Culture-Oriented Functional Approaches to Chinese-English Translating
Acknowledgments
I am greatly indebted to Professor Zhai Xiangjun, my supervisor, who, from
beginning to end, has shown much enthusiasm and attention to the composition
of this dissertation. Only with his insightful guidance, resourceful advice
and unforgettable encouragement, can I have this pleasure and privilege to get
this dissertation completed.
Special thanks to all my teachers at Fudan University who have imparted me so
much linguistic or extra-linguistic knowledge which enables me to arm myself
with ample confidence and capacity to smooth away one barrier after another
standing in my way to triumph.
Thanks are also extended to my fellow classmates at Fudan who once encouraged
me spiritually, triggered off my wisdom and enriched my life experiences in
miscellaneous respects, which are quite beneficial to the fulfillment of this
arduous dissertation. I will cherish their friendliness all my life.
Fabulous appreciation, too, goes to the scholars whose valuable essays or works
gave me direct or indirect guidance in my composition. It is their wisdom and
insight that help reduce my ignorance and stupidity.
I am very grateful to the staff members of English Department such as Ma Juzhen,
my form master, Jin Zhijian, Rong and so forth. Without their help, my dissertation
would probably remain undone.
Abbreviations:
C-E-Chinese-English
E-C-English-Chinese
SC-source culture(al),
SL-source language,
ST-source text,
TA-target audience,
TC-target culture(al),
TL-target language,
TR-target reader or receiver,
TT-target text.
Culture-Oriented Functional Approaches
to Chinese-English Translating
Chapter I A General Introduction to Functional Translating Theory 1
1.1 Historical Review
1.2 Functional Translating Theory
1.2.1 Notion of functional translating
1.1.2 Essence of functional translating theory
1.1.3 Drawbacks of equivalent theory
1.3 Principles of Translating: Purposeful Principle, Loyalty Principle &
Coherence Principle
Chapter II The Elementary Factors in the Process of Translation
2.1 Analysis of the Roles in the Process of Translating
2.1.1 Initiator and commissioner
2.1.2 Translator
2.1.3 Source-text producer
2.1.4 Receiver or addressee
2.1.5 Target-text user
2.2 The Essence of Translating
2.2.1 Translating and the theory of action
2.2.2 The purposefulness of translating
2.2.2.1 Translating is an intentional interaction
2.2.3 The communicative function of translating
2.2.3.1 Translating is an interpersonal interaction
2.2.3.2 Translating is a communicative action
2.2.4 The cross-culture specificity of translation
2.2.5 Translating is a text-processing action
Chapter III A Brief Literature Review of Functional Translating Theory
3.1 Marcus Tullius Cicero
3.2 Catford
3.3 Eugene A. Nida
3.4 Katharina Reiss
3.5 Hans J. Vermeer
3.6 Justa Holz-Manttari
3.7 Susan Bassnett
3.8 Sandor Hervey and Ian Higgins
Chapter IV The Culture-Oriented Functional Approaches to Translating
4.1 The Understanding of the Concept of Culture: Cultural Hierarchy and
Cultural Specificity
4.1.1 Literary communication across culture barriers: the sender's intention
and the text, the text and the receiver
4.1.2 Language and culture
4.1.3 Communicating and culture
4.1.4 Cultural transformation
4.2 Types of Function: Referential Function, Expressive Function, Appellative
Function and Phatic Function
4.3 The Translator: Knowledge and Skills
4.3.1 Ideal bilingual competence
4.3.2 Expertise
4.3.3 Communicative competence
4.4 Pragmatic Aspects of Translation
Chapter V Contrastive Studies of the Major Discrepancies Between Chinese
and English
5.1 Analytic & Synthetic
5.2 Hypotactic & Paratactic
5.3 Impersonal & Personal
5.4 Abstract & Concrete
5.5 Stative & Dynamic
5.6 Thematic & Topical
Chapter VI Achieving the Cultural Message Transformation in the Light of
Culture-Oriented Functional Approaches
6.1 The Theoretical Basis of Arriving at Cultural Message Transformation
6.2 The Applicabilit
