Studies on Howard Goldblatt's translation of Yeng Pway Ngon’s trivialities about me and myself through the lens of linguistics and stylistics

• Main Author: Lin, Chaojun
• Other Authors: Cui Feng
• Format: Thesis-Master by Coursework
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2024
• Subjects: Arts and Humanities; Linguistics in translation; Literary stylistics; Howard Goldblatt; Yeng Pway Ngon; Translator’s subjectivity; Deceptive equivalence; Polyphony
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/178247
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

As English became the dominant working language in Singapore, Chinese literature has been under the threat of marginalization. Singaporeans graduating from Chinese schools in the past saw dilemmas in their work and life. This problem has been revealed by many Singaporean Chinese writers in their books. One representative writer is Yeng Pway Ngon. In his novel Trivialities About Me and Myself, he depicts the embarrassment facing Ah-hui, the main character, who seems to have multiple personality schizoid and talks to “himself” - the imagined other half of him. The conversations between “me” and “myself” represent the clash between Chinese education and an English-dominated Singapore and the clash between holding one’s “lofty” aspirations and “earthy” striving. According to Yeng Pway Ngon, he hoped that the English translation of his Chinese literature could help regain the attention of young Singaporeans to read more Chinese writings. The translator for Trivialities About Me and Myself is Howard Goldblatt, a renowned Sinologue with acknowledged translations that stand out for readability and subjectivity. This dissertation compares the source text (ST) and target text (TT) from the perspective of linguistics and stylistics. Linguistic research takes the lens of lexical expression and language utterance arranged by the author. In contrast, literary stylistics examines how the story is being told and the overall aesthetic effects of literary writing. Upon research and in-text studies, this dissertation concludes that the translation of Trivialities About Me and Myself is less engaging and communicative than the source text. It does not sufficiently represent what is considered “Singaporean”, including some local items and expressions, which makes the translation more “universal” and less “Singapore”. Besides, the translator’s subjectivity “manipulates” the text to make it seem as if the original author was trying to get “westernised” himself, which contradicts Yeng Pway Ngon’s motivation for this writing. Also, the writing style of polyphony is compromised through deceptive equivalence in this translation, which may get English readers lost in the intertwined plot.