Translation of Geographical Dialect in Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out From the Perspective of Specificity

Abstract

Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out is the representative work of Mo Yan with a great many of geographical dialects, which can convey the regional characteristics and the theme of this novel. A good translation version by Goldblatt can transmit the original text meaning for western people. The paper aims to study the geographic dialect translation in Mo Yan’s novel Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out in the light of specificity of Construal theory for the purpose of proving the feasibility of specificity in geographical dialect translation. Higher level of specificity can make the translation more detailed and precise by the use of annotation and further explanation, while lower level of specificity can guide translators using omission in their translation process to achieve the concise effect. Guided by proper specificity, remarkable translation of geographical dialect can be produced by taking advantage of suitable translation methods, which is conducive to the understanding of Mo Yan’s novel for the western readers.