Functional Style as Reconstruction of Literary Themes
摘要
This chapter investigates translator functional styles through thematic reconstruction of “Diasporic Chinese” and “Local Britons” themes. Using selected keywords, it analyzes their interaction with contexts to create extended units of meaning in the source text, identifying semantic fields representing “Yellow Peril” stereotypes for Chinese and “proud and orderly” characteristics for Britons. The analysis examines translator linguistic idiosyncrasies in three aspects: keyword renditions, lexical chain reestablishment, and semantic field reconstruction. Results reveal varying approaches among translators, with some maintaining original patterns while others significantly altering thematic construction, demonstrating distinct functional styles in recreating literary themes through corpus stylistic methods.