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Author
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Comment
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LeonLeung
Unregistered User
(10/21/05 3:55 am)
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Want help for a research topic in translation of fairy tales
Dear all,
As I am thinking of a topic of my coming paper on Translation, I'd like to work on something related to the translation of fairy tales. I am a university student in HK, so I will probably work on the chinese translations of some original english tales. I plan to use Oscar wilde's tales in my paper.
I am still thinking of my research question... I have read papers about the following subjects:
1. how the translations affect people's understanding about the definition of fairy tales, and how the tales are "used" in a politically way when translated (Oscar wilde's tales as examples)
2. problems related to the target readers of the translated text, that children and adults should be both considered to be the target readers
However, after I have read all the papers, I still could not figure out what I can probably work on... It seems that there are not a lot of things that I can do research on in the area of translating fairy tales. Therefore I try to ask for help here, and see whether there are more in this area that i can do... Hope that someone can help me figure out some possible reserach questions.
Thanks very much, and looking forward to your replies.
Regards,
LEON
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Writerpatrick
Registered User
(10/21/05 11:48 am)
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Re: Want help for a research topic in translation of fairy t
It sounds like you took a backwards approach. Most of the English fairy tales we have are translations from other languages, such as Grimm's from German.
In all translations, prose is affected. Some of the elequent phrases that work in one language are often not translated properly. Some of the prose would change or get lost when translated. A sentence that might read "The sun blistered the land" could translate as "The day was very hot."
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AliceCEB
Registered User
(10/21/05 2:07 pm)
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Re: Want help for a research topic in translation of fairy t
Well one area of research I might interesting is to compare the social and economic conditions at the time Wilde wrote his fairy tales and compare them to the social and economic conditions at the time they received a Chinese translation. Did that change the way in which images were described? Were there changes in focus as well? How did the mores as evident in his fairy tales mesh with Chinese mores?
I recently re-read The Happy Prince, and would be interested in how it would be viewed in modern China--especially the ending where the prince's and the bird's good deeds are only recognized by God and his angels after their death.
Perhaps picking several tales that you particularly like and reading in both English and Chinese--with perhaps different translations at different times--might give you some direction.
Best of luck,
Alice
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evil little pixie
Registered User
(10/21/05 8:51 pm)
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Re: Want help for a research topic in translation of fairy t
Here's a previous discussion on a somewhat similar theme:
www.surlalunefairytales.c...rimms.html
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