Analyses of the Chinese Version of the Old Man and Sea from the Perspective of Skopos Theory

侯纓姣

1 Introduction

There has been a long history for translators to study translation theories. Produced in Germany in the 1970 s， translation skopos theory is a new kind of translation theory. With Rice， Vermeer， Mantali and Norde as the main representative， translation skopos theory thinks that translation purpose decides translation behavior. At the same time， it put forward that translation should follow three rules. In the translation process， due to differences in language and culture， translation methods and translation strategies chosen by translators are to be achieved by purposes of translations. Translation skopos theory which was put forward makes an important breakthrough in the history of translation studies， and provides a new perspective for future translation studies and translation practices.

The old man and the sea， published in 1952， was the culmination of Hemingway's late creations. Eileen Changs version of the Old Man and the Sea appeared in the 1950s， it is the first Chinese translation of this great work. As an important component woman writer in the history of Chinese modern literature， Eileen Chang's literary works always attracts lots of concerns. Unfortunately， the translation studies has not been widely into the vision of researchers. Through the studies of the Chinese version of the Old Man and the Sea， it is hoped to give Eileen Chang's translation studies due attention， and to throw away a brick in order to get a gem.

Key words： translation， skopos theory， the Old Man and the Sea， Eileen Chang

【中圖分類號】R395

2 Skopos Theory

In the 1970 s， functionalist translation theory arose in Germany. It developed through several stages. And focused on three rules， namely skopos rule， coherence rule and fidelity rule， loyalty rule. Skopos theory argues that the first principle all translation activities ought to follow is the skopos rule， namely the translation should be able to comply with anticipated way of target language receivers in the target language context and culture. The purposes of Translation behaviors determine the overall translation process， namely， purposes decided methods. Nevertheles，coherence rule and loyalty rule must be subordinate to the loyalty rule. It is the first principle of the skopos theory.

3 Ernest Miller Hemingway and The Old Man and the Sea

Ernest Miller Hemingway（ July 21， 1899 - July 2， 1961）， American writer and journalist， was considered to be one of the most famous novelists in the 20th century. He was a representative writer of the American Lost Generation. In his works he expressed perplexities and hesitations to life， the world and the society. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953 for The Old Man and the Sea. The Old Man and the Sea was also cited by the Nobel Committee as contributing to the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Literature to Hemingway in 1954.

4 Eileen Chang and Her Version of The Old Man and the Sea

Eileen Chang was modern Chinese writer and translator. She was born in Shanghai in September， 1920.Works written by Eileen Chang cover a wide range， like novels， essays， screenplays and literary works. Her letters are also studied as part of her works.

In July this year， Eileen Chang left Shanghai for Hong Kong. She first registered in the Liberal Arts College of Hong Kong University and was ready to continue the unfinished， eventually things didn't go as she hopes because of a variety of reasons. Later， she found a job to work as a translator in the United States Consulate General in Hong Kong Information Services Department， to participate in a large-scale American literary works Chinese translation plan to sustain herself.

As to her Chinese version， although she said modestly that "she couldn't not reach the light humor and sorrow and fascinating wordings of the original one， but the then director of the United States Consulate General in Hong Kong Information Services Department recalled： " after the Chinese translation was published， it was regarded as a classic immediately".

Readers and pundits in the translation industry all believe that Eileen Chang's Chinese translation of the book is very good. When compared with other Chinese versions of the book， Eileen Chang's version is regarded as very excellent.

Eileen Chang's translation revealed her understanding of this novel and her own views on mankind and the fate. All of which manifested in translation strategies.

Eg1： The clouds over the land now rose like mountains…

張愛玲譯： 陸地上的云氣堆得像山一樣高。

Eileen Chang's translation approximates original rustic style. The word “堆” expresses not only the layering image of clouds， but also reflect the precise wording， provincial and simply structured. It really manifests the style of the original wording.

Eg2：He did not take it though. He was gone and the old man felt nothing. “He cant have gone，” he said. “Christ knows he cant have gone…”

張愛玲譯：然而它并沒有吞餌。它去了，老人什么都不覺得了。“它不會走的，”他說。“耶穌知道他不會走的。”

In the translation. Eileen Chang faithfully translated Christ as "耶穌"， which highlighted the important role of Christian culture in Western culture.

Eg3： He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish.

張愛玲譯： 他是個老頭子，一個人劃著一只小船在墨西哥灣大海流打漁，而他已有八十四天沒有捕到一條魚了。

Eileen Chang divided the original one long sentence into small clauses. Thus making the rhythm soothing and light， the wording refined and authentic， concise and natural.

Eileen Chang understood the original accurately， translated precisely and appropriately. Her versions are close to the original style， making the translation faithfully smooth and quite popular with readers of all ages.

Chapter 5 Conclusion

Translation is a purposeful activity of mankind， so translation purposes decide the whole translation process. And whether the purposes of translation being fully achieved is the the judging criteria of translation. This is the basic idea of skopos theory. Through analyses， it can be found that Eileen Chang's version of "The Old Man and the Sea" is in line with the three rules of the skopos theory， and had achieved her intended purpose， highlighted her talent of translation.

References

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