论文总字数：27117字

摘 要

拟声词是一种构词手法，也是一种重要的修辞手法。正确，恰当地运用和翻译拟声词，可以渲染气氛，烘托意境，使平淡的句子变得鲜活生动。儿童文学受众是儿童，其中的拟声词翻译有助于儿童理解文本。本文将以目的论为基础，结合儿童文学的特点，以任溶溶译的《夏洛的网》为例，分析儿童文学中拟声词的翻译，旨在为儿童文学译者提供一些实践指南。

关键词：目的论；儿童文学翻译；拟声词翻译；《夏洛的网》

Content

1. Introduction 1

2. Children’s Literature 1

2.1 The history of children’s literature translation in China 2

2.2 The characteristics of children’s literature translation 2

3. Onomatopoetic Words 3

3.1 The definition of onomatopoetic words 3

3.2 The importance of onomatopoetic words in children’s literature translation 4

4. On Skopostheorie 5

4.1 Skopos Rule 5

4.2 Coherence Rule 6

4.3 Fidelity Rule 6

5. Applications of Skopostheorie in Charlotte’s Web 7

5.1The application of Skopos Rule to translating onomatopoetic words 7

5.2The application of Coherence Rule to translating onomatopoetic words 9

5.3The application of Fidelity Rule to translating onomatopoetic words 10

6. Conclusion 12

Works Cited 13

1. Introduction

Onomatopoetic words are related simply with primitive word-building, by adding onomatopoeia, an ordinary sentence can become vivid and lifelike, and with the development of the language history, onomatopoeic words have been enriching and will continue to play this role. Most onomatopoetic words are created by imitating the sounds of other things, so the study of onomatopoetic words can not only make us understand the language features, but also can make us have a full understanding of the characteristics of English language and its culture, thus we can explain the idea of a book to the goal reader, children.

This paper will analyze the translation of onomatopoetic words in children’s literature from the perspective of the Skopostheorie. It consists of five parts besides introduction. Part one will discuss the history and characteristics of children’s literature translation. Part two is about the onomatopoetic words. It concludes the definition and importance of onomatopoetic words. Part three will analyze the Skopostheorie. Part four is the case study about the applications of Skopostheorie in Charlotte’s Web translated by Ren Rongrong. The last part is the conclusion part.

2. Children’s Literature

When dealing with the translation of children’s literature, it is necessary to understand what children’s literature is. So far, there have been no rigid or absolute definitions. The expression is a fuzzy combination of two notions that are, individually, vague and vagary. Some people argue that children’s literature is paradoxical, and that literature requires a cultivated audience. Some people define it as literature written for children, literature marketed for children or literature picked up and read by children. As discussed, academics and critics working in literary fields have been frustrated in their efforts to fix a clear definition for children’s literature. Children literature refers to “the literature is relevant to the children’s age and suitable for children to read. As well, the literature is conducive to children’s physical and mental health development and can be of various forms.” (Chen Zidian, 2003: 43)

According to the New Encyclopedia Britannica, children’s literature is a comparatively recent phenomenon, having emerged as a distinct and independent form only in the second half of the 18^th century, when people were convinced that children were different from adults—different enough to read their own special texts. Childhood has not been considered as an important time of life for a long time. When society looked upon children as little adults who must rapidly step into the roles of parents, children had little time and need to read relevant to a nonexistent childhood. The social attitude towards children changed and their childhood began to be viewed as a special part of their life. Finally, children’s literature came into existence.

2.1 The history of children’s literature translation in China

The academics have a hot discussion about the beginning of Chinese children literature. But, the term “Children’s Literature” was firstly used during the period of the May 4^th Movement, and Children’s literature translation was bud in late Qing Dynasty. With the development of Westernization Movement, a lot of excellent children’s literature translation was introduced to China. In general, Chinese children’s literature came even later and developed slowly. As we all know, children’s literature is the enlightening and spiritual food for children to learn the world indirectly, which plays an important role in children’s growth and development. However, children’s literature translation always be ignored in China.

2.2 The characteristics of children’s literature translation

When it comes to children’s literature translation, people always think the translation is easy. From Piaget’s theory, children are obviously different from adults. A child live in a dual world: one world is the real development of his own personality, while the other referring to the world of thought imposed by adults (Piaget, 1972: 26). Comparing to literature for adults, children’s literature tends to be more directed towards its reader. It is not hard to find that children’s literature have its own features. Generally speaking, fewer characters, simpler background, more vivid language and happy endings can be seen from children’s literature. All books for children are written with the needs of less experienced readers in mind, as a result, the words and sentence structure should not be complicated. If the translation is vivid and funny, children will be more interested in the book. On the contrary, you may find the difficulty in translating children’s literature is higher than adult literature. Translators use some understandable but not easy words or phrases to express the original meaning of the writers. On the one hand, numerous books about children’s literature are translated and introduced to Chinese children; on the other hand, specific research on the translation of children’s literature is poorly scarce. As a result, the study of children’s literature translation is in a peripheral status in academia.

