TheRhetoricStudyontheTwoChineseVersionsofAnneofGreenGablesinTermsofSkoposTheory

高志香

【Abstract】On the basis of the three major rules of Skopos theory， the author of this thesis makes great efforts to make a contrastive study on the two Chinese versions of the famous novel Anne of Green Gables， illustrating mainly from the perspectives of rhetoric.

【Key words】Skopos theory； contrastive study； rhetoric

1.A Brief Introduction to the Skopos Theory

The word “Skopos” is a Greek word for “purpose”.Generally speaking， Skopos theory mainly consists of three rules， namely， the Skopos rule， coherence rule and fidelity rule.

Skopos rule， the top-ranking rule for any translation， says that a translational action is determined by its Skopos； that is “the end justifies the means” （Nord， 2001：29）.

Coherence rule， or in Vermeers terminology， the standard of “intra-textual coherence”， elaborates that a translation should be acceptable and be coherent with the receivers situation in a sense.（Nord， 2001：32）.

In Skopos theory， it is not enough to be only coherent with the target situation.There is still something to be done with the source text.Because a translation is an offer of information about a preceding offer of information， it is expected to bear some kind of relationship with the corresponding source text.This is postulated as a further principle， namely， the “fidelity rule”.

2.A Brief Introduction to the Book

Anne of Green Gables， as the representative works and the first and most famous novel of Lucy Maud Montgomery， was written in 1904 and published in 1908.It was written as fiction for readers of all ages， but in recent decades has been considered a childrens book.Nearly a century since its first appearance， it has become an immediate best-seller， and has brought Montgomery lasting fame and has continued to appeal to readers in different countries all over the world.Mark Twain speaks very highly of the book： “In Anne of Green Gables， you will find the dearest and most moving and delightful child since the immortal Alice.” He also calls it “the sweetest creation of child life yet written” （cited Montgomery， 1987）.

3.Rhetoric

Rhetoric or figure of speech in a narrow sense refers to Chinese word rhetoric.That is to say， it is a sort of language activity that people use all kinds of means to achieve as good as expressive effect in the process of language use or in communication.More common rhetorical devices including simile， personification， exaggeration and so on， frequently appear in many kinds of literature， of course， an interesting and effective rhetoric device is indispensable for children literature.And at the same time， they are also important and necessary factors in terms of creating special humorous， fantastic and delightful atmosphere.

3.1 Simile.Simile is a figure of speech which makes a comparison between two unlike elements that share at least one quality or characteristic in common.Usually， simile consists of a tenor and a vehicle and is an important part in literature.

She is such a perfect housekeeper and fancy what she must have thought of us.Marilla turned red as fire but she never said a word—then.（Montgomery， 2010：142）

Version 1： 她是個出色的管家婆，你可以想想她一定把我們想象成什么樣的人了?，旣惱哪槤q得通紅，但是她沒有說一句話—我是指當時。（Ma：150）

Version 2： 她是個非常非常出色的家庭主婦，想想看，她會怎么評價我們?，斎鹄哪樇t得像火燒一樣，可是她一個字也沒說—當時。（Ren：127）

Firstly， lets look at Rens translation.She translates “Marilla turned red as fire” into “臉紅得像火燒一樣”.Here the red face of Marilla is compared to fire， which is evidently a simile， while in Mas version， she just translates the sentence into “臉漲得通紅”， which is not simile but just ordinary expression.The author has mentioned before that the main function of simile is to achieve special expressive effect.Rens description of the face of Marilla emphasizes the color of fire.Thus， Marillas embarrassment or even shame is well depicted， leaving an enduring impression on readers.And in the meantime through using lively and vivid simile， it is easier to inspire children readers rich imagination.And simile is also a helpful and powerful means for children to understand the works.Thus it will arouse their interest in reading and create a positive atmosphere.Although Mas translation is not vivid， in accordance with her translation purpose introducing the famous novel to Chinese readers， she achieves her desired purpose.

3.2 Metaphor.Unlike simile， “l(fā)ike” or “as” does not appear in the comparison.So it is also called the contracted simile.The difference between simile and metaphor may be even more clearly shown by the two sentences given below.“The soldiers are as brave as lions in the battle” and “The soldiers are lions in the battle”.For example：

Privately she was of the opinion that Marilla Cuthbert swept that yard as often as she swept her house.One could have eaten a meal off the ground without overbrimming the proverbial peck of dirt. （Montgomery， 2010：4）

Version 1： 她（雷切爾太太）暗自點頭，認為瑪麗拉·卡思伯特打掃院子同她自己打掃屋子一樣勤快。 （Ma：4）

Version 2： 她（雷切爾太太）私下里猜測瑪瑞拉·卡斯伯特打掃她的院子就像打掃房間一樣勤。院子里干凈得連米粒大的灰塵也沒有。（Ren：4）

Montgomery uses “One could have eaten a meal off the ground without overbrimming the proverbial peck of dirt.” to describe “very neat and precise was that yard.” and the character of diligence of Marilla at the same time.Ma's version directly omits the sentence without giving any translation.As a result， her version just tells the readers the yard is very neat and precise， but how neat and tidy？ She fails to give the target readers a vivid image and especially as for children readers， they may have no exact idea of the neatness and tidiness of the yard.But according to Skopos theory， translators can make some changes for the sake of addressee， if necessary.That is to say， some changes can be made to provide children with a better rendering.Therefore， in Rens version， she seeks help from metaphor.By using metaphor， a clear image forms and accordingly leaves a vivid impression on the target readers.Ren uses a metaphor comparing with the original and she translates it as “米粒大的灰塵也沒有”， which is a familiar and concrete thing to children.When reading this， the readers， particularly children readers cannot help thinking of the rice in reality and then the dust， size of a rice grain.Naturally， the exact idea that how neat and tidy that yard is becomes clear to the readers.Through the analysis made above， the author can safely conclude that Ren's version is better in that it shows children a very concrete idea about how neat and tidy the yard is.

