Ideological Manipulation in English Translation of Chinese Children’s Literature: Case Studies

Shi Ying

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijalt.20200603.13

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Ideological Manipulation in English Translation of Chinese Children’s Literature: Case Studies

Shi Ying

Published in International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation (Volume 6, Issue 3)

Received: 7 August 2020 Accepted: 17 August 2020 Published: 25 August 2020

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Abstract

It is widely accepted that translation is a form of rewriting and it is also true for children’s literature. Translation reflects a certain degree of ideological manipulation of the source text in order to either conform to the norms of the target culture or serve some ideological purposes. Since children's literature usually performs both didactic and pedagogical functions, ideological manipulation on children's literature translation is even more significant. Drawing on two English translations of Chinese children’s literature works, this article shows how ideology, cultural ideology to be specific, drives the adaptation and rewriting in translation. In source and target cultures, different norms of adult-child co-sleeping lead to the cover substitution for the picture book A New Year’s Reunion and different norms of father-daughter bond triggers plot adaptation for the adolescent fiction Bronze and Sunflower. The article further points out that conforming to target culture and considering target readers’ tolerance are principal contributors to the success of these two books in western world. Under the background of Chinese children's literature going global, this article attempts to shed some light on Chinese-to-English translation practice of children’s literature.

Published in	International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation (Volume 6, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijalt.20200603.13
Page(s)	75-78
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Ideological Manipulation, Children’s Literature Translation, Rewriting, Norm

References

[1]	Stolze, R. (2003). Translating for Children: World View or Pedagogics? Meta, 48 (1–2), 208–221.
[2]	Kaniklidou, T. House, J (2018). Discourse and ideology in translated children’s literature: a comparative study. perspectives, 26 (2), 232-245.
[3]	Alsiary, H. (2016). Mapping the Field of Children’s Literature Translation in Saudi Arabia: Translation Flow in Accordance with Socio-Cultural Norms. England: The University of Leeds.
[4]	Munday, J. (2007). Translation and ideology: a textual approach, The Translator, 13 (2), 195-217.
[5]	Simpson, P. (1993). Language, ideology and point of view. London/New York: Routledge.
[6]	Pérez, M. C. (2003). Apropos of ideology: Translation studies on ideology─Ideologies in translation studies. Manchester, UK & Northampton MA: St. Jerome Publishing.
[7]	Bassnett, S. and Lefevere, A. (1998). Constructing cultures: essays on literary translation (topics in translation). Philadelphia: Multilingual Matters.
[8]	Lefevere, A. (1992). Translating, Rewriting, and the Manipulation of Literary Fame. London/New York: Routledge.
[9]	Puurtinen, T. (1995). Linguistic Acceptability in Translated Children’s Literature. Joensuu: University of Joensuu.
[10]	Chou, Wan-Hsiang. (2009). Co-sleeping and the Importation of Picture Books About Bedtime. Children’s Literature in Education, 40: 19–32.
[11]	Blum-Kulka, Shoshana. (2004). Shifts of Cohesion and Coherence in Translation. In Lawrence Venuti (Ed.), The Translation Studies Reader, 2^nd ed (pp. 290-305). New York, London: Routledge.
[12]	Yu, L. Q. and Zhu. C. L. (2008). Reunion. Jinan: Tomorrow Publishing House. (in Chinese).
[13]	Yu, L. Q. and Zhu, C. L. (2013). A New Year’s Reunion. Somerville: Candlewick Press.
[14]	Zoe. (2015, 27 April). An interview with the translator of Bronze and Sunflower by Cao Wenxuan. Retrieved 6 August 2020 from http://www.playingbythebook.net/2015/04/27/an-interview-with-the-translator-of-bronze-and-sunflower-by-cao-wenxuan/.
[15]	Cao Wenxuan. (2005). Bronze and Sunflower. Nanjing: Phoenix Juvenile and Children’s Publishing Ltd. (in Chinese).
[16]	Cao, Wenxuan. (2015). Helen Wang trans. Bronze and Sunflower. London: Walker Books.
[17]	Clayton, C. (2014). ‘With my parents I can tell them anything’: intimacy levels within British Chinese families. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 19 (1): 22-36.
[18]	Leonardi, V. (2020). Ideological Manipulation of Children’s Literature Through Translation and Rewriting: Travelling Across Times and Places. Switzerland : Palgrave Macmillan.

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Shi Ying. (2020). Ideological Manipulation in English Translation of Chinese Children’s Literature: Case Studies. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation, 6(3), 75-78. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20200603.13

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ACS Style

Shi Ying. Ideological Manipulation in English Translation of Chinese Children’s Literature: Case Studies. Int. J. Appl. Linguist. Transl. 2020, 6(3), 75-78. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20200603.13

