A comparative multidimensional study of the English translation of Lunyu (The Analects): a corpus-based analysis
Although Lunyu (The Analects) is well-known and often mentioned in Confucian scholarship, there have been no focused examinations of the comprehensive linguistic features of its English translations. This study seeks to report a comparative multidimensional investigation into the similarities and...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2017
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11640/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11640/1/16332-57782-1-PB.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848812786231017472 |
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| author | He, Mengyu |
| author_facet | He, Mengyu |
| author_sort | He, Mengyu |
| building | UKM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Although Lunyu (The Analects) is well-known and often mentioned in Confucian scholarship,
there have been no focused examinations of the comprehensive linguistic features of its
English translations. This study seeks to report a comparative multidimensional investigation
into the similarities and differences in the lexico-grammatical features of Lunyu (The
Analects) translated by James Legge and Ku Hungming. The comparison is made along five
functional dimensions (involved versus informational production, narrative versus nonnarrative
concerns, explicit versus situation-dependent reference, overt expression of
persuasion, and abstract versus non-abstract information), and the prominent lexicogrammatical
features (based on a 67-item feature set) in the two texts are singled out. It is
found that there are more private verbs, present tense verbs, be as main verb, past tense verbs,
third-person pronouns, and public verbs in Legge’s The Analects of Confucius, whereas Ku’s
The Discourses and Sayings of Confucius uses nouns, adjectives, long words, nominalisations,
and time adverbials more often. The identified differences in lexico-grammatical patterns are
related to the distinct goals of the two translators. The results demonstrate that the
multidimensional (MD) approach is effective in differentiating the linguistic features of the
two translation versions and motivating a micro-analysis of the texts, seeking to discern the
translators’ underlying assumptions about the relations of Confucius and his followers. It is
considered that these findings may have implications for the understanding of the translations
of The Analects. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T00:07:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | oai:generic.eprints.org:11640 |
| institution | Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T00:07:50Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | oai:generic.eprints.org:116402018-05-06T14:03:06Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11640/ A comparative multidimensional study of the English translation of Lunyu (The Analects): a corpus-based analysis He, Mengyu Although Lunyu (The Analects) is well-known and often mentioned in Confucian scholarship, there have been no focused examinations of the comprehensive linguistic features of its English translations. This study seeks to report a comparative multidimensional investigation into the similarities and differences in the lexico-grammatical features of Lunyu (The Analects) translated by James Legge and Ku Hungming. The comparison is made along five functional dimensions (involved versus informational production, narrative versus nonnarrative concerns, explicit versus situation-dependent reference, overt expression of persuasion, and abstract versus non-abstract information), and the prominent lexicogrammatical features (based on a 67-item feature set) in the two texts are singled out. It is found that there are more private verbs, present tense verbs, be as main verb, past tense verbs, third-person pronouns, and public verbs in Legge’s The Analects of Confucius, whereas Ku’s The Discourses and Sayings of Confucius uses nouns, adjectives, long words, nominalisations, and time adverbials more often. The identified differences in lexico-grammatical patterns are related to the distinct goals of the two translators. The results demonstrate that the multidimensional (MD) approach is effective in differentiating the linguistic features of the two translation versions and motivating a micro-analysis of the texts, seeking to discern the translators’ underlying assumptions about the relations of Confucius and his followers. It is considered that these findings may have implications for the understanding of the translations of The Analects. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2017-08 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11640/1/16332-57782-1-PB.pdf He, Mengyu (2017) A comparative multidimensional study of the English translation of Lunyu (The Analects): a corpus-based analysis. GEMA: Online Journal of Language Studies, 17 (3). pp. 37-54. ISSN 1675-8021 http://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/issue/view/999 |
| spellingShingle | He, Mengyu A comparative multidimensional study of the English translation of Lunyu (The Analects): a corpus-based analysis |
| title | A comparative multidimensional study of the English translation of Lunyu (The Analects): a corpus-based analysis |
| title_full | A comparative multidimensional study of the English translation of Lunyu (The Analects): a corpus-based analysis |
| title_fullStr | A comparative multidimensional study of the English translation of Lunyu (The Analects): a corpus-based analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | A comparative multidimensional study of the English translation of Lunyu (The Analects): a corpus-based analysis |
| title_short | A comparative multidimensional study of the English translation of Lunyu (The Analects): a corpus-based analysis |
| title_sort | comparative multidimensional study of the english translation of lunyu (the analects): a corpus-based analysis |
| url | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11640/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11640/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11640/1/16332-57782-1-PB.pdf |