3. Onomatopoetic Words

On Earth, no matter where we live, we are surrounded by nature. Nature is a common element including many things, such as plants, animals, rivers, landscapes and so on. All these things can make a unique sound. Linguistics regard onomatopoetic words as the origin of human language and they also consider that they are a sort of complete imitation of the unique voice in natural world. English onomatopoetic words come from the Greek onomatopoeias, the name itself means the coinage (making new words). Onomatopoeia is not only a very primitive method for human beings, but also the oldest rhetorical means.

3.1 The definition of onomatopoetic words

According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary, onomatopoeia is the fact of words containing sounds similar to the noise they describe, for example “hiss”; the use of words like this in a piece of writing. In simple words, onomatopoetic words are the imitation of natural sounds in word form. When compared with non-onomatopoeias, the difference between the two types of words is obvious. Onomatopoetic words have the direct descriptions of sounds which can make the sentence lifelike and vivid. The word “onomatopoeia” is a Greek word, it means the use of words that by their sound suggest their meaning, and that is to say, English onomatopoeia refers to using pronunciation to express meanings. Onomatopoeia is an important rhetorical voice which imitates some voices with the help of a similar sound to enable people to talk and write vividly about things and people.

3.2 The importance of onomatopoetic words in children’s literature translation

English onomatopoeia is not only the most primitive and basic form of language, but also the most vivid and imaginative rhetorical form of language. Both in oral and written English, onomatopoetic words are used so widely that it’s necessary to explore and study its function and importance. A plenty of onomatopoetic words are common to see in our world’s languages, so is the case with English. Onomatopoeia is not only a word-building, but also an important rhetorical method. It is produced by imitating the voice of natural world, with good rhetorical function, which makes our language so intuitive, vivid and lifelike that children can have a clear idea about their reading text.

Using onomatopoetic words properly can achieve the effect of transferring feeling by voice, both emotionally and professionally, thus, to the audience or readers. The accuracy and profoundness reflect the author"s attitudes and feelings which lead to the emotional resonance between author and readers. Generally speaking, the use of onomatopoetic words can help children have a better understanding of the translated material and foster their interests in children literature.

An ordinary sentence can become vivid and lifelike by adding onomatopoetic words, and with the development of the language history, onomatopoetic words have been enriching and will continue to play this role. Most onomatopoetic words are created by imitating the sound of other things, so, learning onomatopoetic words can not only make us understand the language features, but also can make us have a full understanding of the characteristics of English language and also its culture, thus we can explain the idea of a book to the goal readers, children.

4. On Skopostheorie

Hans Vermeer put forward the Skopostheorie and developed it in the late 1970s. Skopostheorie is an important and functional concept of translation. Linguistics alone can not help us, because: first, the translation is not only a linguistic process, and the second, linguistics also not found an effective way to solve the problem in translation. (Nord, 2001: 10) Skopos is a Greek word and the meaning is purpose and intention. The Skopostheorie focuses on the text function. The translation is not only the transformation in the form of language, but also a cross-cultural activity which is full of intention and purpose. Any kind of activity is purposeful, and translation is no exception. Because translation itself is a kind of communicative activity and any kind of translation has its purpose. Besides Skopos, Vermeer also used aim, purpose, intention, and function. In order to avoid confusion, Nord proposed the distinction between intention and function. Intention is defined from the perspective of the sender or the author, while function is the text function which is decided by the text receiver’s expectation, requirement, knowledge and environment. The Skopostheorie includes three principles: Skopos Rule, the Coherence Rule and the Fidelity Rule.

4.1 Skopos Rule

The Skopostheorie thinks that all the translation activities should firstly follow the Skopos Rule. It means the translation should be effective in the target language context and culture, according to the means expected by the target language receiver. The process of the whole translation activity is decided by the purpose to achieve. That is to say, the method is decided by the result. The translation activity may have many purposes. Nonetheless, the purpose refers to the communicative purpose, which is the translation in the target cultural context of language society on the communicative functions of target language readers. (Venuti , 2001: 221)

4.2 Coherence Rule

The Coherence Rule means the translation should conform to criterion of intra-textual coherence. The translation is so readable and acceptable that the receiver can understand the culture. In terms of coherence rule, the source text is no longer of most authority but only part of the translation belief. It is only an offer of information for the translator, who in turn picks out what he considers to be meaningful in the receiver"s situation.

4.3 Fidelity Rule

The Fidelity Rule was proposed by Nord. Nord found the Skopostheorie had two shortcomings: first, for difference in cultural model, people of different cultural background had different opinions on good translation. Second, if the communicative purpose of the translation required by the Skopos Rule is opposite to the intention of the author, we will violate the fidelity rule. Hence, Nord proposed the loyalty principle. Nord thought that the translator should explain what they do and the reason for doing this to the reader. Meanwhile, the translator should respect the author and keep balance between the target language and author’s intention.

