Decision-making in the translation of proper-name allusions: translation strategies in both directions between English and Chinese: Translation strategies in both directions between English and Chinese

Abstract

As an intertextual and culture-specific expression, allusion activates two
texts simultaneously, embedding them with intended meaning from the
source culture but not necessarily in the target culture. In the context of L1
translation being the majority, allusions can be puzzles that cause “cultural
bumps” for translators unfamiliar with the source culture and language. It is
a concern whether translators can accurately and appropriately handle
allusions, e.g., proper-name and key-phrase allusions. This paper focused
on the novice translator’s utilization of translation strategies in both
directions of translation to find out how they deal with proper-name
allusions and what might influence their choice of strategies. The results
suggest that the translators have distinct preferences for the strategies used
to translate proper-name allusions in both directions of translation. The
findings further identified potential factors that motivated the novice
translators’ decision-making process. They revealed their translation
competence and awareness that may influence the decision-making of
translators handling proper-name allusions.

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ORCID for Haimeng Ren: orcid.org/0000-0002-4507-9205

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