ISSN 1923-1555[Print]

Studies in Literature and Language ISSN 1923-1563[Online]

Vol. 17, No. 3, 2018, pp. 18-21 www.cscanada.net
DOI:10.3968/10715 www.cscanada.org

Translation of Onomatopoeia Words in The Republic of Wine From the

Perspective of Relevance Theory

ZHAO Yushan[a]; CHEN Rui[b],*

[a]
Professor. School of Foreign Languages, North China Electric Power
University, Beijing, China.
INTRODUCTION
[b]
School of Foreign Languages, North China Electric Power University, Onomatopoeia word is usually difficult to translate
Beijing, China.
*
because of its own characteristics. There are numerous
Corresponding author.
published papers focusing on analyzing the similarities
Supported by the NCEPU “Double First-Class” Graduate Talent and differences of Chinese and English onomatopoeia
Cultivation Program, No. XM1805222. words from the perspective of linguistic (Chen, 2006;
Wang, 2012; Wen, 2014). Some scholars explore the
Received 21 September 2018; accepted 29 November 2018
translation methods of onomatopoeia words in literature
Published online 26 December 2018
works (Li & Gao, 2014; Lauren & Harold, 2017). From
the perspective of Relevance Theory, fews studies focus
Abstract on the translation methods of onomatopoeia in Mo Yan’s
The novel The Republic of Wine is one of the masterpieces masterpiece The Republic of Wine. This paper will pick
of Mo Yan with a large number of onomatopoeia up some particular Chinese onomatopoeia words from
words, which are used to make the novel more vivid Mo Yan’s novel and its translation version to discuss the
and interesting. The novel was translated by Howard translation methods of Chinese onomatopoeia words used
Goldblatt who conveyed the intention of the author in by Howard Goldblatt from the perspective of Relevance
the original text to Western readers. The translation Theory.
version is clear and logic which makes readers easy to
understand. This paper analyzes the translation of the
onomatopoeia words in Mo Yan’s novel The Republic 1. ONOMATOPOEIA WORDS AND THE
of Wine in the light of Relevance Theory in order to
REPUBLIC OF WINE
make contribution to the translation of the onomatopoeia
words. The method of omission will not change the Onomatopoeia is a word from the Greek word
intention of the author in original text and can make the “νοματοποιία”, which means “name that I make”. It is
translation text understandable for readers. Substitution a word phonetically imitates the sound that it describes.
can put correspond English onomatopoeia in the place Onomatopoeia is defined by The Oxford English
of the original words in order to help the readers obtain Dictionary as “the formation of a word from a sound
sufficient contextual effects. Paraphrase is used to explain associated with what is named”. In linguistics, as to the
the exact meaning of the original onomatopoeia words. origin of the language, the “bow-wow” theory showed
that in primitive times people imitated the sounds of the
Key words: Relevance Theory; The Republic of Wine;
Onomatopoeia words; Translation animal calls and speech developed from those words—
onomatopoeia words. Influenced by culture, onomatopoeia
Zhao, Y. S., & Chen, R. (2018). Translation of Onomatopoeia words differ from languages, for example, the sound of a
Words in The Republic of Wine From the Perspective of Relevance clock is expressed as “tick tock” in English while “滴答”
Theory. Studies in Literature and Language, 17 (3), 18-21. Available in Chinese.
from: http://www.cscanada.net/index.php/sll/article/view/10715 Polysemy and different part of speech are the main
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/10715
features of onomatopoeia words. The existence of several
meanings in one onomatopoeia word is called polysemy.

Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture 18

 ZHAO Yushan; CHEN Rui (2018).
Studies in Literature and Language, 17 (3), 18-21

In Chinese, the sound of crow, duck and frog can be factors influence relevance. Human communication tends
described by “呱呱”. In English, “rumble” is a low, to expect the optimal relevance, which the hearer tries
continuous noise of a car or a vibrating noise made by to get adequate contextual effects at minimal processing
one’s stomach because of hunger. Onomatopoeia word cost. The hearer goes on processing effort and looking
belongs to different part of speech in different sentences. for possible contextual effects, and intends to reach the
Chinese onomatopoeia words can be an adverbial, understanding without the extra processing effort.
attribute or complement in the sentence. English Ernst-August Gutt was the first scholar who applied the
onomatopoeia words can be a subject, predicate, object in Relevance Theory of communication to translation studies.
the sentence. He believes that translation is an act of communication
O nomatopoeia w ords can be clas s ified into: and the inferring process is based on relevance in the
onomatopoeia of human voice and onomatopoeia context of communication (Gutt, 1991). The principle
of animals and onomatopoeia of objective things. of relevance constrains the translation, which should
As for onomatopoeia of human voice, some English consider both what it is intended to convey and how
onomatopoeia words are similar to Chinese onomatopoeia it is expressed. Translation is a kind of “interlingual
words in pronounciation, but some are different. For interpretive use” between two languages, and translator
example, human voice of laugh “哈哈” in Chinese is would consider relevant assumptions, especially those
equal to “Ha-ha” in English, but “嗤嗤” in Chinese is relevant to the communicative context. In the process of
different from “titter” in English. As for onomatopoeia translation, the translator seeks for optimal relevance to
of animals, sound of cat “喵喵” in Chinese is equal to convey the ideas and the reader derives information with
“meow” in English, but sound of sheep “咩咩” in Chinese minimal processing efforts. The intended interpretation of
is different from “bleat” in English. As for onomatopoeia the translation should resemble the original, which offers
of objective things, sound of rain “啪嗒” in Chinese is adequate contextual effects and be expressed in a way
equal to “patter” in English, but sound of thunder “隆隆” that reader needs no extra processing effort to understand.
in Chinese is different from “rumble” in English. The translation should be adequately relevant to the target
Mo Yan’s masterpiece The Republic of Wine is a language reader and be clear and natural in expression for
satirical novel which describes the official ecology in reader to understand easily. The translator determines in
China by exploring the relationship between wine and what respects the translation should resemble the original
people. In the novel, there are many onomatopoeia words and has to make a choice about what properties he wants
used by Mo Yan to make the story more fun to read. The to preserve. The translator should use his knowledge to
novel was translated to English by Howard Goldblatt and make assumptions about the cognitive environment of the
received praise from Western readers. The translation of reader and the potential relevance that any aspects of the
the onomatopoeia words plays an important role in the interpretation would have in that cognitive environment.
translation process of the novel. To make foreign readers
better understand the novel and the Chinese culture,
Howard Goldblatt translated the onomatopoeia words
3 . T R A N S L AT I O N M E T H O D S O F
in a flexible way by using different translation methods. ONOMATOPOEIA WORDS
This paper analyzes the translation of the onomatopoeia Relevance Theory assumes that both verbal and non-
words in the light of Relevance Theory in order to make verbal behaviours can be equally communicative (Wilson
contribution to the translation of the onomatopoeia words. & Wharton, 2006, pp.1559-1579). Pragmatic inference
is playing an important role in the interpretation of
communicative behaviours, and the framework of
2. RELEVANCE THEORY Relevance Theory enables us to bring inference into
Relevance Theory was put forward by linguistic Deirdre the interpretation of onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia
Wilson and anthropologist Dan Sperber in their work focuses on the similarity of phonetic forms and realistic
Relevance: Communication and Cognition in 1986. It events. In Relevance Theory, an impression can convey
is a pragmatic theory which focuses on the meaning a non-propositional interpretation, which is the same as
and context in communication. The authors think that onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia can show the relationship
every act of ostensive communication communicates a between code and inference by conveying the optimal
presumption of its own optimal relevance (Sperber & relevance of what the speaker wants to say. Onomatopoeia
Wilson, 1986, p.158). The speaker makes an utterance depends on the context, which makes it possible to be
which is an ostensive stimulus, and the hearer is analyzed from the perspective of Relevance Theory.
unconscious of assuming that what the speaker say is Onomatopoeia in Chinese can be divided into six
optimally relevant to the communication and he will seek types(Chen, 2006): a) X type with one word, for example
for an interpretation compatible with his presumption. “砰”, “嘘”, “咻”, “吱” and “噔”; b) XX type with two same
Contextual effect and processing effort are two main words, for example “呦呦”, “嗖嗖”, “砰砰”, “沙沙” and

19 Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture

Translation of Onomatopoeia Words in The Republic of Wine From
the Perspective of Relevance Theory

“叽叽”; c) XY type with two different words, for example Example 2:

“咔嚓”, “嘀嗒”, “咣当”, “啁啾” and “叮咚”; d) XYY （男人）又摸到火镰、火石、火绒，噼噼啪啪打起火来。
type with three words, including one word repeated, for (Mo Yan, 2008)
example “轰隆隆”, “哗啦啦” and “淅沥沥”; e) XYXY He picked up a flint, a stone, and some tinder to make a fire.
type with four words, including two words repeated, for (Goldblatt, 2000)
example “叮当叮当”, “扑通扑通”, “咕咚咕咚”, “哔里 In the original sentence, “噼噼啪啪” describes
哔里” and “呼噜呼噜”; f) XXYY type with four words, the continuous sound of the object being beaten. In
including the repeated words closely connected, for the translated version “噼噼啪啪” is omitted without
example “滴滴答答”, “嘟嘟囔囔”, “乒乒乓乓”, “丁丁当 influencing the original meaning of the sentence.
当” and “哔哔剥剥”.The types of onomatopoeia words in
English are different from Chinese: words can be used as 3.2 Substitution
verbs, for example “to howl”, “to roar”, “to squeal” and “to Substitution is used to replace the words of the original
twitter”; words can represent the animal itself, for example expression with Chinese or English synonyms or idioms
“cricket” and “cuckoo”; ricochet words, for example according to different situations. According to Relevance
“hibble-babble”, “dilly-dally” and “prittle-prattle”. This Theory, people instinctively hope to get contextual effects
paper will focus on the types of onomatopoeia words in in the process of communication, and do not want to pay
Chinese to analyze the translation methods. too much processing effort to understand the meaning of
In The Republic of Wine, Mo Yan mainly used three words. In the process of translation, the translator should
types of onomatopoeia: XX, for example “呜呜”,“叩叩”; consider the cognitive environment of the target readers,
XYY, for example “气哄哄”; XXYY, for example “噼噼 and the translation of onomatopoeia words should be
啪啪”. The translation methods of omission, substitution concise. Substitution is adopted to make the readers obtain
and paraphrase are adopted by Howard Goldblattin to sufficient contextual effects.
translate those onomatopoeia words. Example 3:
3.1 Omission 锅里的水吱吱地响起来，女人紧着往灶里填草。(Mo Yan,
2008)
Omission is a translation technique opposite to The water gurgled to a boil and the woman added more kindling
amplification. It means taking away unnecessary words in to the stove. (Goldblatt, 2000)
the translated version based on an accurate comprehension
The word “吱吱” in the original describes the short
of the original text to make the translation idiomatic
and sharp sound of boiling water in the pot, which is
and expressive. According to the Relevance Theory, the
common in Chinese. In English culture, the word “gurgle”
translator determines the relevance of the translation text
is usually used to describe the bubbling sound of water
and the original text. Translator’s choice can influence the
flowing from a bottle with a narrow neck. The translator
quality of the translation text and the response from the
uses “gurgle” to replace “吱吱” rather than translating
reader. For some difficult Chinese onomatopoeia words
the onomatopoeia literally. Readers can obtain sufficient
which have no equivalence in English, the translation
contextual effects and get the intent of the author.
method of omission is adopted. The omission of the
Example 4:
onomatopoeia will not change the meaning conveyed by
the author in the original text and the translation text can 小宝准确地把乳头抢进嘴里，嗓子里发出呜呜啦啦的声
be clear enough for translated text readers. 响。(Mo Yan, 2008)
Little Treasure took a nipple into his mouth and immediately
Example 1: began gurgling contentedly. (Goldblatt, 2000)
男人的脚在她右侧直竖着，凉冰冰的。她拉拉被角为他遮
盖。小宝在她左边蜷着，呜呜地打着均匀的呼噜。(Mo Yan,
“呜呜啦啦”describes the sound of baby sucking
2008) milk. In English, “gurgle” is usually used to describe
Her husband’s feet stuck out from under the covers to her right, the baby who is making a sound in their throat similar
icy cold. She covered them with a corner of the quilt. Little to the gurgling of water. The translator used equivalence
Treasure slept curled up on her left, his breathing deep and even.
onomatopoeia word “gurgle” in English to replace the
(Goldblatt, 2000)
Chinese one, which is conform to the expression of
The word “呜呜” is a Chinese onomatopoeia which English. The meaning of the Chinese is conveyed and the
refers to the low sound made by a person. There is no translated text gets optimal relevance to the original text.
equivalence in English. According to the context, the Example 5:
omission of this onomatopoeia word does not affect the 男人吭吭着，拉开房门走到院子里，把一个破了沿的黑色
information transmitted by the entire sentence. Therefore, 大瓦盆拎进来。(Mo Yan, 2008)
the cognitive environment of English readers in the He grunted a reply and went into the yard, quickly returning
process of translation is considered and the method of with a chipped black ceramic basin. (Goldblatt, 2000)
omission is adopted.

Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture 20

 ZHAO Yushan; CHEN Rui (2018).
Studies in Literature and Language, 17 (3), 18-21

The word “吭吭” in the original means someone the adverb “angrily”, which makes sufficient contextual
makes a low sound especially because he is annoyed effects and transmits the exact meaning of the original
which has the similar meaning of “grunt” in English. onomatopoeia words.
The method of substitution is used by the translator and
the English equivalence is chosen to replace the Chinese
onomatopoeia word. English readers are familiar with the CONCLUSION
word and its expression, which helps them understand the One of the special characteristics of The Republic of Wine
intent of the author. is that Mo Yan used a large number of onomatopoeia
words to make the story a greater pleasure to read.
3.3. Paraphrase
Therefore, the translation of the onomatopoeia words
Paraphrase is to translate the meaning of the original
is worth of studying to make English readers better
without adopting the specific description words.
understand the novel and the Chinese culture. This paper
According to the Relevance Theory, the translated
analyzes the translation of the onomatopoeia words in
text should conform to the presumption of the optimal
The Republic of Wine from the perspective of Relevance
relevance and make sufficient contextual effects. The
Theory. We can learn from Howard Goldblatt that the
translator uses paraphrase to explain the exact meaning of
flexible translation methods of omission, substitution
the original onomatopoeia words.
and paraphrase are used in order to transmit the optimal
Example 6:
relevance of the presumption of the original words.
男人把烟袋锅往炕壁上叩叩，清清嗓子，慢吞吞地说…… Sufficient contextual effects can be obtained by readers so
(Mo Yan, 2008) that they can fully understand the novel.
The man knocked the bowl of his pipe against the bed, cleared
his throat, and said hesitantly… (Goldblatt, 2000)

In the original sentence, “叩叩” describes the sound REFERENCES

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21 Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture