2.2 Specificity in Translation and Relevant
Studies Specificity in translation is a ubiquitous and useful method in translation, and is always discussed in translation studies. Specificity in translation means utilizing specified translation through various means to make the abstract, general or fuzzy expressions in ST more concrete and specified so as to make its language more vivid in the translation process (Xie Jun, 2009). Based on her definition, this thesis argues that specificity in translation means utilizing specified translation, textually or morphologically, to make the abstract, general or fuzzy expressions in ST more concrete and specified in the text or paratext of the Target Text to make its language more vivid in the translation process.
Phenomena similar to specificity in translation have long been discussed in translation studies, with different names like amplification (拓展译法, Hong Tao, 1997), thick translation (深度翻译, Zhao Yong, 2010; Si Xianzhu, 2021; 厚翻译, Cai Hua, 2016; 厚重翻译, Cai Xinle, 2013; 丰厚翻译, Zhang Defu, Sen Kelan, 2017), and so on. Xie Jun (2009) is the first scholar to define what is specificity in translation in her doctoral dissertation concerning a cognitive study on the specificity in Hong Lou Meng based on Hawkes’ translation.
These translation studies have all contributed to the specified translation study. However, they mostly fail in giving a clear-cut definition of specificity in translation and a systematic classification of translation methods. Their study covers only insufficient typologies, not comprehensive and representative enough to draw a conclusion or a formula for future studies of classic Chinese dramas.
Chapter Three Cultural Specificity in Birch’s Translation ...................... 24
3.1 Specificity in the Translation of Allusions ....................... 25
3.1.1 Specificity in Story Allusions to Construct Scenario Propositions ............. 25
3.1.2 Specificity in Stands-for Allusions to Build Relational Structure ................. 30
Chapter Four Theatrical Specificity in Birch’s Translation ..................... 46
4.1 Specificity in the Translation of Characterization ........................ 46
4.1.1 Specificity in the Representation of Language Styles ............................. 46
4.1.2 Specificity in the Description of Appearance ................................ 49
Chapter Five Stylistic Specificity in Birch’s Translation .............................. 66
5.1 Specificity in the Translation of Textual Components ................................. 66
5.1.1 Specificity in the Translation of Chumu ..................................... 66
5.1.2 Specificity in the Translation of Dialogues, Verses, and Arias ............................... 67
Chapter Five Stylistic Specificity in Birch’s Translation
5.1 Specificity in the Translation of Textual Components
As mentioned above, a scene in Mu Dan Ting consists of a chumu (the title of each scene) and the libretto, or the text, which can be further divided into quci, binbai and kejie. To highlight the existence of these components and to distinguish the differences between them, Birch renders translation compensations both textually and morphologically.
5.1.1 Specificity in the Translation of Chumu
Chumu is a vital component in the script of ancient Chinese dramas. Chu refers to “scene” and mu “title”. Together, they refer to the title in the script, summarizing the central theme of a scene in a concise way (Zhu Hao, 2021). Thus, chumu plays an indispensable role in pro
