Author(s)

Chen Yanghan ¹, Zhuang Yajin ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ Foreign Languages College, Minnan University of Science and Technology, Shishi, Quanzhou City, China

Corresponding Author

Zhuang Yajin

ABSTRACT

The analysis and comparison to the translation of American slangs in Yang Renjing’s translation of Billy Bathgate through the notions of translation memetics can deeply indicate the cultural nature behind American slangs, and further promote the exchange and communication of Chinese and foreign cultures with the conversion results of slang translation. By integrating the strategies adopted by the translator in the translation of slang memes to analyze the motivations and rules behind the transmission of American slangs, the discussions to the modes of spreading and developing slang memes in translation can be advanced. Also, the fact of cultural mutation and transformation in translation can be proved from the perspective of memetics to demonstrate the inevitability of the variation of American slang in communication due to the limitation of cultural differences.

KEYWORDS

Literary translation, translation meme, Billy Bathgate, American slang, meme genotype, meme phenotype

CITE THIS PAPER

Chen Yanghan, Zhuang Yajin. A Study of American Slangs in Billy Bathgate Translated by Yang Renjing from the Perspective of Translation Memetics. Transactions on Comparative Education (2021) Vol. 3: 13-19. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/trance.2021.030403.

REFERENCES

[1] Dawkins, R. The Selfish Gene[M]. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1976: 163, 172.
[2] Distin, K. The Selfish Meme[M]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005: 185.
[3] He Ziran. New Developments in Pragmatics: Relevance, Adaption and Memetics[M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Educational Publishing House, 2007: 165.
[4] Feng Jianming, Mo Aiping. Ontology, Epistemology and Axiology---Memetics and Cultural Evolution[J]. Journal of Foreign Language, 2019 (2): 54-61.
[5] Aunger, R. Darwinizing Culture: The Status of Memetics as a Science[M]. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
[6] Brodie, R. Virus of Mind: The New Science of Meme[M]. New York: Integral Press, 1996.
[7] Chesterman, A. Meme of Translation: The Spread of Ideas in Translation Theory[M]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Co., 1997: 7.
[8] Wang Xueyu. An Analysis of Translation Memetics[J]. Journey of Fuzhou University, 2010 (1): 74-78.
[9] Blackmore, S. The Meme Machine[M]. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
[10] Wang Lisong. Analyzing Alienation and Domestication Based on Strong Meme and Weak Meme[J]. Journal of Tianjin University, 2013 (4): 350-353.
[11] He Ziran. Meme in Language[J]. Linguistic Sciences, 2005 (6): 54-64.
[12] Zhao Shiqiang. A Chinese Translation Practice Report of the Rose Garden(Excerpt) from the Perspective of Translation Memetics[D]. Dalian: Dalian Ocean University, 2019: 6-18.
[13] Wang Niuniu. An Analysis of American Slang Translation[J]. Journal of Shanxi Normal University, 2010 (37): 87-89.
[14] Yang Hui. Violence of Translation: A Case Study of Subtitle Translation of Slangs in The Godfather Series[J]. Journal of Lanzhou Jiaotong University, 2018 (6): 131-137.
[15] Liu Fangqiong. A Study on the Regional Differences Between British and American Slang[J]. Journal of Guangxi University for Nationalities, 2020 (4): 200-204.
[16] Zhu Hongying. Linguistic Features of Slangs about Money and Its Social Culture Cognition[J]. Journal of Qiqihar University, 2019 (11): 114-117.
[17] Yuan Yuan. On the Cultural Implication of E. L. Doctorow’s New York Writing[J]. Journal of Central South University, 2016 (2): 181-185.
[18] Xu Zaizhong. Race, Gender and Class: An Exploration of E. L. Doctorow’s Compromising Politics in Ragtime[J]. Foreign Literatures, 2019 (3): 125-135. 
[19] Liu Wenxia, Li Songying. Translation Memes in Evolution[J] Shanghai Journal of Translation, 2020 (5): 48-52.
[20] Chen Daoming. Cognitive Study of Meme and Meme Phenotype[J]. Journal of Xi’an International Studies University, 2013 (1): 46-49.
[21] Wang Lisong, Ge Liying, Zhao He, Lu Wanchen. Study on Eco-Translatology Through Analyzing Memes of Translation and Translation as Adaption and Selection[J]. Journal of Tianjin University, 2014 (4): 349-353.
[22] Chen Xinren. A Linguistic Memetics Interpretation of Lexical-Grammatical Innovation[J]. Foreign Language Education, 2017 (3): 12-16.
[23] Liu Huiyun. Translation Strategy Memes and Translation Practice[D]. Lanzhou: Lanzhou University, 2016: 20-50.

Sponsors, Associates, and Links

---

• Advances in Educational Technology and Psychology
  
  
• Curriculum and Teaching Methodology
  
  
• Applied & Educational Psychology
  
  
• Advances in Vocational and Technical Education
  
  
• Adult and Higher Education