On Translation of Names in Hawkes’ The Story of The Stone from the Perspective of Eco—translatology

胡玉云++龔小萍

【Abstract】Based on analysis of some practical examples， this article discusses translation of names in Hawkes The Story of The Stone from the perspective of Eco-translatology， specifically， three-dimensional transformations.

【Key words】Eco-translatology； three-dimensional transformations； translation of names

1. Introduction

Names are part and parcel of a book. Translation of names in The Story of The Stone is classical. However， Hawkes translation of names are not entirely equivalent compared with the original text. This article， therefore， focuses on translation of names in Hawkes The Story of The Stone from three-dimensional transformations of Eco-translatology.

2. A Brief Introduction of Eco-translatology

Eco-translatology is put forward by Hu Gengshen， who defines translation as translators selective adaptation to the translational eco-environment. In Hus theory， the translation principle is briefly summarized as multidimensional adaptation and selection， while the translation methods as “three transformations”（i.e.， linguistic， cultural and communicative dimensions）. It is concluded that the best translation is the one with the highest degree of holistic adaptation and selection.

3. Hawkes Translation of Names in The Story of The Stone

From the perspective of Eco-translatology， translation focuses on the adaptive transformation from linguistic， cultural and communicative dimensions.

3.1 Adaptive Transformation from Linguistic Dimension

Adaptive selection from linguistic dimension refers to language forms selected by translators. A major feature of translation of names in The Story of The Stone is that for different groups， the translator uses different translation methods. For owners of a high social status， Hawkes uses transliteration which， to some extent， distinguishes them from other characters， such as Jia Zhen， and Xue Baochai. For servants， he adopts Free translation in accordance with their names literal meaning. For monks， he borrows words from Latin， Greek and Italian language to bring them mystery， to name just a few， Sapientia， and Vanitas. Hawkes adoption of various methods reflects the beauty of the language transformation， which is exactly the result of adaptive selection from linguistic dimension.

3.2 Adaptive Transformation from Cultural Dimension

Adaptive selection from cultural dimension means translators should have cultural awareness and pay attention to barriers caused by cultural differences. For example， Lin Daiyus personal maid Zijuan， self-esteemed， cares much about her master. Hawkes doesnt translate Zijuan into Cuckoo， but Nightingale because he realizes Cuckoo means a fool or madman in western culture. In this regard， he abandons the original meaning and selects Nightingale. It is clear that Nightingale is much easier to be accepted than Cuckoo and will do no damage to her image. The purpose of translation is to let readers understand and appreciate the original culture， so as to achieve the purpose of cultural exchange.

3.3 Adaptive Transformation from Communicative Dimension

Adaptive selection from communicative dimension means translators should be concerned about the communicative intents of the original text. On the communicative dimension， translators play an important role in the communication between the original author and the target readers. For example， Jia Zheng， under normal conditions， is translated literally while in front of servants， Sir Zheng， and Master Zheng in front of juniors. Another example is how Baoyu names Daiyu. When they first meet each other， he calls her “Cousin”；after being familiar， “Cuzzy”；while in front of others， “Cousin Lin”. The above two cases fully embody Hawkes adaptive transformation from communicative dimension.

4. Conclusion

Translation of names in works is not simple. This article analyzes translation of names in Hawkes The Story of The Stone from the perspective of three-dimensional transformations of Eco-translatology. It is concluded that translators， when translating names， should fully consider the multidimensional adaptation. Only in this way can translators truly contribute to the development of translation cause as well as the exchange of Chinese and Western cultures.

References：

[1]曹雪芹.紅樓夢[M].北京：中華書局，2010.

[2]Hawkes.David &John Minford.（1973）.The Story of the Stone[M].Harmondsworth：Penguin.1973.

[3]胡庚申.翻譯適應選擇論[M].武漢：湖北教育出版社.2004.

[4]胡庚申.例示“適應選擇論”的翻譯原則和翻譯方法[J].外語與外語教學，2006（3）：49-53.

作者簡介：

胡玉云（1991-），女，漢族，四川眉山人，研究生在讀，西華大學外國語學院，研究方向：英語筆譯。

龔小萍（1971-），女，漢族，四川三臺人，教授，碩導，研究方向：翻譯理論與實踐、澳大利亞文學。