A Contrastive Study of the Translator’s Behaviour in English and Spanish Translations of Metaphors in Xi Jinping: The Governance of China

Authors

  • Jiang Chang Departamento de Filología Hispánica Universidad de Changzhou Changzhou, Jiangsu, China 213159 Facultad de Estudios Europeos y Latinoamericanos Universidad de Estudios Internacionales de Shanghái (SISU) Shanghai, China 201620
  • Luo Ying Departamento de Filología Hispánica Universidad de Changzhou Changzhou, Jiangsu, China 213159

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18002/sin.v17i2.8235

Keywords:

political discourse; translator’s behavior; translation of metaphors; English and Spanish translations.

Abstract

This study examines the English and Spanish translations of metaphors in Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (I-III) within the theoretical framework of Translator Behavior Criticism. In the description of the translators’ behavioral tendencies and diachronic changes, differences are identified between the English and Spanish translating teams with regards to their philosophy of translation, which leads to an analysis of the social motivations of the translators’ behaviors within the field of political discourse translation in China. The following findings have been derived: 1) The Spanish translation is faithful to the form of expression of the ST, which suggests a translators’ behavioral tendency towards the “truth-seeking” principle. The English translation is freer since it upholds a semantic rather than formal equivalence to the ST, suggesting that the English translating team is more oriented towards the “utility-attaining” principle than their Spanish counterparts. 2) Observed from a diachronic perspective, the English translating team always maintained a balance between the two above-mentioned principles in translating the metaphors and their “truth-seeking” and “utility-attaining” behaviors were both enhanced in their translation of the third volume. The Spanish translating team always tilted towards the “truth-seeking” principle, demonstrating just a slight increase of “utility-attaining” behavior throughout their translation of the three volumes. 3) There is an evident difference between the English and Spanish translating teams regarding their “philosophy of faithfulness”. A “semantic” faithfulness with pragmatic concerns advocated by the former team is becoming the mainstream norm governing the current field of political discourse translation in China.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Métricas alternativas

Author Biographies

Jiang Chang, Departamento de Filología Hispánica Universidad de Changzhou Changzhou, Jiangsu, China 213159 Facultad de Estudios Europeos y Latinoamericanos Universidad de Estudios Internacionales de Shanghái (SISU) Shanghai, China 201620

Departamento de Filología Hispánica
Universidad de Changzhou
Changzhou, Jiangsu, China 213159

Facultad de Estudios Europeos y Latinoamericanos
Universidad de Estudios Internacionales de Shanghái (SISU)
Shanghai, China 201620

Luo Ying, Departamento de Filología Hispánica Universidad de Changzhou Changzhou, Jiangsu, China 213159

Departamento de Filología Hispánica
Universidad de Changzhou
Changzhou, Jiangsu, China 213159

Downloads

Published

2023-12-28 — Updated on 2024-03-11

Versions

How to Cite

Chang, J., & Ying, L. (2024). A Contrastive Study of the Translator’s Behaviour in English and Spanish Translations of Metaphors in Xi Jinping: The Governance of China. Sinología hispánica. China Studies Review, 17(2), 113–138. https://doi.org/10.18002/sin.v17i2.8235 (Original work published December 28, 2023)

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 2 (2023)

Section

Artículos

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

 Sinología Hispánica. China Studies Review considers all manuscripts on the strict condition that:

  • The authors assign the exploitation rights (reproduction, distribution, public communication and transformation) of the work accepted for publication to the University of León on a non-exclusive basis. Authors can establish, on their own, additional agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in the journal (for example, placing it in an institutional repository or publishing it in a book), always acknowledging the initial publication. in this magazine.

  • The manuscript is your own original work and does not duplicate any other previously published work, including your own previously published work.

  • The manuscript is not currently under consideration or peer review, nor accepted for publication, nor in press, nor published elsewhere.

  • The manuscript contains nothing that is abusive, defamatory, libellous, obscene, fraudulent, or illegal.

  • Please note that Sinologia Hispanica uses Turnitin software to screen manuscripts for unoriginal material. By submitting your manuscript to Sinologia Hispanica you are agreeing to any necessary originality checks your manuscript may have to undergo during the peer-review and production processes. Any author who fails to adhere to the above conditions will be rejected.

  • Authors are allowed and encouraged to electronically disseminate the pre-printed versions (version before being evaluated) and / or post-printing (version evaluated and accepted for publication) of their works before publication, since it favors their circulation and dissemination more early and with it, a possible increase in its citation and reach among the academic community.

Sinologia Hispanica is under an international license Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0. You can read more about this license in an informative version and legal text.