Dissertation Proposal
Name
Tentative Title of Dissertation
Untranslatable: the use of tones in Chinese poetry
Research Domain
This dissertation will discuss the term “untranslatable” and how it applies to the use of tones in Chinese poetry.
Research Description
The research involved for this topic will be interdisciplinary (Large, et al., 2019): firstly discussing the untranslatable and the conversations that occur around this in translation theory; secondly investigating the function of tones in Chinese poetry and how translators handle them, and what techniques they use to attain a similar function in the target language. This dissertation hopes to draw a link between these two areas of study and come to a conclusion on what it means to be untranslatable.
Methodology
Extensive bibliographic research to include the critical analysis of primary and secondary sources. The dissertation will discuss Chinese poetry and academic books and journals discussing the prosody of Chinese poetry (Song & Zhang, 2015) and tone patterns (Downer & Graham, 1963). It will also discuss the techniques used by translators to carry out the function (Nord, 1997) of the poems.
Linguistic analysis of the poetic use of tones in Mandarin and a comparative study with the poetic techniques in English, a comparison of EN to ZH (Guo, 2019) translation and ZH to EN translation of the poems.
Research questions
Limitations
Structure and Schedule
• Structure (chapters)
The first section of the dissertation will discuss untranslatability and its relevance to translation studies, in discussions of theory and how it is applied to translation practice.
The latter half of the dissertation will explore the use of tones in Chinese poetry, how they are used as a technique in the prosodic nature of Chinese language and poetry. This section will also discuss how the term “untranslatable” applies to the translation of Chinese poetry into English (from a tonal language to a non-tonal language). Theories such as functionalism and equivalence.
Schedule
Indicative bibliography
Downer, G. & Graham, A., 1963. Tone Patterns in Chinese Poetry. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 26(1), pp. 145-148.
Guo, T., 2019. Nature and the Natural: Translating Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” (1807/15) into Chinese. In: A. Watson & L. William, eds. British Romanticism in Asia. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 221-247.
Large, D., Akashi, M., Jozwikowska, W. & Rose, E., 2019. Untranslatability: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. 1st ed. s.l.:Routledge.
Nord, C., 1997. Translating as a Purposeful Activity : Functionalist Approaches Explained. 1st ed. London: Routledge.
Song, C. & Zhang, H., 2015. A New Approach to Chinese Poetic Prosody: The Case of Pair-wise Tonal Contrasts in Three Yongming Collections. Chinese Literature Essays Articles Reviews , pp. 67-112.
Structure of Dissertation
1. Introduction (approx. 600 words)
2. Literature review (approx. 600 words)
3. Discussion of methodology (approx. 600 words)
4. Analysis and discussion (approx. 3600 words)
5. Conclusion (approx. 600 words)