3.3 Personification.Personification is a type of figurative language and it is a figure of speech （generally considered a type of metaphor） in which abstraction or an inanimate object is endowed with human characteristics， abilities or qualities， or a thing or abstraction is represented as a person.

The night was clear and frosty， all ebony of shadow and silver of snowy slope； big star were shining over the silent fields； （Montgomery， 2010：161）

Version 1： 夜晚明凈多霜，到處是漆黑的陰影和銀白色的雪坡；大星星在靜寂的田野上空閃閃發(fā)光； （Ma：170）

Version 2： 空曠寒冷的夜色里，白雪皚皚的斜坡上泛著銀光；寂靜的田野上空，有無數(shù)的星星在沖她們調(diào)皮地眨眼睛；（Ren：144）

“star” is an inanimate object that can not do or feel anything like a person.However， Ren translates “shining” into“調(diào)皮地眨眼睛”，which is obvious a personification.Therefore in this way， the author not only personifies the stars， shows a vivid picture to readers but also opens up the imagination of readers， giving an aesthetic enjoyment to her target receivers.Ma translates “shining” into “閃閃發(fā)光”， which is the basic meaning of this word “shining”.Though Mas translation is not so impressive as Rens， she achieves the communicative purpose of her own.

Anne had gone home in the wonderful， white-frosted winter morning， heavy-eyed from loss of sleep， but still talking unweariedly to Matthew… （Montgomery， 2010：163）

Version 1： 冬天的清晨，白霜如雪，景色瑰麗，安妮走在回家的路上。盡管她因缺乏睡眠而眼皮沉重，…… 她還是不知疲倦地向馬修講個不停。（Ma：173）

Version 2： 在冬日霜雪飄飛的清晨，安妮回家了，由于睡眠不足，眼皮困得直打架，…… 她還是不知疲倦地和馬修說個沒完。 （Ren：146）

Rens translation “眼皮困得直打架” is another lively personification.Ma follows the semantic meaning and translates it into “因缺乏睡眠而眼皮沉重”.By contrast， readers may see that Rens translation is much more vivid and lively than Mas.By using personification， the language in Rens version is more casual， courteous and close to our life.The author not only describes how sleepy Anne is in vivid expression but also produces the special effect after personification.Therefore， by using personification， it is much easier to vividly conjure up a picture in the mind， thus the children readers may like it better.

3.4 Exaggeration.Exaggeration is a representation of something in an excessive manner， which is also a figure of speech in which one uses rich imagination to enlarge or diminish the characteristics of things on purpose based on reality.Words or expressions associated with exaggeration include hyperbole， maximization， overstating and so forth.

“Yes， yes， run along，” said Marilla indulgently.“Anne Shirley—are you crazy？ Come back this instant and put something on you.I might as well call to the wind.（Montgomery， 2010：165）

Version 1： “好吧，好吧，快去吧?！爆旣惱瓕捜莸卣f，“安妮·雪莉——你瘋了嗎？趕快回來穿點衣服。我說了也是白搭?！?（Ma：175）

Version 2： “好了，好了，你去吧，”瑪瑞拉疼愛地說，“安妮·雪莉——你瘋了嗎？馬上給我回來戴圍巾。我還不如去跟風說話?！?（Ren：148）

Compared with Mas translation “我說了也是白搭” ， “I might as well call to the wind” is translated into “我還不如去跟風說話” in Rens version， which is the application of rhetoric device—exaggeration.Exaggeration is one of the necessary methods to manifest the fantasies and the major function of exaggeration is to emphasize something or some feature， expand the readers imagination and strike a responsive chord in the hearts of its readers， thus it will leave a clear and strong emotional impression on the readers.Through the picture， it seems that Anne is running past as fast as the wind and it vividly describes Annes eagerness to go out to meet her friend.In terms of Skopos rule， the translation method should be determined by the Skopos or purpose of the target text.Therefore， Rens translation tends to be vivid and lively and Ma pays attention to transfer messages in the novel to Chinese readers.

參考文獻：

[1]Nord， Christiane： Translating as a Purposeful Activity： Functionalist Approaches Explained.Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press， April， 2001.

[2]馬愛農(nóng)譯.綠山墻的安妮[M].中國少年兒童出版社，2006.

[3]蒙哥馬利（加拿大）.綠山墻的安妮（英文）[M].上海世界圖書出版公司，2010.

[4]任姍姍譯.綠山墻的安妮[M].華文出版社，2005.