent strong feelings of the original work. what is more, a well-made translation is able to greatly

31、 enrich a tl. 2.1.1 translation theories in the westtranslating has existed ever since the ancient times. the formulation of translation theories, however, involves primarily the west world. so, various laws and principles have been created by translation theorists. for example, cicero (55 bc) and q

32、uintilian (96) are both agreed that when translate one language to another, the translators should not follow sl in all things, but “coin new expression” when translate some not exist items of the tl. so that translators “enriched their native languages not only with new vocabulary but also, in plin

33、ys words, with an abundance of stylistic figures and resources” (quoted in andr lefevere, 2004: 46). such viewpoint is focus on free translation. they thought that the key of translation is to make people well understand the inside meaning of the sl, and word for word translation cant meet the reque

34、st. later hieronymus (405-410) expressed his similar view to support free translation, and opposed to literal translation, with the example like this: “a literal translation from one language into another obscures the sense in the same way as the thriving weeds smother the seeds.” he deemed a langua

35、ge will change in translation as it depends on cases and images which need the translator to waste time and make a detour to express what exactly it said, but often to express it with great imprecision. for the syntax looks ridiculous and the tl may lack in both substance and words (hieronymus, quot

36、ed in bacon, 1267).after the middle age, juan luis vives (1531), a spanish humanist, stated the relationship between the translators and their translation as: “translations tend to become unfaithful because translators do not know the language or the topic they are dealing withignorant translators a

37、re deceived and deceive those who trust them, sometimes on the level of style and diction and sometimes on the level of content or that of the characteristic features an author use.”so it is quite evident that translators themselves knowledge to the sl and tl is a great influence to the translation

38、from above statement. then is the theory of jacques pelletier du mans (1555) to describe the translators status. he claimed that if a translator rendered the original faithfully with his best ability, he will only gain respect for having redrawn the original portrait, but fame remains with the origi

39、nal. if he rendered it badly, all the blame falls only on the translator himself. after that, a. f. tytler who devoted to translation studies, propounds three basic principles in his book essay on the principles of translation, first published in 1791, as below:i. that the translation should give a

40、complete transcript of the ideas of the original work.ii. that the style and manner of writing should be of the same character with that of the original.iii. that the translation should have all the ease of original composition. (tytler, 1907, 9)then e. a. nida (1964: 164), echoed tytlers requiremen

41、t with similar opinions and added one more point to tytlers list, indicated that a response similarity should be produced. nida is also an advocator to his functional equivalence theory. the core of this thought is to make the original text and target text equal on the level of language function, bu

42、t not the equality of language style. for a translation should first to reveal the originals information (or meaning) in the most natural way, and then the style. modern western translation theorists, in the wake of linguistics study, are turning their eyes to focus the relation and influence betwee

43、n linguistics and translation. the author will extract some when necessary in the following parts.2.1.2 translation theories in chinaalthough translation has a very long history in china, relevant theories are seldom, until early of the 19th century. translation was practiced by many patriots at tha

44、t time. they believed it can save the country and introduce new thought and literatures from the west. among them, yan fu (嚴(yán)復(fù)) is the representative personage. he contribute his ideas about faithfulness or fidelity (信), fluency or comprehensibility (達(dá)), and elegance (雅) in the preface of his transla

45、tion work tianyanlun (evolution and ethics), published in 1901. these ideas are often regards as the most important statement on translation and repeatedly debated by scholars throughout the past century. later, in the period of the may 4th movement to new china, translation theories, especial liter

46、ary translation theories gain greatly development. translation issues like: the necessity of translation, translatability and untranslatability, the relation between translation and literary creation, the improvement of translation quality and so on, were raised and discussed by translation practiti

47、oners.lin yutang (林語(yǔ)堂, 1933) in his article on translation (論翻譯, translated by author), pointed out that the art of translation is rely on three aspects: first of all, the translator must fully understand the original text; then he must master his own mother language very well and can write it clear

48、ly and coherently; finally, he must have fairly insight to the criteria and technique of translation. he indicated that the translator should take responsibility to his reader and do the translation with the mind of tl totally. further to lin yutangs opinion, fu lei (傅雷, 1957) expressed his insights

49、 concerning the relation of literary object and its translator. he believed that the literatures are focus on human being, if the translator has little experience about life, he cant fully explore the advantage of a work. so a translator should not only to be a bilingual, but also has to train his a

50、bility of discovery, feeling, and imagine. besides, he should go into the thick of life, and then he can catch up with the mind of great writers. for the translation problem, fu lei (1951) also mentioned that since every language has its own characteristics, inimitable merits irremediable faults, an

51、d inviolable rules, to do a translation is like to copy a painting; the essential is to copy the spirit of the painting. and yang jiang (楊絳, 1998), who is also a famous translator in china, proposed the job of translation is quite hard, for she thought a translator must consider seriously of both th

52、e original text and the target reader. the translator must understand all words and sentences of original, furthermore, he also need to know their inside meanings and the extra tone beyond. he should use target readers language to express exactly the same content, tone, inside meanings. he shouldnt

53、add with his own explanation or his own statement in translation. for the theories of criteria to literature translation, there is no doubt that everyone will first think of qian zhongshu (錢(qián)鐘書(shū), 1964, translated by george kao). he made comments about this in his famous essay the translations of lin s

54、hu (林紓的翻譯) like: “the highest standard in literary translation is hua (化), transforming a work from the language of one country into that of another. if this could be done without betraying any evidence of artifice by virtue of divergences in language and speech habits, while at the same time preser

55、ving intact the flavor of the original, then we say that such a performance has attainted huajing (化境), the ultimate of transmutation. in other words, a language should cleave to the original with such fidelity that it would not read like a translation, for a literary work in its own language will n

56、ever read as though it has been through a process of translation.” a lot of practitioners and famous writers in this period like lu xun, mao dun, luo xinzhang, yu guangzhong, si guo, ji di, etc are also contribute their different views and discussions on translation. the author will take some of the

57、m when necessary on data analysis of this paper.2.2 language and culture 2.2.1 definition of language“l(fā)anguage is a set of verbal symbols that are primarily auditory, but secondarily written.” (nida, 2001: 139) and now there are about 4000 to 5000 different languages in the world. 2.2.2 definition of cultureculture according to longman dictiona