A Comparative Study on Translation in <i>The Joy Luck Club</i> from the Perspective of Communicative Translation and Semantic Translation

Peter Newmark’s theory of semantic translation and communicative translation has been discussed since its publication and has been verified utility in translation studies. This paper aims to explore relations with components in the translation process on the basis of communication translation and semantic translation supplemented with a case study based on Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club. Through illustration of relations of the texts, different participants in translation and cultures, conclusion is reached as follows: communicative translation focuses more on the function as well as readers’ acceptability and translators are much freer in the translating process with attention paid to the target culture; semantic translation focuses more on the conveying of meaning and source text. In this respect, translators enjoy less freedom in translating and the foreignness of the source culture is largely retained. Although there are differences between semantic translation and communicative translation, these two methods are coexistent in the same text and both are of service to a better translation. The analysis of several cases also sheds light on translation practices, from which translators may gain some inspiration in the process of translation so as to produce a better version.