Collaborative translation, as a widespread phenomenon, manifests in various fields both domestically and internationally, and its significance has gradually gained recognition in academia and industry. In the realm of Chinese literary translation, the collaborative translation model is considered essential, yet empirical research on the topic remains relatively scarce. Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-chun Lin stand as exemplary figures in the collaborative translation of modern and contemporary Chinese literature, having produced numerous co-translated works. However, scholarly research on their collaborative efforts is limited. This study aims to analyze the stylistic and strategic approaches in Goldblatt and Lin’s collaborative translations of Bi Feiyu’s novels, explore the differences between their individual and collaborative translation styles and strategies, and provide insights for the translation practice of promoting Chinese culture globally.
This section discusses the definition of collaborative translation, the current state of research on the topic domestically and internationally, and studies on Goldblatt and Lin’s collaborative translations. International research tends to focus on socio-cultural aspects, while domestic studies primarily adopt descriptive approaches, emphasize Chinese-to-foreign language translation, and center on literary works and qualitative analysis. Although the volume of publications is increasing, methodologies remain predominantly qualitative, necessitating stronger empirical support and the application of corpus-based methods. Research on Goldblatt and Lin’s collaborative translations encompasses their process, strategies, and style, yet few scholars have explored this area, and even fewer have employed corpus-based approaches. Existing studies suggest stylistic differences between Goldblatt and Lin’s collaborative translations and Goldblatt’s solo translations, with their collaborative works exhibiting greater similarity to Lin’s individual translation style. However, these findings require further validation through additional works and analytical criteria.
This section outlines the corpus-based study design for analyzing the stylistic features of Goldblatt and Lin’s collaborative translations of Bi Feiyu’s novels. The study selects three of Bi Feiyu’s novels and their collaborative translations to examine the distinctiveness of their co-translation style and influencing factors. Research methods include corpus-based analysis, quantitative and statistical approaches, comparative analysis, and qualitative assessment. A self-built corpus is used to extract linguistic formal features, while quantitative methods analyze the ratio of Chinese-to-English word counts, sentence pair types, and the translation strategies for the reporting verb “said.” Comparative methods, combined with independent sample t-tests, reveal the uniqueness of their collaborative style, and qualitative methods explore the factors shaping their translation approach.
This section examines the stylistic features of Goldblatt and Lin’s collaborative translations of Bi Feiyu’s novels at lexical and sentential levels. Lexically, the translations exhibit vocabulary richness, with *The Moon Opera* displaying the highest standardized type-token ratio (STTR), indicating greater lexical diversity. The ratio of source-to-target text word counts reflects translator style, with instances of adequate and undertranslation observed across different works. High-frequency word analysis reveals stylistic traits of the novels, with “said” and “like” being prominent content words. Word length distribution suggests that the translations employ relatively simple vocabulary, aligning with American English fiction. At the sentential level, average sentence and segment lengths, along with sentence pair relationships, highlight the stylistic characteristics of Goldblatt and Lin’s collaborative translations. Strategies for translating the reporting verb “said” include equivalent translation, omission, and explicitation, with equivalence being the most frequent, followed by omission and explicitation. Goldblatt and Lin tend to adopt syntactic literal translation, treating the sentence as the primary unit while integrating contextual elements to harmonize discourse essence and situation.
By comparing Goldblatt and Lin’s collaborative translations of Bi Feiyu’s novels with their individual translations of Liu Zhenyun and Mo Yan’s works, as well as Lin’s solo translations of Eugene’s novels, this section explores the distinctiveness of their collaborative style. In terms of macro-level linguistic features, the collaborative translations of Bi Feiyu’s novels exhibit a higher STTR than those of Liu Zhenyun’s works, indicating richer vocabulary usage. Both sets of translations demonstrate undertranslation tendencies in word count ratios. No significant differences are observed in average sentence length or primary sentence pair types between the collaborative translations of Bi Feiyu’s and Liu Zhenyun’s novels. When comparing collaborative and solo translations, significant lexical richness differences emerge between Goldblatt and Lin’s collaborative translations of Bi Feiyu’s novels and Goldblatt’s solo translations of Mo Yan’s works, while no significant difference is found between the collaborative translations and Lin’s solo translations of Eugene’s novels. In word count ratios, the collaborative translations of Bi Feiyu’s novels and Lin’s solo translations exhibit undertranslation, whereas Goldblatt’s solo translations of Mo Yan’s works demonstrate adequate translation, reflecting fidelity to the source text. No significant differences in average sentence length are observed among the collaborative translations, Goldblatt’s solo translations, and Lin’s solo translations. Additionally, the section compares translation strategies for the reporting verb “said” in collaborative and solo translations, revealing a higher proportion of equivalent translation in the collaborative works, while Goldblatt’s solo translations feature fewer instances of explicitation and omission. Lin’s solo translations and the collaborative translations show similar proportions of equivalent, omitted, and explicitated translations.
The stylistic features of Goldblatt and Lin’s collaborative translations of Bi Feiyu’s novels are shaped by three factors: the content, narrative, and textual characteristics of Bi Feiyu’s works; the translators’ prioritization of reader experience, as reflected in word and sentence lengths resembling English-original fiction; and the alignment of macro-level linguistic features and translation strategies for “said” with Lin’s solo translations, indicating Goldblatt’s respect for Lin’s translation philosophy and methods.
This section summarizes the key findings of the corpus-based study on Goldblatt and Lin’s collaborative translations of Bi Feiyu’s novels, including consistencies in linguistic features, similarities in translation strategies, and alignment with Lin’s solo translation style. The study offers three insights: first, promoting a collaborative model where domestic translators draft translations and foreign translators polish them; second, prioritizing domestic translators as primary collaborators; and third, cultivating high-quality collaborative translation talent. Additionally, further research on Goldblatt and Lin’s other collaborative works is recommended to clarify their co-translation characteristics and provide reference for advancing Chinese culture globally.
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