Abstract

Lin Yutang is a famous Chinese writer, scholar, linguist and translator. He created many works which covered a wide range with profound significance. My Country and My People, the first English book of Lin Yutang published in 1930s, caused a great sensation in the United States and had a far-reaching influence on the West. The book, both a creation and a translation, displays a real and colorful image of the Chinese nation to the west. In order to achieve the purpose of translation, Lin Yutang employed a variety of translation methods to translate Chinese classical poetry to show the quintessence of Chinese culture, which was conducive to cultural exchanges between China and the West.

Skopos theory is a functionalist theory that sprang up in Germany in the 1970s. It breaks the shackles of traditional theory and makes researches on translation from a new and broader perspective. This paper will collect a large number of examples of poetry translation from My Country and My People and use skopos theory to analyze, induce and study their characteristics of some C-E translation examples and to explore some translation methods which are worth learning and applying.

Key words: Lin Yutang; C-E translation; poetry; My Country and My People; skopos theory

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1 Introduction-1

2 Literature Review-2

2.1 Studies on Lin Yutang and My Country and My People-2

2.1.1 Study on Lin Yutang-2

2.1.2 Study on My Country and My People-3

2.2 An Overview of Skopos Theory-4

3 Lin Yutang and My Country and My People-5

3.1 About Lin Yutang-5

3.2 About My Country and My People-6

3.3 Chinese Poetry in My Country and My People-7

3.4 The Translation Skopos of Lin Yutang-8

4 On Lin Yutang’s C-E Translation of Poetry in My Country and My People from the Perspective of Skopos Theory-9

4.1 Transliteration-9

4.2 Literal Translation-10

4.3 Free Translation-11

4.4 Amplification-12

4.5 Omission-13

4.6 Modification-14

5 Conclusion-16

References-18