A Corpus-based Comparative Study of Literary Translation Styles: Taking the C-E Translations of the 11th “The World of English Cup” Translation Contest as an Example

Abstract

The paper makes a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the translation style differences between the reference translation (Lin’s Version) and the first prize-winning translation (Liu’s Version) of The Original Mission of Culture in the “11th Hangzhou Normal University-English World Cup Translation Contest” from lexical, syntactic and discourse features. The translation styles of the two translators are found to show similarities and differences. The differences are mainly reflected in the lexical and sentence dimensions. Lin’s Version shows higher lexical richness and complexity and sophisticated sentence patterns, while Liu’s Version is more reader-friendly, featured by changing narrative perspectives, adopting the explicit translation method, and reflecting the explanatory trend. The similarities are mainly embodied in discourse features. Both translation versions use conjunctions to achieve discourse cohesion with similar effects. But given lexicon, syntax, and other factors, Liu’s Version is better in readability. The main causes for the different translation styles of the two versions are related to the translator’s identity and professional background, as well as the translator’s emotional orientation towards the contest.