Study on the Translation of Culture-Loaded Expressions in Shengsi pilao

Abstract

Despite a large number of studies on translation strategies of culture-loaded expressions of Mo Yan’s novels, researchers have mostly investigated the translation of such expressions as a whole. The present study aims to explore the translation strategies applied by Howard Goldblatt in translating different categories of culture-loaded expressions of Mo Yan’s novel Shengsi pilao (Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out). It is necessary to identify the translation strategies of culture-loaded expressions employed by the translator, since they are large in number and are key to understanding the theme of the novel. In light of Peter Newmark’s translation theory, the present study analyzes the translation of two categories of culture-loaded expressions and finds the translator applies different strategies in translating each category of them, namely semantic translation for sociopolitical terms and communicative translation for culture-specific terms.