On the English Translations of Wen Yiduo's Poems
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Lingnan University Digital Commons @ Lingnan University Theses & Dissertations Department of Translation 8-25-2015 Why get lost in translation? On the English translations of Wen Yiduo's poems Choi Yung NG Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.ln.edu.hk/tran_etd Part of the Applied Linguistics Commons, and the Translation Studies Commons Recommended Citation Ng, C. Y. (2015). Why get lost in translation? On the English translations of Wen Yiduo's poems (Master's thesis, Lingnan University, Hong Kong). Retrieved from http://commons.ln.edu.hk/tran_etd/14 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Translation at Digital Commons @ Lingnan University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Lingnan University. Terms of Use The copyright of this thesis is owned by its author. Any reproduction, adaptation, distribution or dissemination of this thesis without express authorization is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved. WHY GET LOST IN TRANSLATION? ON THE ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF WEN YIDUO’S POEMS by NG Choi Yung A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Philosophy in Translation Lingnan University 2015 ABSTRACT Why Get Lost in Translation? On the English Translations of Wen Yiduo’s Poems by Ng Choi Yung Master of Philosophy The debate over the translatability of poetry has been a long-standing issue for decades. Relatively few discussions, however, have focused on the concrete reasons of poetry being translatable (or untranslatable). Moving beyond traditional ways of elucidating the matter through theoretical argument, this study aims to investigate the question of poetry translation in a more solid, empirical manner by looking into linguistic and language-based aesthetic differences between Chinese and English, in particular their prosodic features and capacities. Part One seeks to answer the question “Why does poetry get lost in translation?” from a linguistic and language-based aesthetic perspective, using the English translations of Wen Yiduo’s 聞一多 (1899-1946) poems as a case study. This thesis, however, does not simply further expound the position that “poetry is untranslatable”. Rather, based on the discussion in Part One, Part Two attempts to show that neither the translator nor his/her translation needs to “get lost”, even though something always “gets lost” in the process. The rhetorical question “Why get lost in translation?” will lead to illustrations that translation strategies are more an active choice of translators than a mere passive reaction to obstacles encountered. The thesis points out that while present discussions of untranslatability seem to focus largely on fidelity to the source text, it may be the target text that matters more, as the target language literally sets a limit to what translation can achieve (and thus determines the degree of translatability of a text). Hence, while poetry translation may be more difficult than other types of translation, its nature is not categorically different from others, for all translations are constrained by the target language in the first place. Besides, translation needs to be viewed in terms of the purpose of cultural transmission — from the perspective of the target readers and culture. One may thus conclude that poetry, like anything else, is translatable, although the degree of difficulty might differ. Regardless of one’s theoretical perspective, issues of textual translation are language-based. Before one discusses issues of poetry translation, one must first understand issues of language, poetic language and poetics (including prosody). These are all what the present thesis aims at exploring. By re-evaluating the relationship between the source and target texts and discussing the factors (both linguistic and extra-linguistic) affecting translation, this study attempts to shed more light on poetry translation, and literary translation in general. Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... i Part One: Why Does Poetry Get Lost in Translation? Chapter 1: Overview 1.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1. Setting the Context ........................................................................................................... 2 1.2. What Gets Lost in Translation ....................................................................................................... 6 1.3. Poetic Form and Translation ........................................................................................................ 13 Chapter 2: Poetry Translation from a Linguistic Perspective 2.1. Why Does Poetic Form Get Lost in Translation? .................................................................... 17 2.1.1. Rhythm ............................................................................................................................. 18 2.1.1a. Line Length ....................................................................................................... 18 2.1.1b. Sound Pattern ................................................................................................... 20 2.1.2. Rhyme ............................................................................................................................... 22 2.2. From Linguistic Attributes to Aesthetic Values ........................................................................ 26 Chapter 3: Case Study — Wen Yiduo’s New Metrical Verse 3.1. Form and Modern Chinese Poetry.............................................................................................. 31 3.1.1. Wen Yiduo and His Poetics .......................................................................................... 33 3.1.1a. “Form in Poetry” .............................................................................................. 35 3.1.1b. Linguistics and Aesthetics in Form ............................................................... 38 3.2. Analysis ............................................................................................................................................ 40 3.2.1. Rectangular Shape ........................................................................................................... 41 3.2.2. Non-Rectangular Regular Shape .................................................................................. 57 3.2.3. Sonnet ............................................................................................................................... 64 3.3. Implications ..................................................................................................................................... 72 3.3.1. Obscuration by Translation........................................................................................... 73 3.3.2. Translatability and Target Language Capacity ............................................................ 76 3.3.3. Untranslatability and Translation ................................................................................. 85 Part Two: Why Get Lost in Translation? Chapter 4: The Dynamics of Exchange in Translation 4.1. Translation as a Decision Process ............................................................................................... 90 4.1.1. Factors Affecting Textual Decisions in Poetry Translation ..................................... 92 4.1.1a. Aesthetic Taste .................................................................................................. 92 4.1.1b. Perception of Poetry ....................................................................................... 95 4.1.1c. Translator’s Expertise ....................................................................................... 99 4.2. Translation as Cultural Transmission ........................................................................................ 102 4.3. Untranslatability and Poetry Translation .................................................................................. 105 Chapter 5: Conclusion 5.1. General Summary......................................................................................................................... 109 5.2. Why Get Lost in Translation? .................................................................................................... 113 5.3. Afterword ...................................................................................................................................... 115 Appendices ........................................................................................................................... 118 List of Works Cited ............................................................................................................... 172 i Acknowledgements I am greatly indebted to my two supervisors, Professor Charles Kwong and Professor Chang Nam-fung, from whom I have received many insights and valuable feedback. I am particularly grateful to Professor Kwong (as chief supervisor) for being an exceptionally patient and attentive reader of all my drafts. He has been very generous and perceptive in his recommendations; his incisive comments have helped me to clarify my thoughts and prevented me from being confined by my circumscribed point of view. As co-supervisor, Professor Chang has shown his