A Study on the Translator's Style of Japanese Translations of The Platform Sutra of Hui Neng
The article analyzes the translator styles of four Japanese translators of the"Platform Sutra"-Seizan Yanagida,Kokan Ito,Takashi Nakagawa,and Mingjia Gui-from both non-linguistic and linguistic characteristics.It finds that translator style is closely related to the translator's cultural identity,historical background,choice of translation base text,translation strategies,translation purpose,and anticipated readers.In terms of non-linguistic characteristics,Japanese translators'translations include prefaces,introductions,epilogues,annotations,and other paratexts.Yanagida chose the Dunhuang manuscript and Nakagawa chose the Huixin manuscript(Xingsheng Temple manuscript),which are closer to the original"Platform Sutra"reflecting the Japanese translators'translation value orientation that emphasizes the academic value of the translation.Gui's translation only includes the translation text without paratexts,reflecting the translator's value orientation that emphasizes the fluency of the reader's reading experience.The linguistic characteristics of the translations also reflect different translator styles.Itō's,Yanagida's,and Nakagawa's translations use classical Japanese,with archaic vocabulary and a foreignization translation strategy,emphasizing the solemnity of the Buddhist scripture's language,suitable for higher-level readers.Nakagawa's second translation and Katsura's translation use a domestication strategy,both using modern Japanese,making the translations easy to understand and suitable for general readers.
The Platform Sutra of Hui Nengforeignizationdomesticationtranslation strategiestranslators'styles
万方数据
维普
