Abstract

Frog, written by Mo Yan, was published in China in 2009. Set in 1960s, the novel narrates the life experience of the writer’s aunt, through which it reflects the ups and downs of the 60-year-long fertility history in the countryside of China. It was awarded Mao Dun Literature Prize, the most prestigious literary award in China. With the specific historical background, the book is rich in culture-loaded words and thus is suitable to be the study case. The English version of Frog, published in 2014, is translated by Howard Goldblatt. Since its publication, Frog achieved great popularity in the western world.

  The Skopos theory proposes three rules, Skopos rule, coherence rule, and fidelity rule, among which the Skopos rule is the leading one. According to Skopos theory, translation strategies adopted are determined by the purpose of the translation. This thesis attempts to analyze the translation of culture-loaded words in Frog from the perspective of Skopos theory.

  The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter one is introduction, providing the information about the background and objective of the study. Chapter two briefly reviews existing related studies. It introduces the researches on culture-loaded words and reviews the existing studies on Frog. Chapter three is the theoretic basis of the thesis. This chapter elaborates in detail the definition and development of Skopos theory. It also explains the three basic rules of Skopos theory. Chapter four is the principal segment of the thesis, which is divided into four parts. The first part talks about translation Skopos of Frog. The second part is data collection, which gives a classification of the culture-loaded words in Frog. The third part probes into details how culture-loaded words and expressions are translated in Frog. The last part explores the reasons behind the choices of translation methods from the perspective of Skopos theory. Chapter five is the conclusion part. It summarizes the whole thesis, including major findings, limitations of this thesis and suggestions for further study.

Key words: Frog, translation, culture-loaded words, Skopos theory

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

Chapter One Introduction-１

1.1 Background of the Study-１

1.2 Objective of the Study-１

1.3 Structure of the Thesis-２

Chapter Two  Literature Review-３

2.1 Researches on Culture-loaded Words-３

2.1.1 Classification of Culture-loaded Words-３

2.1.2 Translation of Culture-loaded Words-４

2.2 Researches on Frog-５

2.2.1 Introduction to Frog-５

2.2.2 Studies on the Translation of Frog-６

Chapter Three  Theoretical Framework-７

3.1 Introductions to Skopos Theory-７

3.1.1 Definition of Skopos Theory-７

3.1.2 Development of Skopos Theory-７

3.2 Basic Rules of Skopos Theory-９

3.2.1 The Skopos Rule-９

3.2.2 The Coherence Rule-９

3.2.3 The Fidelity Rule-１０

Chapter Four  Analysis on Translation of Culture-loaded words in Frog-１１

4.1 The Purpose of Translating Frog-１１

4.1.1 Cultural Communication-１１

4.1.2 Satisfying the Expectations of Target Readers-１１

4.2 Classification of Culture-loaded Words in Frog-１１

4.2.1 The Material Culture-loaded Words and Phrases-１２

4.2.2 The Linguistic Culture-loaded Words and Phrases-１２

4.2.3 The Ecological Culture-loaded Words and Phrases-１３

4.2.4 The Social Culture-loaded Words and Phrases-１３

4.2.5 The Religious Culture-loaded Words and Phrases-１４

4.3 Translation Strategies Adopted in Frog-１４

4.3.1 Foreignization-１５

4.3.1.1 Literal translation-１５

4.3.1.2 Transliteration-１５

4.3.1.3 Annotation-１６

4.3.2 Domestication-１６

4.3.2.1 Free Translation-１６

4.3.2.2 Omission-１７

4.3.3 Summary-１７

4.4 Analysis on Choices of Translation Strategies under Skopos Theory-１８

4.4.1 The Skopos Rule-１８

4.4.2 The Coherence Rule-１９

4.4.3 The Fidelity Rule-１９

Chapter Five  Conclusion-２０

5.1 Major Findings of the Study-２０

5.2 Limitations and Suggestions-２０

References-２２

文献综述报告-２４