A Contrastive Study of Two Chinese Versions The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

【Abstract】A contrastive study of two Chinese versions The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is conducted from viewpoints of linguistics. Meanwhile， the principles about language learning and teaching are pointed out.

【Key words】contrast； language learning； teaching

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn， is regarded as the most excellent novel in Mark Twains works. Two Chinese versions are introduced in this paper to analyze. One is Zhang Yousong and Zhang Zhenhes version （Zhangs for short）， the other is Cheng Shis edition （Chengs for short.）.

As a kind of social phenomenon， culture evolves gradually over long history periods. Additionally， it works as a mirror to reflect social histories and shows later generations the authentic historical appearance. The culture every generation inherited characterizes their ethnic groups and their times， and the contents of culture can distinguish a nationalitys features from others. Language goes into the category of culture. The following examples adopted from the two versions contrasts vividly reveal the differences between the East and the West in culture.

Example 1：The Widow Douglas， she took me for her son， and allowed she would civilize me…

Chengs：陶格拉斯寡婦，她認我作干兒子，說要教我做人的規矩；…

Zhangs：陶格拉斯寡婦拿我當她的兒子，說是要給我受點教化，…

In western countries， there is no such title as “干兒子”、“干爹”， whereas adopted son， adoptive mother are popular among the westerners. Chengs version deviates from the original meaning though it caters to Chinese culture and Chinese readers taste. By comparison， Zhangs version is more aptly worded.

Example 2：… but all the boys said it would wicked to do it on Sunday， and that settled the thing.

Chengs：可是所有其余的哥們都說星期天干這種事太傷天害理，于是這事不再提了.

Zhangs：可是孩子們大家都說禮拜天干這種事是有罪的，這話就把問題解決了.

As we all know， most of the westerners go to church on Sunday regularly and they would not commit any evil deed against Christian principles， while most Chinese nonbelievers will perform everything they would like to， neglecting the Christian doctrines. Zhangs version reasonably mirrors the cultural differences， for the religious belief should not be neglected in the western cultural context， but Chengs version ignored the cultural discrepancies.

Example 3：Three hundred dollars is a power of money， I wish my mother could get it. Is your husband going over there tonight？

Chengs：三百塊大洋可是一筆大財，我巴不得我娘能發這筆財。你丈夫今晚就過去嗎？

Zhangs：三百塊大洋可真是一大筆錢呀。要是我母親能得到就好了。您當家的今天夜里就上那兒去嗎？

The two translators had the same concept about “dollar”， but the Chinese have been quite familiar with notion of “dollar”when the two versions were published. Maybe they thought a dollar is less valuable than a silver coin in ancient China and want to highlight the value of “three hundred dollars”. As for the treatments of “my mother” and “your husband”， Zhangs translation is more appropriate than Chengs， for he better considered the tone and the manners of the discourses uttered by a thirteen–fourteen-year old child with fresh social experience. Furthermore， if we take the regional factor into consideration， certain local dialect should have been employed. “俺巴不得俺娘能發這筆財”could take the place of “我巴不得我娘能發這筆財”.

We can draw language teaching principles from the analysis.

Culture is vital all the while in language learning and teaching， whereas， we often pay overmuch attention on language correction than the other in language teaching. Consequently， the students can not get western culture and customs. The trend should have been revolutionized as soon as possible.

Translators should conform to the spirits of the originals as well as cater to the taste of the Chinese readers. Simultaneously， a translator should convey the essence of culture vividly.

Collocation is essential in language learning. A foreign language learner must accumulate collocations all the way. A foreign language teacher should guide the students to contrast the foreign language with their mother tongues. A foreign language learner should be conscious of the significance of the collocations in language learning and build up the collocations intentionally in language learning.

參考文獻：

[1]The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.Mark Twain.Penguin Books.1966.

【基金項目】陜西省教育廳項目（2014JK1781）；咸陽師范學院科研基金項目（15XSYK007）。

作者簡介：李玲（1970.7-），女，漢族，陜西銅川人，碩士，講師，研究方向：英語教育。