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An Approach to the Dong Leshans Translation of 《1984》from the Functional Equivalence Perspective

Introduction

Languages are different mainly because they have different language forms. (Nida) Therefore, translation makes it possible to connect different languages. Meanwhile, by translating the source language into the target language, the culture, customs, political ideologies and other unique features of the source language will be known and learnt by other people.

As George Orwells most influential novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, published in 1949, is a political classic novel in content, plot and style. It is known as a literary political fiction and dystopian science fiction, depicting a totalitarian or authoritarian state. Among all the Chinese versions of Nineteen Eighty-Four, Dong Leshans Chinese version is considered as a representative one, in which his personalities are fully embodied. Many Chinese scholars have made researches on his version from different perspectives. However, there are not so many researches that apply Nidas functional equivalence into the analysis of Dongs translation. Therefore, it is of vital importance to conduct an analysis on Dong Leshans translated Nineteen Eighty-Four from the perspective of the functional equivalence theory.

This study is undertaken with the aim of exploring the equivalence of George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four and Dong Leshans translated version. Specifically, the purpose of the present thesis can be divided into two parts: firstly, to review the studies on the Chinese versions of the Nineteen Eighty-Four and Nidas functional equivalence theory; secondly, to make a comparison between the original text and Dongs version from the angles of semantics, pragmatics and style.

Literature Review

2.1 Studies on the Chinese versions of 1984

Nineteen Eighty-Four, written by English writer George Owell, is a resounding success. This book, regarded as the most famous dystopian and political allegoric novel, has enjoyed wide popularity since its publication in 1949. It depicts a highly centralized governemnt and totalitarian dictatorship. However, at that time, the practical situations of the translation of Nineteen Eighty-Four were quite different in Hongkong, Twain and Chinese mainland due to the different ideologies. Because of the relative freedom of the society in Twain, the first Chinese version, translated by Wang Heyi, was published in Twain in 1950, named 《一九八四年》 in Chinese. Chinese mainland didnt publish any translated version until 1953. The version was translated by Niu Xianzhong, also named 《一九八四年》.

Many scholars have made many researches from different perspectives on the Chinese versions of Nineteen Eighty-Four. Gao (2008) chooses four Chinese versions of Nineteen Eighty-Four, seperately written by Dong Leshan, Liu Shaoming, Lin Shuhua and Sun Zhongxu, for a comparative study from domestication and foreignization, focusing on the choice of syntax and words as well as style. Zhang (2008) centers on the successful reproduction of literary stalistics and narratology in the translation of Nineteen Eighty-Four. Gu (2010), by comparing two Chinese versions, also consucted an analysis of the use of domestication and foreiniazation. Hu (2012) studies the translated version from a unique view, which is the translators subjectivity, speciafically exploring the embodiment of translators subjectivity in the stages of translation. By analysis, she proves that the subjectivity of the translators accounts for the differences of the Chinese versions of Nineteen Eighty-Four. Mo (2012) explores the influence of ideplogy on the translation strategies of the Chinese translated versions from the perspective of lexical, syntactic as well as rhetoric level. Wang (2013) made a comparison of two Chinese versions from the socio-semiotic translation concept.

2.2 Studies on Dong Leshans translated version of 1984

Dong Leshan, a famous Chinese translator blessed with the qualities of a thinker, plays a pivotal role in the tortuous course of the translation of Nineteen Eighty-Four in mainland China. Dong Leshans translated version, named 1984年in Chinese, was published in installments in 1979, while only internally distributed. Thereafter, Dong Leshans translated version was republished many times. Dong Leshan renamed it 一九八四 in 1988 as one in the Dystopian Trilogy. His translated version was awarded the outstanding translation award in Guangdong region in 1985.

Today, Dong Leshans translated Ninetenn Eighty-Four continues to be researched by Chinese scholars. Yang (2003) studies the dynamic equivalence between the source text and Dongs translated version. Liang (2012) centers on the application of manipulation theory in Dong Leshans version. According to him, the praticability and validity of manipulation theory determines the ultimate style of Dongs translation.