Abstract

Science fiction (SF) is a kind of literary genre originated from the modern west due to the prosperous development of science technology. It presents the human being’s spiritual life and prospect of science technology in the future world, and its novelty makes it popular among readers. However, the usage of coinage is indispensable for science fiction, which helps to form alienated scientific factors from reality and create mysterious atmosphere. To some extent, coinage has become one of characters of science fiction.

At present, the literary work of science fiction is not so satisfying at home, and the translated version of SF from foreign countries takes the large portion of the market. Therefore, it is becoming more and more significant to provide high quality translation of SF for us Chinese reader. However the fact is that such research has not been systematically formed. What is more, coinage is always professional, highly fictitious and there are few authoritative dictionaries to refer to. All these factors mentioned above caused great difficulty in translating. What is worried is that some inappropriate translated coinages are intermingled, and some even mislead the readers. Hence, regarding coinage is SF as object, this thesis will discuss some strategies applied in coinage translation.

According to word-formation of coinage, coinage in SF could be classified as old words with new meaning, words formed by morphemes, and words formed by syllables. Based on the relationship between the form and the sense, different translation strategies are supposed to apply according to their different features. These translation strategies, such as literal translation, free translation, and transliteration, would be   illustrated through a series of case study. It is hoped that these translation strategies will be better applied in coinage translation of SF so as to offer high-quality translated work to readers.

Keywords: science fiction; translation of coinage; transliteration

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

Chapter1 Introduction-1

1.1 Research background-1

1.2 Significance of the research-1

1.3 Organization of the paper-2

Chapter2 Literature Review-3

2.1 The history of science fiction translation in China-3

2.2 Related researches on science fiction translation-4

Chapter3 Study of Coinage-5

3.1 The definition of coinage-5

3.2 The category of coinage-5

3.2.1 Old words with new meaning-5

3.2.2 Words formed by morphemes-6

3.2.3 Words formed by syllables-6

3.3 Relationship between the form and the sense-7

Chapter4 Strategies applied in coinage translation in Science Fiction-8

4.1 Difficulty in coinage translation-8

4.1.1 Lack of authoritative reference-8

4.1.2 Professional terms related to scientific knowledge-8

4.2 Strategies for old words with new meaning-8

4.2.1 Figuring out the source of the old words-8

4.2.2 Context related-9

4.3 Strategies for words formed by morphemes-10

4.3.1 Literal translation-10

4.3.2 Free translation-10

4.4 Strategies for words formed by syllables-12

4.4.1 Transliteration-12

4.4.2 Explanatory translation-13

4.4.3 Notes-14

Chapter5 Conclusion-15

5.1 Major findings-15

5.2 Suggestions while translating coinage in SF-15

References-16