Communications in Humanities Research

- The Open Access Proceedings Series for Conferences


Communications in Humanities Research

Vol. 22, 07 December 2023


Open Access | Article

Explore Impact of Cultural Differences Between Taiwan Region and the Chinese Mainland on English Literary Translation: Take the Example of Two Translation Versions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Yue Huang * 1
1 Minjiang University

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Communications in Humanities Research, Vol. 22, 102-108
Published 07 December 2023. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by EWA Publishing
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Citation Yue Huang. Explore Impact of Cultural Differences Between Taiwan Region and the Chinese Mainland on English Literary Translation: Take the Example of Two Translation Versions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. CHR (2023) Vol. 22: 102-108. DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/22/20231611.

Abstract

This study explores the cultural disparities between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland and their impact on English literary translations within these regions, focusing on the Taiwanese and mainland Chinese versions of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”. Employing text close reading and comparative analysis methods, this research unveils significant translation differences stemming from the subcultural nuances inherent in Taiwanese culture. These variations manifest in alterations to the book’s title, personal names, and sentence structures in the respective translations. In essence, both the Taiwanese and mainland Chinese translations contribute to the rich tapestry of Chinese literary translation history. Recognizing these disparities and capitalizing on their individual strengths is vital for the advancement of Chinese literary translation. This analysis underscores the significance of understanding and appreciating cultural distinctions in literary translation, ultimately enhancing the quality and depth of cross-cultural literary exchanges.

Keywords

subculture, cultural differences, impact, literary translation, Harry Potter

References

1. Gordon, M. (1947) The Concept of the Sub-culture and Its Application. Social Forces, 10, 26.

2. Wang, DY. (2020) The Difference Between Taiwanese Translation and Mainland Translation: Take the Mainland Translation of Harry Potter and the Taiwanese Translation as an Example. Overseas, 10, 66-67.

3. Li, R. (2007) Theories of Naturalized Alienation in the Translation of Film Titles. Movie Review, 15, 56-57.

4. Zhang, SZ. (1993) Study on New Definitions of Literal and Free Translations. Journal of Jiangsu University Natural Science Edition, 1, 119-124.

5. Zheng, QW. (1989) Differences in the Cross-strait Translation of Names. China Publishing Journal, 7, 87-92.

6. Zhou, XP. (2003) The Differences between Chinese and Western Cookery Cultures and the Translating of Chinese Menu. The Northern. Forum, 2, 107-110.

7. Kang, YJ. (2013) A Comparative Study of Two Chinese Versions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone from a Sub-cultural Perspective. Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, Hebei.

8. LV, XL. (2009) An Analysis of the Lexical-Grammatical Incursion of the Southern Min Dialect into the “Taiwan National Language”--Taking the Dialectal Language of Taiwan Film and Television Works in Recent Years as an Example. Fujian Tribune (The Humanities & Social Sciences), z2, 88-90.

9. Xie, LJ., Kang, H. (2010) Contrast between Chinese and English Sentences and Correction of Syntactical Errors. Journal of Beijing Polytechnic College, 2, 140-144.

10. Hou, CS. (2003)On Grammatical Differences of Modern Chinese Between Taiwan and the Main Land Oil the Basis of Contemporary Taiwan Novels——Along with an Analysis on the Tendency of Convergence of the Language of Both Sides. Journal of Yan’an University (Social Science Edition), 4, 98-102.

Data Availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Interdisciplinary Humanities and Communication Studies
ISBN (Print)
978-1-83558-187-2
ISBN (Online)
978-1-83558-188-9
Published Date
07 December 2023
Series
Communications in Humanities Research
ISSN (Print)
2753-7064
ISSN (Online)
2753-7072
DOI
10.54254/2753-7064/22/20231611
Copyright
07 December 2023
Open Access
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Copyright © 2023 EWA Publishing. Unless Otherwise Stated