Abstract

This thesis makes a systematic study on two Chinese versions of Jane Eyre translated by Zhu Qingying and Huang Yuanshen from semantic, stylistic and rhetorical perspectives on the basis of Eugene Nida’s functional equivalence.

The result shows that Huang’s version is more fluent than Zhu’s in semantic aspect, but in stylistic one, Huang’s does better in the conversational language while Zhu’s is good at narrative language. As to rhetorical devices, their translation is different but the effects are the same. As a whole, Huang’s version gets more appreciations in its beauty of language while Zhu’s is successful in the translation of emotion , showing her superiority of the understanding in feminist works .

Key words: functional equivalence; Jane Eyre; translation

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction1

1.1. Motivation and Objective of the Study1

1.2. Structure of Thesis1

2. Literature Review.2

2.1. Nida’s Two Different Types of Equivalence.2

2.1.1. Formal Equivalence and Dynamic Equivalence2

2.1.2. Functional Equivalence3

2.2. Development and Dispute of Nida’s Theory in China4

3. An Overview of Jane Eyre and Two Chinese Versions5

3.1. Introduction about Charlotte Bronte and the Book5

3.2. Different Chinese Translations6

4. A Comparative Study of the Two Chinese Versions.7

4.1. Semantic Equivalence7

 4.1.1. Conceptive Meaning7

 4.1.2. Contextual Meaning.9

 4.1.3. Formal Meaning.10

4.2. Stylistic Equivalence.11

4.2.1. Reappearance of Narrative Language12

4.2.2. Reappearance of Conversational Language.12

4.3. Rhetorical Equivalence.13

4.3.1. Equivalence in Parallelism.13

4.3.2. Equivalence in Metaphor and Exaggeration13

5. Conclusion14

References16