TheStrategiesofChineseTranslationofEnglishPoems

1、The Strategies of Chinese Translation of English PoemsWhy do I select this subject?As an English major, I am particularly interested in English poem. The greatness of English poetry lies in the cadence form meter, rhyme, the photographic image, and the skillful use of rhetorical devices. Literary or

2、 poetry classics can be accessible to people from various linguistic backgrounds by means of translation. But translation of English poetry into Chinese is difficult in that English and Chinese belong to different language families. My thesis is to present a general view of strategies used in the tr

3、anslation of English poetry into Chinese.Chapter I IntroductionForm, Image and Rhetorical devices are integral elements in a poem. In order to recreate the beauty of English poems, the three perspectives need to be taken into consideration when doing translation.Chapter IIForm1. MeterMeter is define

4、d as the arrangement of sounds in poetry into patterns of strong and weak beats. This arrangement of two or three stressed and unstressed syllables constitutes the beautiful cadence of English poems. However, Chinese language is bound with words of only one syllable. In order to solve this problem,

5、the renownedChinese translator Zhi ling Bian coins the method of substituting “ pause” in Chinese for “ meter ”in English poems. Different from meter which is based on phonetics,“ pause”basedis on semantics. The transformation makes it more acceptable to the target readers in China.2. RhymeRhyme is

6、defined as two lines of poetry that end with the same sounds. In English poems, it is the alternative lines that always rhyme, with various schemes. The most typical rhyme scheme is ababcdcd. On the contrary, Chinese poem tends to rhyme aaba. As a result, it is a great challenge for the translator t

7、o pick out a proper rhyme to convey the beauty of the original poem.Chapter III ImageEzra Pound defined image as “ aliteral and concrete representation of a sensoryexperience of an object. ” It can be briefly dividedtotwoincategories. Some images can arouse the same sensory experiences of people fro

8、m different cultural backgrounds, while others can not.1.Universal Images1Some images in the poems bear the same implied meaning both in English and Chinese culture. For example, "rose" stands for love. These images can be literally translated into Chinese through the selected diction to r

9、edisplay the beautiful picture.2.Individual ImagesIt refers to images bearing different connotations in English and Chinese culture. In 1995, Lawrence Venuti put forward the domestication method in the Translator s Invisibility . The domesticating method plays an important role in the translation of

10、 individual images. By means of domestication, messages in the source language can be expressed in appropriate forms in the target language.Chapter IV MetaphorMetaphor is the most frequently used rhetorical device in English poems. It is an implied comparison of one thing to another. Chinese Scholar

11、, Zhang Guoxi differentiated the visible metaphor from invisible metaphor. The translation of these two kinds of metaphors in poems entails different strategies.1.Visible MetaphorVisible metaphor means that the noumenon and metaphor object are both presented explicitly in a metaphorical structure. O

12、n this occasion, the metaphor can be translated as simile for the easier understanding of the target reader.2.Invisible MetaphorInvisible metaphor refers to the metaphorical structure where the nounmenon andmetaphor object are not expressed explicitly at the same time. On this occasion, the translat

13、or tends to keep the authentic version of the metaphor rather than translating it into a simile.ConclusionIn conclusion, different strategies need to be used in the aspects of form, image and metaphor, when translating English poems into Chinese.Bibliogrphy:nd1. China and west: comparative poetics and translatology (2 edition )Gu ZhengkunQing Hua University Press 20102.Literary Translation: a practical guideClifford E LandersShanghai Foreign Language Educa