Abstract

As fuzzy language can create unique aesthetic effects in literature works for its indeterminacy and variability, it has attracted attention of literary critics and linguistics as well. However, it is not until recent 30 years have translators begun to focus on developing translation theories about fuzzy language and its properties. Among those previous theories, Mao Ronggui’s Translation Aesthetics gives a thorough analysis of the difference of Chinese and English fuzzy expressions and their own aesthetic values from both aesthetic and cultural perspectives, which has shed light on the translation strategies of fuzzy language.

Based upon Mao’s theory, this essay attempts to analyze the translation strategies of Gududeqiu, one of the most renowned Chinese contemporary prose written by Yu Dafu. With its natural use of fuzzy language, it not only achieves a perfect fusion of natural scenery and inner emotions, but also conveys a sense of beauty that could not be defined and concretized. For its translators differ in their understandings, aesthetic habits and language styles, their versions of translation vary in the treatment of the fuzzy language. The thesis focuses on its study on two English versions by Wang Jiaosheng and Zhang Peiji respectively, which are probably the best received. Firstly, it gives a brief review of both source and target texts from the aspects of background, theme and aesthetic effects. Then, it probes into the use of fuzzy language in the text from both the aesthetic and cultural levels, and discuss different translation strategies in the two versions with a detailed comparison.

This thesis mainly discusses the difficulties and strategies of translating fuzzy language in Gududeqiu, with an attempt to discover the best practices for fuzzy language translation. Its uniqueness lies in putting translation study in the aesthetic and cultural perspectives, which will provide some reference to the C-E translation of contemporary prose.

Key words: fuzzy language, Gududeqiu, translation, aesthetics, culture