A Comparative Study on the English Translations of "Moonlight Over the Lotus Pond": A Frame Theory Perspective

As prose is a significant part of Chinese literature, the English translation of prose works is able to promote Chinese literature to the world. Although frame theory has been widely used in translation studies, its combination with prose translation deserves further exploration. Based on frame theory, this study selects two translations of Zhu Ziqing’s prose “Moonlight Over the Lotus Pond”translated by Yang Xianyi, Gladys Yang, and Howard Goldblatt to analyze frame operation existing in text. Frame operation includes ideal frame operation and non-ideal frame operation: the former is the correspondence of two frames, and the latter contains replacement of frame elements, addition or deletion of elements, change of frame relations, adjustment of frame hierarchy, change of frame perspective, and frame transplantation. This paper summarizes the frame operations adopted by two translations, offers cognitive explanations for the translation, and describes the different translation effects. It intends to explore the following questions: First, how do translators use frame operations to make the target readers comprehend the meaning of the source text? Second, what are the differences in frame operations between the two translations? Third, what are the implications for translators in cross-cultural communication after an in-depth analysis of frame operations?

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