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AMA Style

Shi Ying. Ideological Manipulation in English Translation of Chinese Children’s Literature: Case Studies. Int J Appl Linguist Transl. 2020;6(3):75-78. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20200603.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijalt.20200603.13,
  author = {Shi Ying},
  title = {Ideological Manipulation in English Translation of Chinese Children’s Literature: Case Studies},
  journal = {International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation},
  volume = {6},
  number = {3},
  pages = {75-78},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijalt.20200603.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20200603.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijalt.20200603.13},
  abstract = {It is widely accepted that translation is a form of rewriting and it is also true for children’s literature. Translation reflects a certain degree of ideological manipulation of the source text in order to either conform to the norms of the target culture or serve some ideological purposes. Since children's literature usually performs both didactic and pedagogical functions, ideological manipulation on children's literature translation is even more significant. Drawing on two English translations of Chinese children’s literature works, this article shows how ideology, cultural ideology to be specific, drives the adaptation and rewriting in translation. In source and target cultures, different norms of adult-child co-sleeping lead to the cover substitution for the picture book A New Year’s Reunion and different norms of father-daughter bond triggers plot adaptation for the adolescent fiction Bronze and Sunflower. The article further points out that conforming to target culture and considering target readers’ tolerance are principal contributors to the success of these two books in western world. Under the background of Chinese children's literature going global, this article attempts to shed some light on Chinese-to-English translation practice of children’s literature.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Ideological Manipulation in English Translation of Chinese Children’s Literature: Case Studies
AU  - Shi Ying
Y1  - 2020/08/25
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20200603.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijalt.20200603.13
T2  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JF  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JO  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
SP  - 75
EP  - 78
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2472-1271
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20200603.13
AB  - It is widely accepted that translation is a form of rewriting and it is also true for children’s literature. Translation reflects a certain degree of ideological manipulation of the source text in order to either conform to the norms of the target culture or serve some ideological purposes. Since children's literature usually performs both didactic and pedagogical functions, ideological manipulation on children's literature translation is even more significant. Drawing on two English translations of Chinese children’s literature works, this article shows how ideology, cultural ideology to be specific, drives the adaptation and rewriting in translation. In source and target cultures, different norms of adult-child co-sleeping lead to the cover substitution for the picture book A New Year’s Reunion and different norms of father-daughter bond triggers plot adaptation for the adolescent fiction Bronze and Sunflower. The article further points out that conforming to target culture and considering target readers’ tolerance are principal contributors to the success of these two books in western world. Under the background of Chinese children's literature going global, this article attempts to shed some light on Chinese-to-English translation practice of children’s literature.
VL  - 6
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Shi Ying

Department of Foreign Languages, Zhanjiang Preschool Education College, Zhanjiang, PR China

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Shi Ying. (2020). Ideological Manipulation in English Translation of Chinese Children’s Literature: Case Studies. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation, 6(3), 75-78. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20200603.13

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Shi Ying. Ideological Manipulation in English Translation of Chinese Children’s Literature: Case Studies. Int. J. Appl. Linguist. Transl. 2020, 6(3), 75-78. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20200603.13

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Shi Ying. Ideological Manipulation in English Translation of Chinese Children’s Literature: Case Studies. Int J Appl Linguist Transl. 2020;6(3):75-78. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20200603.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijalt.20200603.13,
  author = {Shi Ying},
  title = {Ideological Manipulation in English Translation of Chinese Children’s Literature: Case Studies},
  journal = {International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation},
  volume = {6},
  number = {3},
  pages = {75-78},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijalt.20200603.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20200603.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijalt.20200603.13},
  abstract = {It is widely accepted that translation is a form of rewriting and it is also true for children’s literature. Translation reflects a certain degree of ideological manipulation of the source text in order to either conform to the norms of the target culture or serve some ideological purposes. Since children's literature usually performs both didactic and pedagogical functions, ideological manipulation on children's literature translation is even more significant. Drawing on two English translations of Chinese children’s literature works, this article shows how ideology, cultural ideology to be specific, drives the adaptation and rewriting in translation. In source and target cultures, different norms of adult-child co-sleeping lead to the cover substitution for the picture book A New Year’s Reunion and different norms of father-daughter bond triggers plot adaptation for the adolescent fiction Bronze and Sunflower. The article further points out that conforming to target culture and considering target readers’ tolerance are principal contributors to the success of these two books in western world. Under the background of Chinese children's literature going global, this article attempts to shed some light on Chinese-to-English translation practice of children’s literature.},
 year = {2020}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Ideological Manipulation in English Translation of Chinese Children’s Literature: Case Studies
AU  - Shi Ying
Y1  - 2020/08/25
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20200603.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijalt.20200603.13
T2  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JF  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JO  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
SP  - 75
EP  - 78
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2472-1271
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20200603.13
AB  - It is widely accepted that translation is a form of rewriting and it is also true for children’s literature. Translation reflects a certain degree of ideological manipulation of the source text in order to either conform to the norms of the target culture or serve some ideological purposes. Since children's literature usually performs both didactic and pedagogical functions, ideological manipulation on children's literature translation is even more significant. Drawing on two English translations of Chinese children’s literature works, this article shows how ideology, cultural ideology to be specific, drives the adaptation and rewriting in translation. In source and target cultures, different norms of adult-child co-sleeping lead to the cover substitution for the picture book A New Year’s Reunion and different norms of father-daughter bond triggers plot adaptation for the adolescent fiction Bronze and Sunflower. The article further points out that conforming to target culture and considering target readers’ tolerance are principal contributors to the success of these two books in western world. Under the background of Chinese children's literature going global, this article attempts to shed some light on Chinese-to-English translation practice of children’s literature.
VL  - 6
IS  - 3
ER  -

Copy | Download