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Stan Lai’s Translation Thoughts of Performability from the Perspective of Translators Voice: A Case Study of Subtext Translation of Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land

Received: 20 May 2023     Accepted: 11 July 2023     Published: 24 July 2023
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Abstract

Stan Lai is a well-known director and playwright in China and abroad, and his self-translation play Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land has been toured all over the world many times. However, few scholars have studied Lai’s translation thoughts through this play. What’s more, subtext is an eminent feature in drama and it is difficult to translate, especially in Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land, which includes abundant subtexts. As a result, the thesis takes the translator’s voice as theoretical bases and studies Lai’s translation thoughts of performability through the subtext translation of Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land. The thesis adopts O’Sullivan’s framework and analyzes Stan Lai’s voice from the translation and the paratexts to see whether they are consistent. During the analysis, comparative studies, interviews, and literature research will be adopted. There are two main findings: In the target text, Stan Lai shows his voice by adopting the translation strategies of changing narration, amplifying narration, and reductive narration to achieve performability, especially the speakability, individuality, actability, and acceptability of the lines. In the paratexts, the author also finds that Lai’s identity, translation motives, and translation strategies also reflect his voice on performability, which is consistent with the one in the target text.

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 11, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijla.20231104.13
Page(s) 176-185
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Performability, Translator’s Voice, Stan Lai, Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land, Subtext

References
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[6] Hu, M. H. (2022). Translation Strategies and Method of Lai Shengchuan’s Self-Translated Drama: the English Version of Lai Shengchuan’s Drama Selections as Examples. Forum for Chinese Literature of the World. 33, 93–102. doi: 10.16228/j.issn1008-0163.2022.03.008.
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[8] Kent, R. (2015). “‘Secret Love’ playwright Stan Lai appears in Ashland,” Mail Tribune, 20 April. Available at: https://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2015/04/20/secret-love-playwright-stan-lai-appears-in-ashland/ (Accessed March 15, 2023).
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[11] Lai, S. (2021b). “How I Translate My Own Play,” in Selected Plays of Stan Lai, Vol 1, ed. R. T. Lissa (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press), 7–10.
[12] Lai, S. [@赖声川] (2021c). Director’s Daily Notes [Weibo]. Available at: https://www.weibo.com/laishengchuan (Accessed March 1, 2023).
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[15] Liu, Y. M. (2017). Analysis of the English Translation of Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land from the Perspective of Foregrounding Theory. Sichuan Drama. 30, 154–157.
[16] Long, J. F. (2013). The Translation of Metaphors in Context and Drama: Take the Two Versions of Teahouse as an Example. Drama Literature. 36, 91–94. doi: 10.14043/j.cnki.xjwx.2013.04.008.
[17] Luo, Z. F. (1986). Hanyu Da Cidian (Vol. 1). Shanghai: Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House.
[18] O’Sullivan, E. (2003). Narratology meets translation studies, or the voice of the translator in children’s literature. Meta. 48, 197–207. doi: 10.7202/006967ar.
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    Wu Bian, Ketong Liu. (2023). Stan Lai’s Translation Thoughts of Performability from the Perspective of Translators Voice: A Case Study of Subtext Translation of Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 11(4), 176-185. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231104.13

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    Wu Bian; Ketong Liu. Stan Lai’s Translation Thoughts of Performability from the Perspective of Translators Voice: A Case Study of Subtext Translation of Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2023, 11(4), 176-185. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231104.13

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    AMA Style

    Wu Bian, Ketong Liu. Stan Lai’s Translation Thoughts of Performability from the Perspective of Translators Voice: A Case Study of Subtext Translation of Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land. Int J Lit Arts. 2023;11(4):176-185. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231104.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijla.20231104.13,
      author = {Wu Bian and Ketong Liu},
      title = {Stan Lai’s Translation Thoughts of Performability from the Perspective of Translators Voice: A Case Study of Subtext Translation of Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land},
      journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
      volume = {11},
      number = {4},
      pages = {176-185},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20231104.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231104.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20231104.13},
      abstract = {Stan Lai is a well-known director and playwright in China and abroad, and his self-translation play Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land has been toured all over the world many times. However, few scholars have studied Lai’s translation thoughts through this play. What’s more, subtext is an eminent feature in drama and it is difficult to translate, especially in Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land, which includes abundant subtexts. As a result, the thesis takes the translator’s voice as theoretical bases and studies Lai’s translation thoughts of performability through the subtext translation of Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land. The thesis adopts O’Sullivan’s framework and analyzes Stan Lai’s voice from the translation and the paratexts to see whether they are consistent. During the analysis, comparative studies, interviews, and literature research will be adopted. There are two main findings: In the target text, Stan Lai shows his voice by adopting the translation strategies of changing narration, amplifying narration, and reductive narration to achieve performability, especially the speakability, individuality, actability, and acceptability of the lines. In the paratexts, the author also finds that Lai’s identity, translation motives, and translation strategies also reflect his voice on performability, which is consistent with the one in the target text.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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Author Information
  • School of Interpreting and Translation Studies, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China

  • School of Interpreting and Translation Studies, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China

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