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On the Translation of Lexical Categories in Chinese and English from the Perspective of Categorization

Author: LiuZuo
Tutor: ShaoZhiHong
School: East China University of Science and Technology
Course: English Language and Literature
Keywords: prototype theory lexical category Ru Lin Wai Shi equivalent translation undertranslation overtranslation mistranslation translation methods
CLC: H315.9
Type: Master's thesis
Year: 2014
Downloads: 13
Quote: 0
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Abstract


In cognitive linguistics, categorization is a high-level cognitive activity to classify everything in the world.The notion of category can be traced back to the time of Aristotle, and gradually develops into prototype theory of categorization. There are three levels of categories: basic level category, subordinate level category, and superordinate level category. As an empirical study, the Chinese novel Ru Lin Wai Shi and its English translation Ru Lin Wai Shi is investigated in terms of the main lexical categories of the novel.In this thesis, lexical categories are classified into general categories, culture-specific categories, category extension and lexical categories as a textual cohesive device. General categories include color terms, unit terms and action terms. Culture-specific categories cover ecological culture, material culture, social culture, religious culture, and linguistic culture. Category extension means two rhetorical devices, metaphor and metonymy. Besides, lexical categories can also be used as a textual cohesive device.A qualitative and quantitative study of the translation of lexical categories in the novel Ru Lin Wai Shi is conducted with the help of Lakoff’s scanning formula. As for the outcomes for the translation of lexical categories, four models are introduced. Equivalent translation (S=T) means that the category in the translation is equal to that in the source text in terms of both meaning and levels of categories. Undertranslation (S<T) implies that the category in the translation is more general than that in the original text. Overtranslation (S>T) refers to that category in the translation being more specific than that in the source language. Mistranslation (S≠T) means that the category in the translation is totally different from that in the source text. A qualitative and quantitative study of the translation of lexical categories in the novel Ru Lin Wai Shi shows that nearly half of the categories achieve equivalent translation. For equivalent translation, translators use the method of literal translation, together with other approaches such as free translation, domestication, and foreignization and so on.For the other three outcomes of translation, the main reason is the non-correspondence of lexical categories between Chinese and English, namely non-correspondence in prototype, non-correspondence in category level, non-correspondence in category domain, non-correspondence in cultural meaning, and absence of category.The thesis might be of some practical value to the translation of lexical categories and some methods or strategies might as well be applied to the translation practice and also some mistakes in translating lexical categories might be avoided.

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