Abstract

Martial arts fictions have been popularized in China for many years, while the English versions of Chinese martial arts fictions are rare. Louis Cha is one of the most famous martial arts fiction writers. During 14 years he has finished 15 novels, and The Deer and the Cauldron is his last book. As a result, it is worthwhile to study this book and it’s English version. The well-known sinologist, John Minford, translated The Deer and the Cauldron in 1997, which was published in 1997 by Oxford University Press. In the translated version, he mainly adopted the domestication theory. For some expressions which cannot find the equivalent expressions in English, the translator adopted the theory of foreignization and the technique of variation. Domestication theory advocates the concept of translating in target reader’s language, which means to make the text closely conform to the thinking habits and culture of the target language.

This paper will study this novel from the domestication theory. First the study background, the purpose and significance of this paper will be given Then this paper will introduce the book, the writer and the translator. Next a brief introduction of the origin and development of the domestication theory both home and abroad. The fourth part is focused on some specific analysis on the names, utterances and variations. In the part of utterances, it will disscuss from the perspective of the dialects and the terms. Finally, this paper draws a conclusion, and points out the advantages of domestication theory by citing from John Minford.

Key words: The Deer and the Cauldron; Domestication theory; John Minford

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1 Introduction.1

2 The Book and the Translator.2

   2.1 The Book2

   2.2 The Translator 4

3 The Strategy of Domestication 5

   3.1 The Introduction of Domestication5

   3.2 The Study of Domestication Home and Abroad5

      3.2.1 The Study Abroad5

      3.2.2 The Study in China6

4 Domestication in the Translated Version7

4.1 Names .7

    4.2 Utterances .9

  4.2.1 Dialects .9

  4.2.2 Terms .11

    4.3 Variations.12

5 Conclusion.13

References15