Professional Documents
Culture Documents
http://www.scirp.org/journal/jss
ISSN Online: 2327-5960
ISSN Print: 2327-5952
Honghui Zhao
School of English and Education, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China
DOI: 10.4236/jss.2017.511009 Nov. 28, 2017 119 Open Journal of Social Sciences
H. H. Zhao
2. Classifications of Intertextuality
Intertextuality is a very broad notion which can operate at any level of text or-
ganization, and its expression ranges from single words or phrases that have sig-
nificance in a given text, to macro-textual conventions and constraints asso-
ciated with genre, register and discourse. That the concept of intertextuality can
be understood in various ways points to the need for classifications. In order to
outline the notion, scholars have attempted to classify different types of inter-
textuality. They are summarized and expanded upon as follows:
elements of a given text are called intratexuality. And those existing between dis-
tinct texts are extratextuality.
2.2. Contratextuality
Speakers or writers may refer to a different text with their own purpose, which
may be contrary to those of that text. The intertextual relationship in this case is
called contratextuality. For instance, in his famous novel Ulysses, Joyce imitated
various styles of previous writers to produce a funny effect.
given text. For example, judged from conventional features such as the absence
of auxiliary verbs and definers, “Star-studded ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ on
its Way” is recognizable as a newspaper headline.
Illuminated by this dichotomy and viewing from the angle of the reader, Xin
Bin (2000) subdivides intertextuality into two types: specific intertextuality and
generic intertextuality. The former is related to the text including an element or
elements with specific source(s) from pre-texts, while the latter deals with the
blending of different style, register and genre in a given text [5].
Clearly,these above-mentioned types of classification are overlapping to some
extent. As intertextuality can be discussed at different levels, to avoid confusion,
we will probe into literary translation studies from an intertextual approach at
the micro-level based on the dichotomy made by Xin Bin as mentioned above:
micro-level (specific intertextuality) and macro-level (generic intertextuality).
To put it more clearly, the former type mainly deals with intertextuality at the
lexical and syntactic level while the latter intertextuality at the textual level.
By intertextuality at the micro-level, we will discuss the adjustments the
translator has to make in dealing with specific intertextual references in the ST at
the lexical and syntactic level. Neglecting, ignoring or misjudging the context in
which an intertextual reference is applied will lead to mistranslations. Therefore,
how to spot out intertextual references in the ST and what adjustments a trans-
lator has to make is of vital significance in translating.
3.2.4. Transliteration
To keep the cultural information of the SL is both to convey faithfully the infor-
mation of the SL and to promote the cultural communication between nations.
Transliteration with or without annotation is a good strategy by which to keep
the cultural information of the intertextual references in the SL. When we use
transliteration, we must pay attention to its intelligibility. Otherwise, we will
have to give proper footnotes to the transliterations so that the foreign readers
may understand them. Though this method is seldom used, it is indispensable.
In fact, it has a long history. For example the transliteration of “道” as “Tao” and
“德” as “Te”, both originated from the Chinese Classical work Tao Te Ching
( 道德经》), have already been deep-rooted in English culture. The earliest proof
《
dates back to the year of 1736 in Oxford English Dictionary (vol.17) in which the
borrowed word “Tao” is defined as: “Among the sentences [of Lao Kium] there
is one that is often repeated∙∙∙: Tao, says he, or Reason, have produced one, one
have produced two, two have produced three, and three have produced all
things” [12]. Similar definitions can be found in other English dictionaries. Look
at the transliteration of “阴” and “阳” originated from I CHING or Book of
Changes (《周易》) as Yin and Yang. To make it more intelligible, a footnote can
be supplied: Yin and Yang represent the two opposite but non-antagonistic and
4. Conclusions
Intertextuality will remain a crucial element in the attempt to understand litera-
ture and culture in general. It is well said that in the Chinese classic: “文承秦汉”
(wén chéng qín hàn) (Any Chinese writing may be regarded as originated from
those in the Qin or Han Dynasties). A knowledge of intertextualtiy is of great
significance in translating a piece of literary writing, for each piece, no matter a
new poem or a new novel may be somewhat intertextual with an old one or more
than one old ones. In order to create a target text that meets the expectations of
the target society, a translator should be able to correctly identify intertextual
references in the SL and adopt adequate strategies to deal with them in the TL.
As Intertextuality can be discussed at different levels, it may cause confusion.
This paper mainly focuses on intertextuality at the micro-level, i.e. intertextuali-
ty at the lexical and syntactic level. More explorations can be made on transla-
tion and intertextuality at the macro (or textual) level.
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