From the perspective of Skopostheorie, Fidelity rule is subordinate to coherence rule, and it is also are subordinate to the Skopos Rule. If the skopos requires a change of function, the criterion will no longer be fidelity to the source text. And if the skopos demands intra-textual incoherence, the standard of coherence rule is no longer vivid.

Skopos Rule explains that translation is determined by purpose. The focus of Coherence Rule mainly is the coherence of form and meaning. Fidelity Rule means the translation should be faithful to the original writing and the writer’s intention. If there is contradiction among three principles, the translator should put skopos theory in the first place. According to the definition of Functionalist Translation theory, translation is a deliberate behavior. It has opened up a new perspective for the study on translation theory. In recent years, Functionalist Translation theory was introduced to China and was widely used in children’s literature translation.

5. Applications of Skopostheorie in Charlotte’s Web

Charlotte’s Web was a book for children, which was created by American writer E. B. White. The story tells the friendship between the spider Charlotte and the pig Wilbur. After the publication, the book has been very popular among children. It went on to sell nearly half a billion copies and has been translated into twenty-three languages. In 1953, Charlotte’s Web won a silver trophy at Newbery Medal. In 1970, White won a gold medal at Laura Ingalls Wilder for Charlotte’s Web and his first children’s story Stuart Little. This was all great, but the real kicker is that the story has made into a film twice and achieved great success.

Compared with non-onomatopoeias, onomatopoetic words are direct descriptions of sounds which allow listeners to fully take in the vividness. Sentences containing onomatopoetic words tend to be more rhetorically enhanced than those with regular adverbs. In children’s literature translation, the use of onomatopoetic words is particularly essential. Following is the specific analysis on onomatopoetic words translation in Charlotte’s Web.

5.1 The application of Skopos Rule to translating onomatopoetic words

The skopos Rule is the core of the Skopostheorie. When in the condition of the target language and culture, the translation action is decided by the intention expected by the target language receiver. Translating foreign children’s literature has great meaning to the birth and growth of Chinese children literature. It is useful for children to expand their horizon and arouse their interests in literature. In consequence, the quality of children’s literature translation is the key factor. With the guide of Skopos Rule, the translated text should conform with the target language culture and be up to the readers’ aesthetic standard.

Wilbur grunted. He gulped and sucked, making swishing and swooshing noises, anxious to get everything at once. (White 2008: 66)

威尔伯呕呕地叫。它大口大口地吃，大口大口地喝，大口大口地吃，大口大口地喝，发出稀里哗啦、呼噜哗啦的声音，急着要一口气吃个精光。（Ren Rongrong, 2004: 75）

"Goslings, one through seven?"

"Bee-bee-bee!" "Bee-bee-bee!" "Bee-bee-bee!" "Bee-bee-bee!" "Bee-bee-bee!" "Bee-bee-bee!" "Bee-bee-bee!" said the goslings.

"This is getting to be quite a meeting," said Charlotte. "Any body would think we had three ganders, three geese, and twenty-one goslings. Sheep?He-aa-aa!" answered the sheep all together.

"Lambs?""He-aa-aa!" answered the lambs all together. (White, 2008: 75)

“小鹅，一到七？”

“哔—哔—哔！” “哔—哔—哔！” “哔—哔—哔！” “哔—哔—哔！” “哔—哔—哔！” “哔—哔—哔！” “哔—哔—哔！”七只小鹅一只只地说。

“这倒有点像开大会了，”夏洛说，“谁听了都会以为，我们有三只公鹅，三只母鹅，二十一只小鹅。羊？”

“到—噢—噢！”所有的羊同时回答。(Ren Rongrong, 2004: 86)

The first is from Chapter 10 An Explosion. “呕呕” is the description of Wilbur’s sound. “稀里哗啦” and “呼噜哗啦” are his sound of eating. The three words easily produce an image of the way he crams food down his throat. Strengthen the understanding of the appearance of Wilbur’s eating from the perspective of sound. The second example is chosen from Chapter 12 A Meeting. The little goose is counting off from one to seven. “哔” is the voice of goose when they are counting off. Using “哔” is so funny. What’s more, the pronunciation is the same as ‘bee’.

Skopos Rule has been effectively used in Ren Rongrong’s translation. The target language reader is children, so the translation must be up to children’s understanding level. Be subject to the knowledge limitations, children cannot better understand the traditional and boring description. If the translation is lack of the vivid onomatopoeias, the text is unreadable and uninteresting to children. As a result, the use of onomatopoeias in Ren’s translation is wonderful. His translation action is decided by the intention expected by the target language receiver, children.

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