A Study on Functional Equivalence in Translation of Lyric Prose — A Case of Autumn in Peiping by Zhang Peiji

Abstract

The Functional Equivalence Theory put forward by Eugene Nida, an American translation theorist, notes that translation is a process of using the closest and most natural equivalent in the target language to reproduce the information of the source language. It emphasizes the equivalence of information content and form, and prose translation aims to convey information and reproduce the style of the source text. Therefore, the Functional Equivalence Theory has great application space in the text analysis of prose translation. In this paper, the author discusses how to apply the theory of Functional Equivalence to the translating of modern Chinese lyric prose into English. Taking Autumn in Peiping translated by Zhang Peiji as a case study, the author of this paper explores how the translator achieved equivalence in lexical, syntactical and stylistic aspects on the ground of citing typical examples. The method of qualitative research is used in this paper. In the framework of the Functional Equivalence Theory, the author tries to analyze and evaluate how word choice, sentence structure and style function in conveying the meaning of the source text. It is found that the theory of Functional Equivalence is of guidance in analyzing the translation effect of Autumn in Peiping. Lexically, equivalence is realized through correspondence, non-correspondence and zero in semantic translation. Syntactically, the translator used different sentence structures and cohesive devices to convey the intended meaning. Stylistically, some workable strategies are adopted to deal with translation difficulties in expressive function and aesthetic appeal.