Abstract

Last year, Chinese writer Hao Jingfang won the Hugo Prize by her marvelous science fiction Folding Beijing. The success of this novel largely attributes to the decent translation by Ken Liu, a bilingual writer and translator. Ken Liu manages to bridge the gap between Chinese and western cultures with proper translation methods, one of which is explicitation translation.

As a translation technique, explicitation is always employed by translators to reveal the hidden information in the source text, make the translating works more readable, and facilitate target readers’ comprehension and acceptability, in case of the target language readers misunderstand the texts because of the differences between languages and cultures. 

Explicitation, as highlighted by Klaudy and Karoly (2005), serves as a cover term for a raft of distinct reformulation operations in translation studies. According to Klaudy, there are four major types of explicitation: obligatory explicitation, optional explicitation, pragmatic explicitation and translation-inherent explicitation. Inspired by previous studies on this phenomenon, the author of this paper attempts a systematic investigation of explicitation in the English version of Folding Beijing, with different types of explicitation as case study. 

The current study adopts documentary research method, case study and overall analysis to decode Ken Liu’s translation. The results of this study testifies Ken Liu’s tendency to employ explicitation in his rendition and confirms the prediction of explicitation as a recurrent feature in English translations. From the cultural perspective, it could be found that Liu retains cultural images of source text and manages to make target readers receive the same aesthetic effects as the original readers perceive. Liu’s appropriate utilization of explicitation justifies the praise and popularity of his translation.

Key Words: explicitation; cultural translation; context; Folding Beijing

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1.-Introduction-1

1.1-Introduction to Folding Beijing-1

1.2-Rationale and Significance of this Paper-1

1.2.1 Problems in Science Fiction Translation in China-1

1.2.2 The Prominence of the English Version of Folding Beijing-2

1.3-Main Content and Originalities-3

1.3.1 Layout of the Paper-3

1.3.2 Originalities-3

2.-Literature Review-4

2.1-The Definition of Science Fiction-4

2.2-Previous Researches on Science Fiction Translation-4

2.2.1 Domestic Researches on the Science Fiction Translation-5

2.2.2 Foreign Researches on Science Fiction Translation-6

2.2.3 Limitations and Problems-7

2.3-Affirmation of Ken’s Translation from Different Perspectives-7

2.3.1 The Cross-Cultural Communication Perspective-7

2.3.2 The Aesthetic Reflection Theory Perspective-7

2.3.3 The Translating Strategy Perspective-8

3.-Theoretical Framework-9

3.1-The Development of Cultural Translation Theory-9

3.1.1 The Development of Culture Translation Theory-9

3.1.2 Susan Bassnett’s Cultural Translation Theory-10

3.1.3 Cultural Translation Researches in China-11

3.2-Guiding Significance of Cultural Translation Theory in Translation Practice-12

3.2.1 Cultural Translation Theory in Science Fiction Translation-12

3.2.2 Cultural Translation Theory in Translation Strategy-12

3.3-Explicitation Translation-13

3.3.1 Concept of Explicitation-13

3.3.2 Explicitation Hypothesis-14

3.3.3 Types of Explicitation-14

3.3.4 Functions of Explicitation-15

4.-An Investigation of Folding Beijing-16

4.1-Cultural Factors in Folding Beijing-16

4.2-Explicitation in Folding Beijing-17

4.2.1 Obligatory Explicitation in Translation-17

4.2.2 Optional Explicitation in Translation-18

4.2.3 Pragmatic Explicitation in Translation-21

5.-Conclusion-24

5.1-Major Findings-24

5.2-Limitations and Suggestions for Further Research-24

References-26