Alice Shyun-Yih Lin
A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF GENDER EXPRESSION IN THE TRANSLATION OF HONG LOU MENG
As arguably the most renowned novel in classical Chinese literature, Hong Lou Meng has generated a tremendous amount of research covering a vast range of topics, among which gender is of special interest to me. The novel is “filled with information about prescriptions regarding gender” (Edwards [1994] 2001: 1) and has long been regarded as focusing on women/femininity, but in fact provides equally robust material on men/masculinity and even androgyny (Edwards; Wang 2012). This is seen in the complex and unique gender expressions exhibited by the novel’s characters.
“Gender expression” is the way an individual’s sense of being masculine and/or feminine is manifested and expressed to others through movements, speech, clothing, and accoutrements (Anderson 2020: 324). As Hong Lou Meng is set in Qing China, the gender expressions it portrays will most definitely be different from Western contexts. This poses a complex challenge for translators, and translating these gender expressions for an English-speaking audience will involve a process of “recontextualization” which results in a “representation” of the original (Ietcu-Fairclough 2008: 68-69). I became interested in how translators’ sociocultural background might influence this process.
This study aims to find out if/how sociocultural context influences the way translators translate, with a focus on how translators recontextualize portrayals of gender. Specifically, this study will investigate the following questions:
- How are characters’ gender expressions recontextualized and represented in the two complete English translations of Hong Lou Meng?
- Are there any patterns of shifts that occur as the result of the recontextualization? If so, how do they differ from the original gender expressions?
- What are the factors (e.g. sociocultural background) that may have influenced the translators’ choices which led to these shifts?
Ya-Yun Chen, School of Modern Languages, Newcastle University
Jessica Lin, School of Modern Languages, Newcastle University